King Solomon sought understanding from God in the first reading today, and the crowd that followed Jesus and his apostles in the gospel also sought understanding from Jesus. God granted King Solomon’s request and he became a very wise king. In the gospel reading today, the crowds followed Jesus because they were hungry to learn more, to understand better, and Jesus had pity on them so he taught them many things. The crowds in the gospel did not yet have a leader and they were like sheep without a shepherd.
The people of God still need good leaders, good shepherds to care for them. King Solomon and Jesus were both very compassionate and genuinely cared about the people, but care and concern for them was not enough. A good leader also has wisdom, and this is a great deal different from an education. The Catechism of the Catholic Church can teach us many good things about our faith and is an excellent reference for questions we have. Still, it’s not enough. Neither is a master’s degree in theology.
King Solomon once solved a problem where two women both claimed to be the mother of an infant. No amount of education could have shown him the right thing to do. He ordered the baby to be cut in two and shared equally with both women. The real mother gave the baby to the other woman rather than see it die, because she loved the baby. King Solomon’s wisdom solved a complicated problem very quickly, when it would have taken a court of law a great deal of time and effort to prove whose child it was. This kind of wisdom can’t be taught by means of an education alone.
Jesus of course was very wise because he was both human and divine. As the son of God, he understood the people’s need for good shepherds. He used the word shepherd when describing this need, not teacher. Shepherds care about their flock, feed them, protect them from danger and lead them to water. There are very few real shepherds with a university education. Neither Christ’s apostles, nor King David (who was a shepherd) had a formal education. There is a saying that “God doesn’t call the trained, he trains the called” and this is certainly true with both King David and Christ’s apostles as well.
Christ’s care and concern for his apostles is very evident in today’s gospel. How compassionate Jesus was when he noticed that the apostles needed a break, to get away from everyone and have a good rest. Vacations are still provided by employers for this purpose as well. What a shame that people have such a hard time being able to use their vacation time on their jobs sometimes. Modern companies often pay their employees cash at the end of the year, for unused vacation time. But, money can’t buy rest. Jesus put such a value on taking a break and resting for a while, that we should too. It might be worth seriously considering other options if your job is so busy you can’t take time off work for a vacation.
Another thing that happens a lot on the job is that employees feel like there is so much work to do, that they can’t take a lunch break. They often end up eating lunch at their desks instead, so they can keep up with the workload. This is also wrong, as evident in today’s gospel. Saint Mark mentions that Jesus and the apostles had no opportunity to even eat and this was one of the reasons Jesus told them to leave and go rest for a while.
Do you have time to take a break and actually eat lunch on your job? Is it hard to get away for a few days, or take a vacation? Jesus made his disciples do something about it, for their own good. If this applies to you, then perhaps you would be wise to consider making some changes in your life. There really is more to life than an education, money, possessions or our job. Life is important too.
Daily Mass Readings:
1 Kgs 3: 4-13 / Ps 119: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 / Mk 6: 30-34
