20260212 GLOBALISATION A BOON OR A BANE TO OUR RELIGIOUS IDENTITY
12 February 2026, Thursday, 5th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | 1 Kings 11:4-13 |
For the sake of my servant David, I will leave you one tribe
When Solomon grew old his wives swayed his heart to other gods; and his heart was not wholly with the Lord his God as his father David’s had been. Solomon became a follower of Astarte, the goddess of the Sidonians, and of Milcom, the Ammonite abomination. He did what was displeasing to the Lord, and was not a wholehearted follower of the Lord, as his father David had been. Then it was that Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the god of Moab on the mountain to the east of Jerusalem, and to Milcom the god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who offered incense and sacrifice to their gods.
The Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned from the Lord the God of Israel who had twice appeared to him and who had then forbidden him to follow other gods; but he did not carry out the Lord’s order. The Lord therefore said to Solomon, ‘Since you behave like this and do not keep my covenant or the laws I laid down for you, I will most surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. For your father David’s sake, however, I will not do this during your lifetime, but will tear it out of your son’s hands. Even so, I will not tear the whole kingdom from him. For the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen, I will leave your son one tribe.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 105(106):3-4,35-37,40 |
O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.
They are happy who do what is right,
who at all times do what is just.
O Lord, remember me
out of the love you have for your people.
O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.
But instead they mingled with the nations
and learned to act as they did.
They worshipped the idols of the nations
and these became a snare to entrap them.
O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.
They even offered their own sons
and their daughters in sacrifice to demons,
till his anger blazed against his people;
he was filled with horror at his chosen ones.
O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps144:13 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and loving in all his deeds.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jm1:21 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept and submit to the word
which has been planted in you
and can save your souls.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 7:24-30 |
The astuteness of the Syro-Phoenician woman
Jesus left Gennesaret and set out for the territory of Tyre. There he went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not pass unrecognised. A woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him straightaway and came and fell at his feet. Now the woman was a pagan, by birth a Syrophoenician, and she begged him to cast the devil out of her daughter. And he said to her, ‘The children should be fed first, because it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ But she spoke up: ‘Ah yes, sir,’ she replied ‘but the house-dogs under the table can eat the children’s scraps.’ And he said to her, ‘For saying this, you may go home happy: the devil has gone out of your daughter.’ So she went off to her home and found the child lying on the bed and the devil gone.
GLOBALISATION A BOON OR A BANE TO OUR RELIGIOUS IDENTITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 Kgs 11:4-13; Ps 106:3-4,35-37,40; Mk 7:24-30]
We are living in a highly globalised world where there is increasing interconnectedness among the world’s populations, cultures, and economies through trade, the exchange of services and ideas, and the rapid flow of information, propelled by advances in transportation and technology. Today, very few countries remain homogeneous in terms of population, culture, or religion. Even countries that seek to preserve their cultural, racial, or religious identity are experiencing a growing influx of migrants. It has become increasingly difficult to shield ourselves from economic, political, cultural, and technological globalisation if we wish to expand our economy and maintain influence in the world.
How do we approach inclusivity with respect to migrant communities while preserving our religious identity? Should we exclude people of other races or backgrounds out of fear that they may dilute our homogeneity? Do we fear that they may weaken our culture and cause us to lose our identity as Christians? The reality is that the situation remains fluid. Inclusivity can, on the one hand, lead to the erosion of religious and cultural identity; on the other hand, it can enrich our community culturally, politically, religiously, and economically. How we manage globalisation will determine whether we lose our identity and soul, or whether we expand our tent and share our cultural and religious values with others. If we do the latter, our faith, our community, and our religious identity will not only be enriched but also strengthened. Indeed, today’s Scripture readings offer us valuable insights into addressing this challenge within the secular, multi-religious, multi-racial, and globalised society in which we live.
In the first reading from the Book of Kings, we are told that as Solomon grew older, “his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. Solomon followed Astarte, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites.” How did this happen? How could Solomon, who began his reign so well, end so poorly? At the beginning of his reign, he turned to God and sought from Him the gift of wisdom in order to rule His people well. He was focused on devotion to God and service to his people. These concerns occupied him day and night. Indeed, he prospered greatly, as the Queen of Sheba herself testified: “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your accomplishments and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. Not even half had been told me; your wisdom and prosperity far surpass the report that I had heard” (1 Kgs 10:6-7).
Firstly, Solomon’s marriages to foreign women, particularly foreign princesses, were likely motivated more by political convenience than by genuine marital relationships. The reference to Solomon having seven hundred wives is probably an exaggeration. In those days, such marriages were a common means of sealing political alliances and maintaining peace among nations. This explains why there was initially no strong moral indictment against him when these marriages took place, even though they were contrary to the Law of Moses (cf. Dt 17:17). The people regarded them as pragmatic political decisions.
The downside, however, was that with the entry of foreign wives and princesses came the influence of pagan religions and practices introduced by them. This gradually adulterated the faith of Israel, particularly weakening the fervour of the king in worshipping the God of Israel. In order to please his foreign wives, Solomon even built temples for their worship. Soon, he himself participated in their ceremonies and became distracted, engaging in the worship of other gods. As Scripture recounts, “He did what was displeasing to the Lord and was not a wholehearted follower of the Lord, as his father David had been. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the god of Moab on the mountain east of Jerusalem, and for Milcom the god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who offered incense and sacrifice to their gods.”
Secondly, for a country to grow and prosper, it must engage in trade and relations with other nations, even when they do not share the same beliefs. There was no way for Israel to isolate itself from its neighbours, and this reality is even more evident today. No country can survive without being interconnected with others. Through economic, cultural, technological, political, and even religious exchanges, societies can grow in mutual understanding and learn to live in harmony for mutual benefit. Among many religions today, there is also a growing recognition that there is no other way to keep peace among believers except to strengthen inter-religious dialogue.
Yet there is also a downside to such exchanges. With the global exchange of ideas, cultures, and values, people may gradually absorb all kinds of values and ideas that unsettle our cultural and religious identity. In a flood of ideas that emphasise individual freedom and the supremacy of human intellect without reference to God or the Sacred in human life, society has become increasingly secular. So much so that public conversations often exclude God, as religious perspectives are considered subjective or lacking scientific objectivity. At the opposite extreme, some, disillusioned by the secular world, turn toward extremist ideologies or religious fundamentalism, believing they have a mission to convert the whole world by force and might. In either case, it becomes increasingly difficult to manage relationships and to secure peace and harmony among peoples of different cultures and religions.
What, then, is the way forward between these extremes in managing globalisation and inclusivity? In the Gospel, Jesus offers us a way of embracing those who are different from us in race, culture, or faith. Jesus left Gennesaret and went to the region of Tyre, thereby entering Gentile territory. Tyre and Sidon lay outside the borders of Galilee and were populated by a mixed community. By placing this episode immediately after Jesus’ teaching on what is clean and unclean, Mark wanted to underscore that if being clean requires purity of heart rather than from external ritual observance, then no one is truly clean in the eyes of God. If we are accepted, it is solely because of God’s grace and mercy. Consequently, there is no absolute separation between Jews and Gentiles, for all stand in need of God’s mercy, and through that mercy all are made clean.
Hence, Jesus’ reaching out to the Gentile woman was a recognition that she was clean. Jesus had no prejudice against her simply because she was a woman, and a Gentile. In His encounter with her, Jesus removed the distinctions that separated Jews from Gentiles and broke down the barriers that prevented people from coming to know God. He set aside social, religious, and political boundaries in order to meet the woman where she was. In doing so, He revealed the love and mercy of God that excludes no one, even though Israel remained the chosen people of God. Through His playful exchange with her, Jesus put her at ease, enabling her to express her faith in His healing power.
Likewise, while keeping our focus firmly on God, we must also remember that God loves every one of us. There is much goodness in every person, including within the cultures and religions from which people come. In our interaction with others, we should not feel threatened or intimidated by their beliefs and values. Rather, we should seek mutual enrichment–allowing ourselves to learn from them while also sharing the richness of our own faith. Ultimately, this requires that we strengthen our own faith and deepen our personal relationship with God. If we do not know our faith well or lack a personal relationship with the Lord, we may become confused through such encounters instead of being enriched by them. A true love of God, however, transcends boundaries and breaks down barriers, for God is often at work in ways beyond our understanding. We are called to share the Good News we have encountered in Christ; the rest depends on grace and faith.
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.
