A Jesuit Adventure

  My dear friends today we celebrate the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B. The readings today revolve around the theme of ‘shepherds and their sheep.’ The first reading taken from the post-exilic prophet Jeremiah, issues judgment to shepherds who did not uphold their duties to their flock. ‘Shepherd and sheep’ is a common metaphor from the ancient Near East referring to human kings and leaders as shepherds to the people who are the sheep. This imagery is appropriate since the duties and responsibilities of shepherds involved taking care of their sheep, feeding, protecting and guiding them just as a king or a leader is supposed to do. However, this wasn’t the case with the kings of Judah due to which they found themselves in exile, scattered among the nations. In the previous chapter, God condemned the three prior kings of Judah, who had governed unjustly and exploited their people. (Jer 22:1-30) The blame for the exile was placed squarely on the last few kings of Judah before th...

  “No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” These words, taken from Martin Luther King Junior's famous speech ‘I Have a Dream,’ have their origin in the writings of the prophet Amos from where the first reading of the 15 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B is taken. In Biblical history, each prophet was chosen to deliver a special message at a special time. The pre-exilic prophet Amos, also known as the prophet of social justice, was from the southern kingdom of Judah but was sent to prophesy in the northern kingdom of Israel. So why was Amos, a simple shepherd and farmer sent to a foreign land? During the close to 40-year rule of Jeroboam II, the kingdom of Israel prospered with a booming economy which focused on exporting luxury items like olive oil and wine. The surplus wealth also made Israel a strong military force. However, as we see in our world today, the surplus wealth back then...