Word to the Wise
Sunday, July 18, 2021 - 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
[Jer 23:1-6; Eph 2:13-18; Mark 6:30-34]The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. [Mark]
In my years of itinerant preaching (part time 1990-2009, full time 2009-2019) two of the main elements were parish missions and retreats for clergy. At parish missions, I would hear about the clergy. At retreats for clergy, I would hear about the parishioners. Given the nature of the American Catholic parish (almost unique in the world wide church), and the job description in Canon Law (cc.528-530) of a pastor, I came to the conclusion that the job is impossible for one priest to do. But lots of them try! They become like the mama bird with one worm and lots of little open mouths! Eventually they suffer burnout. The parishioners, on the other hand, because of the model being followed by their pastor, are left frustrated and resentful. The story in today's gospel about the crowd seeing Jesus and the apostles trying to get away to rest by leaving in a boat is comical. The crowd runs around the shore and beats them to the landing spot! One can almost hear them say, "You can run, but you can't hide!" Mind you, I'm just talking about the American parish, not the vast mission areas that one priest has to cover by foot or horseback, etc..that one hears about in other countries. However, at retreats for priests, I learn of priests assigned to cover four or five mission churches.
The story in today's gospel occurs just before the multiplication of the loaves and fishes in the Gospel According to Mark. When Jesus realizes that the crowd may go hungry, he poses a question to the apostles who shrug and point to the logistical problems of feeding a large crowd. What Jesus does is to bless the meager resources and then delegates the disciples to figure out how to distribute them! Under the current conditions in an American parish, pastors and parishioners may need to pay attention to this model. Discernment in common, followed by delegation and division of labor, is just about the only way that will work under current conditions in American parochial life. Pastors have to realize that they are not potentates with answers to every problem. Parishioners should be aware of factions and feuds that exasperate a pastor willing to delegate. Working together, everybody will get bread and fish. AMEN