20200208 FINDING FOCUS IN
OUR VOCATION
08 February,
2020, Saturday, 4th Week of Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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1 Kings 3:4-13 ©
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Solomon chooses the gift of wisdom
King Solomon went
to Gibeon to sacrifice there, since that was the greatest of the high
places – Solomon offered a thousand holocausts on that altar. At Gibeon
the Lord appeared in a dream to Solomon during the night. God said, ‘Ask what
you would like me to give you.’ Solomon replied, ‘You showed great kindness to
your servant David, my father, when he lived his life before you in
faithfulness and justice and integrity of heart; you have continued this great
kindness to him by allowing a son of his to sit on his throne today. Now, O
Lord my God, you have made your servant king in succession to David my father.
But I am a very young man, unskilled in leadership. Your servant finds himself
in the midst of this people of yours that you have chosen, a people so many its
number cannot be counted or reckoned. Give your servant a heart to understand
how to discern between good and evil, for who could govern this people of yours
that is so great?’ It pleased the Lord that Solomon should have asked for this.
‘Since you have asked for this’ the Lord said ‘and not asked for long life for
yourself or riches or the lives of your enemies, but have asked for a
discerning judgement for yourself, here and now I do what you ask. I give you a
heart wise and shrewd as none before you has had and none will have after you.
What you have not asked I shall give you too: such riches and glory as no other
king ever had.’
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 118(119):9-14 ©
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Lord,
teach me your statutes.
How
shall the young remain sinless?
By
obeying your word.
I
have sought you with all my heart;
let
me not stray from your commands.
Lord,
teach me your statutes.
I
treasure your promise in my heart
lest
I sin against you.
Blessed
are you, O Lord;
teach
me your statutes.
Lord,
teach me your statutes.
With
my tongue I have recounted
the
decrees of your lips.
I
rejoiced to do your will
as
though all riches were mine.
Lord,
teach me your statutes.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jn10:27
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
The
sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says
the Lord,
I
know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 6:30-34 ©
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They were like sheep without a shepherd
The apostles
rejoined Jesus and told him all they had done and taught. Then he said to them,
‘You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a
while’; for there were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time
even to eat. So they went off in a boat to a lonely place where they could be
by themselves. But people saw them going, and many could guess where; and from
every town they all hurried to the place on foot and reached it before them. So
as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because
they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at
some length.
FINDING FOCUS IN
OUR VOCATION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 KGS 3:4-13; MK 6:30-34 ]
We all have been given a
vocation in life.
It is when we live out our vocation that we find meaning, purpose, self-worth
and identity. A person who lives without clarity of his vocation will
live an aimless, meaningless and empty life. That is why it is important
to be conscious of our vocation. Yet, knowing our vocation does not mean
that everything will go smoothly for us. The truth is that there are
vocations within a vocation. A person who is a doctor if married is also
a spouse and a parent. He or she also has to look after the well-being of
the family and extended family besides the community. As a consequence,
we are rather fragmented in the way we live our lives, because of demands that
are made on us from all quarters, and everything seems to be urgent and
important. So we find ourselves trying to attend to everyone’s needs and
as a consequence, we feel burnt out and dissipated.
This is why the Lord
invites us to take a break, not just to rest but to refresh ourselves with the
Word of God and His love. “The
apostles rejoined Jesus and told him all they had done and taught. Then
he said to them. ‘You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and
rest for a while’; for there were so many coming and going that the apostles
had no time even to eat. So they went off in a boat to a lonely place
where they could be by themselves.” Jesus could sense that they were
tired after a long journey proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom. We
cannot continue working all the time without rest and being recharged.
This is the only way to
keep ourselves focused on our vocation in life. Today, we have the
example of King Solomon. When
the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Ask what you would like me to
give you.” It is very significant that Solomon did not ask for riches or
power so that he could subdue his enemies or make the country rich. Rather,
with deep humility he told the Lord, “I am a very young man, unskilled in
leadership. Your servant finds himself in the midst of this people of
yours that you have chosen, a people so many its number cannot be counted or
reckoned. Give your servant a heart to understand how to discern between
good and evil, for who could govern this people of yours that is so great?”
Solomon took his primary
vocation as King seriously. Hence
he asked for what was most important for him as King. Surely, it is not
about riches, honor and power. As king, he was called to serve his people
well, to govern them so that all can live in unity and peace. Only when
there is harmony in the country, can they then work together to grow the
country and make it strong and prosperous. When there is no order or
justice in the country, we cannot speak of growing our economy or the country
because we will spend our time fighting among ourselves and cheating each other
instead of working together for the common good of all. Indeed, all leaders
must foster justice and harmony, whether in the country, in the office, in the
community or at home. This is the primary role of any political or
religious leader.
Hence, Solomon asked
only for one thing, that he has a discerning heart and mind so that he could
guide his people to live a life of integrity, obedient to the commands of the
Lord, and walk in His ways and truth.
Discernment is a most necessary quality of a leader because he is often
confronted with many options and choices presented to him. Not only he is
required to make decisions for the good of the country or organization but he
is also required to discern who could best help him to carry out the work of
good governance. Indeed, unless a leader has a discerning mind, he would
be reacting to every situation according to his whims and fancies motivated by
his insecurities. He would only bring destruction to his country and
organization. A leader must be fair, impartial and just.
How, then, do we
recharge ourselves? Firstly, we must be grateful for the task the Lord
has appointed us. When
we are called to a particular vocation in life, it is not simply our hard work
or doing but purely the grace of God. Every vocation is a call from
God. We are all called to do different things for God and His
people. A vocation is inspired by God. With the vocation, God also
supplies the necessary talents and charisms for us to do the work. That
is why we must be grateful for our vocation and never take it for granted,
regardless whether we are a doctor, lawyer, engineer, teacher, priest or
religious. Instead of feeling high and mighty that we have been promoted
to a certain office, we should be humble and grateful like King Solomon who
told the Lord, “You showed great kindness to your servant David, my father,
when he lived his life before you in faithfulness and justice and integrity of
heart; you have continued this great kindness to him by allowing a son of his
to sit on his throne today.” Only those who are grateful for their
vocation and appointments will serve with devotion, passion and with humility.
Secondly, we must open
the channel for the Lord to speak to us. We read that “King Solomon went to Gibeon to
sacrifice there, since that was the greatest of the high places – he offered a
thousand holocausts on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared in a dream to
Solomon during the night.” Solomon offered sacrifice to the Lord.
The holocausts that he sacrificed were but a symbolic way of offering himself
for the service of the Lord. He was making himself available to the
Lord. Like Mary, we must be ready to say, “Here am I, the servant of the
Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38) We, too, must offer the
sacrifice of ourselves, our willingness to be at His service for the greater
good of the people. Every vocation is a service and calls for
self-sacrifice. It is not about us, our glory, our wealth and power or interests.
Every vocation is for the service of the common good. We are all called
to be shepherds for our people. Many are hungry for the Word of God,
seeking for meaning and purpose in life, for peace, joy and happiness.
Thirdly, we must seek
the Word of God and the Eucharistic bread. It is significant that when the Lord “stepped
ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like
sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some
length.” This was then followed by the multiplication of loaves for
the five thousand. (Mk 6:35-44) Indeed, every leader needs
to be fed by the Word of God and the Eucharist so that he could be enlightened
in the truth and be identified with the Lord as he receives the
Eucharist. Without feeding on the Word of God and the Eucharist, he will
lose energy, passion and strength to feed his people. His ministry will
be sterile and ineffective. This is what the psalmist also urges
us. “How shall the young remain sinless? By obeying your word. I have
sought you with all my heart; let me not stray from your commands. I
treasure your promise in my heart lest I sin against you. Blessed are you,
O Lord; teach me your statutes. With my tongue I have
recounted the decrees of your lips. I rejoiced to do your will as though
all riches were mine.”
Indeed, when we are
sincere in doing the Lord’s will and living out our vocation in life, God will
bless us and help us to fulfill our task on earth. Along with what we ask, which is to be
faithful to our vocation, God will supply the rest and whatever is necessary
for us to undertake the task. God will not ask us to do things that He
has not given to us. That is why discernment is always necessary.
Not everything, even good things and opportunities, is from the Lord. It
can be just a distraction by the Evil One who comes under the guise of an
angel. Rather, with a discerning heart and mind like King Solomon, we
must seek His will and wisdom as to what He wants us to accomplish for
Him. This was what the Lord said to Solomon, “Since you have asked for
this and not asked for long life for yourself or riches or the lives of your
enemies, but have asked for a discerning judgement for yourself, here and now I
do what your ask. I give you a heart wise and shrewd as none before you
has had and none will have after you. What you have not asked I shall
give you too: such riches and glory as no other king ever had.”
Truly, those who seek the Lord and His will, will be blessed in many ways as
well. May we always have the heart of a compassionate shepherd.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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