HOMILY WEEK 04 06 – Year II
A Balanced Life of Wise Compassion and Prayerful Solitude:
Memorial of St. Agatha
(1Kg 3:4-13; Ps 118; Mk 6:30-34)
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Solomon’s prayer in the first reading today is a reminder to us of balancing reason and emotions so that we too can have that wise mind that lives life in a healthier way. His prayer for what God wants to give him is a good example of a genuine, heartfelt prayer grounded in a strong faith, and God grants his prayer, including wealth and honor.
In the gospel, Jesus is trying to balance rest and community with ministry, which is a challenge for him as well as for us as we strive to balance compassion and action.
The journey in a small sailing boat provided them with some down time to rest and debrief. When they arrive, Jesus is ready to minister to the people who are like sheep without a shepherd, because he was grounded in the love of his Father through contemplative prayer.
That the people were like sheep without a shepherd means the official religious system of the Jews at that time was not really reaching out to and helping the poor with their daily struggles to survive in a harsh environment.
Being shepherd of the sheep speaks of Henri Nouwen’s journey, first identifying with the prodigal son, then the elder son, and finally realizing that the goal of his spiritual journey is to become the loving father, at home, always ready to welcome and celebrate and give unconditional love to all God’s wayward sons and daughters.
St Agatha
Today the church honors St. Agatha, who models radical faith for us. Known mainly through legend, she was martyred during the time of the Decian persecution (249-251). It is alleged she was sent to a brothel to force her to give up her faith. After she was tortured, the apostle Peter is said to have appeared and cured her. The following day she died in prison of new cruelties. Her intervention was credited with stilling the eruption of Mount Edna the year after her burial. In the Middle Ages, especially in southern Germany, bread, candles, fruit and letters were blessed in her name to ward off destruction by fire. She is considered a patron of miners, alpine guides and nurses, and is mentioned in Eucharistic Prayer I.
The Eucharist is an oasis, a time of coming away to listen to God’s word and be nourished by the very Body and Blood of Jesus, The good shepherd. Then we are sent out as modern day missionary disciples and apostles, precisely to be good shepherds to all those around us.
