"The apostles returned and reported to JESUS all they had done and taught. Then HE said to them, 'Let us go off by ourselves into a remote place and have some rest.' For there were so many people coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a secluded area by themselves.
But people saw them leaving, and many could guess where they were going. So, from all the towns, they hurried there on foot, arriving ahead of them.
As JESUS went ashore, HE saw a large crowd, and HE had compassion on them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd. And HE began to teach them many things." - Matthew 6:30-34
(They were like sheep without a shepherd [Numbers 27:17; Isaiah 40:11; Ezekiel 34; Zechariah 11:4-17; 12:8]. This refers to people who had not yet found true community, and JESUS had pity on them. The prophet Ezekiel reproached the leaders of Israel for being bad pastors, but today he might reproach us for failing to be pastors and prophets in the midst of our world. Why should we so often wait for priests, religious or a few handpicked lay people to take the initiative of assembling new communities? Why are we so timid in proposing to "those who are outside" the light of faith that we have gratuitously received and allow them to discover in the group or community this richness?)
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