Daily Gospel Reflection for July 6, 2021

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

“His heart was moved with pity for them.” Jesus Christ had pity on the multitudes of people who desperately followed after Him. God had pity on man. When you think about it in the abstract, it doesn’t sound so earth-shattering (It still is, of course.) It’s something we teach our children when they are still small, something that we learned ourselves as children. God has mercy on us. But when you read in the Gospel that Jesus had pity on those who followed Him, it’s so easy to imagine Jesus looking at you as He is moved with pity. He sees us following Him, lost and desperate for help, and His heart is moved. He has pity.

When Jesus looked at the multitude of people gathered, He saw countless people looking for guidance. He saw lost sheep, desperately needing a shepherd. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, willing to leave the ninety-nine for the sake of the one. When Jesus looked at the crowds, each person He saw was one such sheep. He fills the hole we don’t even know we have. He satisfies the deepest longing of our hearts. We were lost, but we have been found.

But now that we have been found, we have also been called. “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.” Jesus sees the countless lost souls, and He knows that He will need disciples to follow in His footsteps. He calls those He finds to go out and search for more. Now that we have heard the Good News, we must share it. We are called to be shepherds too, guiding our families, our friends, and all those we encounter to Christ.

Ponder:

How has God sought after you when you have strayed? How did He lead you home?

Pray:

Dear Lord, please seek us when we have become lost and carry us home in Your loving arms, and once we have received the comfort and security we need, give us the strength to become shepherds ourselves, leading others back to You. Amen.