20260117 COOPERATING WITH GOD’S CHOICE
17 January 2026, Saturday, 1st Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Samuel 9:1-4,17-19,10:1 |
The Lord chooses Saul as king; Samuel anoints him
Among the men of Benjamin there was a man named Kish son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah; a Benjaminite and a man of rank. He had a son named Saul, a handsome man in the prime of life. Of all the Israelites there was no one more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders taller than the rest of the people. Now some of the she-donkeys of Saul’s father Kish had strayed, so Kish said to Saul, ‘My son, take one of the servants with you and be off; go and look for the she-donkeys.’ They passed through the highlands of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but did not find them; they passed through the land of Shaalim, they were not there; they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.
When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, ‘That is the man of whom I told you; he shall rule my people.’ Saul accosted Samuel in the gateway and said, ‘Tell me, please, where the seer’s house is?’ Samuel replied to Saul, ‘I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the high place. You are to eat with me today. In the morning I shall take leave of you and tell you all that is in your heart.’
Samuel took a phial of oil and poured it on Saul’s head; then he kissed him, saying, ‘Has not the Lord anointed you prince over his people Israel? You are the man who must rule the Lord’s people, and who must save them from the power of the enemies surrounding them.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 20(21):2-7 |
O Lord, your strength gives joy to the king.
O Lord, your strength gives joy to the king;
how your saving help makes him glad!
You have granted him his heart’s desire;
you have not refused the prayer of his lips.
O Lord, your strength gives joy to the king.
You came to meet him with the blessings of success,
you have set on his head a crown of pure gold.
He asked you for life and this you have given,
days that will last from age to age.
O Lord, your strength gives joy to the king.
Your saving help has given him glory.
You have laid upon him majesty and splendour,
you have granted your blessings to him forever.
You have made him rejoice with the joy of your presence.
O Lord, your strength gives joy to the king.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:36,29 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Bend my heart to your will, O Lord,
and teach me your law.
Alleluia!
Or: | Lk4:17 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 2:13-17 |
Your light must shine in the sight of men
Jesus went out to the shore of the lake; and all the people came to him, and he taught them. As he was walking on he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus, sitting by the customs house, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.
When Jesus was at dinner in his house, a number of tax collectors and sinners were also sitting at the table with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many of them among his followers. When the scribes of the Pharisee party saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard this he said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.’
COOPERATING WITH GOD’S CHOICE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 SM 9:1-4,17-19,10:1; PS 21:2-7; MK 2:13-17]
In today’s Scripture readings, we see that God chooses people uniquely and differently according to His divine plan. What matters is that He calls each of us to cooperate in His plan, so that by serving Him–the author of life and all that is good–we may also share in His life, joy, and love. No one is excluded from the Kingdom of God, regardless of status, physical ability, intelligence, wealth, or circumstances. God calls each of us wherever we are.
In the first reading, God chose Saul to be the king of Israel, responding to the people’s desire for a monarch. Since a king in those days was also the military leader, Saul–tall and handsome–was well suited to lead the people. Indeed, “there was no one more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders taller than the rest of the people.” Recognising his suitability, the Lord commanded Samuel to anoint him. “Samuel took a phial of oil and poured it on Saul’s head; then he kissed him, saying, ‘Has not the Lord anointed you prince over his people Israel? You are the man who must rule the Lord’s people, and who must save them from the power of the enemies surrounding them.'”
The tragedy of Saul’s kingship was that he failed to fulfil his role as God’s anointed. He did not exercise his authority on behalf of Yahweh; instead, power, authority, and wealth went to his head. Saul began to believe that his abilities and personal attributes made him powerful, and that the kingship was his by right. He abused his authority and disobeyed the commands of the Lord, forgetting that his position was a gift of God’s grace. Without God’s blessing, he would never have been king. Because of this failure to recognise God’s choice and his own role as a deputy of the Lord, Saul coveted his throne. Instead of being grateful to David, who helped him subdue Israel’s enemies, he became jealous of David’s success, seeing him as a threat to his kingship and repeatedly seeking to eliminate him (cf. 1 Sm 18:6-16).
Many of us behave like Saul. Some of us are gifted with talents from the Lord, yet we take them for granted. We may even believe that our achievements are solely the result of our hard work, intelligence, creativity, or ingenuity. We think highly of ourselves because of the positions we hold–whether in the civil service, the corporate world, politics, or the Church–and enjoy being recognised, served, and honoured by others. Over time, however, pride can take hold. We begin to see ourselves as truly great, powerful, and indispensable, expecting respect, honour, and precedence wherever we go. Instead of being humbled by God’s mercy and using our gifts to serve Him and His people, we can misuse our authority and position for selfish purposes, forgetting that every office and privilege is given to us in trust and for a time.
Indeed, we must remember that our success is due to God’s grace and mercy alone. The psalmist reminds us: “O Lord, your strength gives joy to the king; how your saving help makes him glad! You have granted him his heart’s desire; you have not refused the prayer of his lips. You came to meet him with the blessings of success; you have set on his head a crown of pure gold. He asked you for life, and this you have given–days that will last from age to age. Your saving help has given him glory. You have laid upon him majesty and splendour; you have granted your blessings to him forever. You have made him rejoice with the joy of your presence.” Indeed, all things come from God’s grace and mercy alone.
In the Gospel, we encounter someone who seemed unworthy to be called by the Lord: a tax collector. He did not appear qualified to be a disciple, much less an apostle of Christ. As a tax collector, he profited handsomely through exorbitant taxes and was seen by the Jews as a traitor for working for the Romans. He was despised not only as a sinner but as a public sinner. It must have been a great surprise for Levi when the Lord said to him, “Follow me,” while he was at his usual work in the customs house. Yet, without hesitation or second thoughts, “he got up and followed him.”
In the case of Levi, he recognised that Jesus’ call to be His disciple was a great gift from God. It was not just anyone summoning him, but the Lord Himself. When the Lord calls, one cannot hesitate, delay, or compromise. Immediately, Levi left his customs house and followed Him. He was fully aware of his unworthiness and sinfulness, yet because Christ counted him worthy, he had the courage to leave everything behind and follow the Lord.
We are called to be like Levi today, finding our fulfilment in Christ. In the Gospel, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.” We are all “sick” in some way, and all “poor” in some way. The sick are not only those who are physically, mentally, or emotionally unwell; they include those who are spiritually sick, numb to their conscience through compromise, influenced by worldly values, unable to distinguish truth from falsehood, or disconnected from God. Similarly, the poor are not only the materially impoverished; the rich and powerful can also be poor–poor in love, generosity, and true friendship. Most importantly, they may be poor in spirit and therefore unable to encounter God’s love and mercy. Self-sufficiency in wealth, talents, or social status leads to dependence only on ourselves. Levi, though likely wealthy, had no true friends, no peace of mind, and no joy in his heart–he could feel the emptiness within. Truly, those of us who are rich or successful but without God and without love for the poor and suffering are spiritually poor as well.
What is significant about Levi is that, unlike Saul with his kingship, he did not seek to keep Jesus for himself. Having received the great gift of God’s love and mercy in Christ, Levi wanted to share it with others. He invited his friends to dine with Jesus in his house, unafraid that they too might receive His attention. Levi was not possessive of Jesus; he rejoiced in seeing others touched by His love. Having experienced Christ’s mercy, he effectively became an apostle even before being formally appointed. He reached out to fellow sinners–tax collectors like himself–so that they, too, could encounter God’s love and be healed. He could not resist making Jesus known and loved.
This is very unlike us. Most of us, when we encounter something beautiful, good, or lovely, want to possess it for ourselves–and this often extends even to friends. We can become jealous if our best friend loves or is loved by others. We desire exclusive attention from those we care about, fearing that they may give their love to someone else. Insecurity takes hold, jealousy rises, and we may even feel threatened, much like Saul did with David. The “green-eyed monster” controls us, and we begin to resent those who share in what we value instead of rejoicing with them. When we act this way, we fail in our calling as apostles of the Lord; we withhold Jesus from those who need Him. This is what the Pharisees and Scribes did–they prevented sinners from coming to God, ostracising them as outcasts. But for Jesus, the call is the opposite: we must go out to those in need, reach out with love and mercy, live among them, and invite them to dine with the Lord.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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