Sunday Scripture: Reflection for July 21, 2024

Sunday Scripture: Reflection for July 21, 2024

Scripture Reflection: July 21, 2024 - Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary time

Jeremiah 23:1-6
Psalm 23:1-6
Ephesians 2:13-18
Mark 6:30-34

Jesus invites His disciples to “come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile.” Jesus knows we need quiet and rest, physically and spiritually, to better hear and see God’s movements in our lives. The invitation extends to us. Retreats are excellent for this. My closest encounters with Christ have been when I was on a retreat. But we may do well to have incorporated in our daily lives times of quiet and rest in order to be with God and become aware of His Presence.
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In this invitation Jesus is being the “Good Shepherd.” Shepherds, as we hear in Psalm 23, take great care of the sheep. Their sheep “want for nothing.” A good shepherd provides protection and sees to all the needs of the sheep. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He cares for His sheep and thinks only of them. Even when He needed rest with His disciples “He is moved with pity on the crowd” and shepherds them.

Jesus is our Good Shepherd and will provide for us in our needs. So, let us take some time to rest in the Lord each day and allow Him to shepherd us. 

Loretta Ortego
Flowers of the Prairie Community,
Eunice, LA

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