They regarded him as a Prophet

The Apostles had returned to Jesus all fired up about what the healing, proclamation of the Gospel message, and the expulsion of demons, so they were both inspired as well as tired.  Jesus tries to have them go away to rest, but when they get to their place of respite, Jesus sees that they are like sheep without a shepherd, and he begins to teach them.  So this brings us to today, and the people are physically hungry.

And of course we know the rest of the story whereas Jesus multiplies loaves and fishes, and gives the people more than they can eat.  Perhaps some of us of a mature age can remember how the Sunday chicken or roast, lasted well into Tuesday.  Our parents made sure that we had enough to eat, clean clothes, and a place to sleep.  Dads and moms knew that sometimes we were like sheep without a shepherd.  Even more so that same table where we received our nourishment was a place of teaching, consolation, and even admonishment.

Jesus it seems is trying to teach the apostles something about taking responsibility for those that they serve.  What seems to be a crisis, we only have a few loaves of bread, and some fish, becomes an opportunity to put faith into action.  With Jesus at our side, how can I feed and care for the hungry and afflicted?  This becomes a faith response.  At the end of Mass we are challenged to go and proclaim the Gospel.  And to paraphrase St. Francis of Assisi, we would use words if we absolutely had to.

St. Paul today speaks about approaching each other with humility, patience, and gentleness.  Certainly we can learn these virtues at the family dining table, but our faith communities learn this at the Eucharistic table when we gather together to worship.  When we learn early on how to act as a family, committed to our faith, the sheep without a shepherd is no longer a scary sight.  In fact it is our springboard into the world to begin to unfold the mystery of God's love.

People who come into our home can hear and see all the good things of the Lord, because we are blessed in abundance, and have learned to make abundant what we have been given.  Our faith is not just what we do in Church, but only begins there, and extends itself out into the lives of others.