The Lord Will Redeem, Reunify, and Restore Us

Last Sunday we heard Mark’s account of the Twelve Chosen and sent out to share in the Savior’s mission. Today we have the aftermath described in detail. As they rejoin Jesus, they are full of stories as they share the experience of their missionary journeys. Many people are coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat. Jesus suggests that they cross the water to a ‘lonely place’ where they can ‘rest for a while’. The crowd has heard of their coming and awaits them.

Hungry for what Jesus has to give them, they ‘were like sheep without a shepherd’. So he changed his plans and ‘set himself to teach them at some length’.

Jesus clearly wants to have time for Himself, time to pray, and time to be alone.  Yet when Jesus sees the people, His heart is moved to be with them. Christ demonstrated that he is that promised Davidic king and good shepherd. He will not rest until our souls and our land are completely healed and restored to his Father. This was why he had to terminate his vacation in order to attend to his people weighed down by life’s daily problems.

Here, Jesus has another important lesson for the Twelve – the love for struggling humanity that he shares with his Father. He knows no limit or holding back. He wants his disciples to be one with him in this love if they are to be companions in his mission.

As a compassionate and wise king, Jesus knows our situation. He is doing something about it and, will not rest until we are redeemed and restored to God. He does not keep quiet over our situations. He sees and knows that we have been abandoned and wounded by negligent shepherds, that housands of lives have been lost through Covid-19, poor medical care, hatred, revenge, rejection, drugs and poverty.

The human shepherds of our nations have sometimes failed God and all of us. However, the good news is that God loves us and will restore us. He will repair the broken elements of our land. This is a message of hope for all passing through all forms of political, social and economic crisis.



We simply need to obey Christ’s teachings summarized by Love for One Another in order to be redeemed, reunified and restored to his Father. Trusting Christ our king and shepherd, let us always reciprocate Christ’s love by being sensitive and responsive to the needs of the needy people. Let us abandon ourselves so that we may serve others, each in his or her own way.

Fr. Frank Kyazze Lwanga