20220205 A DISCERNING MIND REQUIRES A DISCERNING HEART
05 February, 2022, Saturday, Week 4 in Ordinary Time
First reading | 1 Kings 3:4-13 © |
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.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 118(119):9-14 © |
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.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn10:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 6:30-34 © |
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.
A DISCERNING MIND REQUIRES A DISCERNING HEART
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 KGS 3:4-13; MK 6:30-34]
What makes a leader great is a discerning heart and not just a discerning intellect. It is not necessarily true that those with high IQ and skills make good leaders. They can be good workers, dedicated to their job and excel in research and study, but they may lack the EQ to make decisions that are effective on the ground and that touches the hearts of the people. Efficiency and good organization skills do not always win over the hearts of the people. Logic alone cannot win over people’s loyalty and commitment. We can see this clearly especially in politics, in religions and even in public issues like vaccination to prevent serious ill-health from Covid 19 infection. In spite of all the logical explanations many are not won over or are convinced that it is the right thing to do. Why? Because of mistrust, suspicion of conspiracy, fear of the unknown.
Hence, when King Solomon who was overwhelmed by the responsibilities passed on to him by his father, King David, he was anxious and felt inadequate for the task. He said to God, “Now, 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?” In asking for a discerning heart, he was not asking for a greater intellectual capacity to understand situations or knowledge of sciences and military skills.
To ask for a discerning heart is to ask for the capacity to use the heart, the gut, to complement intellectual knowledge. A case in point which is omitted in the lectionary is Solomon’s wise and practical judgment on two women who gave birth. But one of the babies died because the mother slept on him. So the mother exchanged her dead baby with the other baby when the other mother was sleeping. When they brought their case to King Solomon, his solution to determine the real mother was simply to order for the baby to be cut in two and to give half to each of the woman. When the mother of the boy heard it, she cried out, “Please, my lord, give her the living boy; certainly do not kill him!” The other said, “It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it.” Then the king responded: “Give the first woman the living boy; do not kill him. She is his mother.” (1 Kg 3:26f) King Solomon’s judgment was based on the heart, not only logic. The other mother thought logically and agreed that the boy be cut in two because she had no heart for the baby. The real mother, moved by a burning compassion for her son, naturally pleaded for his life to be spared.
Unfortunately, Solomon’s discerning heart only applied to the question of justice, and in making decisions for others, but he was blind to his own sins. He lacked prudential judgment in managing his own life. “Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt; he took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into the city of David. The people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had yet been built for the name of the Lord. Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David; only, he sacrificed and offered incense at the high places.” (1 Kg 3:1-3) Although he loved the Lord and obeyed his statutes, it was unwise of Solomon to bring foreign wives into his kingdom for political convenience as it also meant bringing in the foreign gods which the author blames for the failure of the monarchy, because of the spread of idolatry, leading to the abandonment of Yahweh and the Covenant and its laws. Such was the tragedy of King Solomon. He started rightly and well but ended badly because his discerning heart lacked a spiritual dimension.
In the gospel, we see the discerning heart of our Lord, the Good Shepherd at work. Firstly, we are told how the “apostles rejoined Jesus and told him all they had done and taught.” It was important that the apostles who were sent out on mission earlier came back to report to Jesus and to share with Him their encounters and experiences so that Jesus could guide them. Indeed, as leaders, we never lead alone, but we must always consult others so that we could have their views and counsel, especially those who were leaders before us. We must never think that we have the right and the best solution or strategy. It is through sharing with our collaborators and with our spiritual director that we can discern properly, not just intellectually but with the heart and the Spirit of God guiding us, forming us through our experiences, successes and failures.
Secondly, the Lord told them that the best place to listen with the heart is in the desert. He said to them, “You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while.” And the evangelist made a comment, “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.” The great temptation for leaders is that we work and work without rest and more often without prayer and recollection. We are used to being in action, creating and thinking new projects and ideas. But we are not good at listening to what the Spirit is saying to us through events and situations. This is why, since we are missionary disciples, we must always be in tune with our Lord. When our Lord chose His disciples, He chose them first to be with Him before He sent them out.
Thirdly, whilst prayer and contemplation are primary before we are sent out, yet, it is not absolute all the time. Some of us can be so inflexible with regard to our programs and personal time-table that we would not accommodate any disruption of any sort at any time. Everything must go according to our time-table. We would not make exceptions even when the necessity arises. This is where once again, we need to have a discerning heart. Whereas it is good and important that we must be disciplined in our personal schedule, especially with regards to prayer, yet we must know when we need to make exceptions when the need arises. Of course, such a situation cannot be happening all the time. If that were so, it shows we lack a discerning heart as to whether we should respond immediately or wait till another time because the matter is not important even if it could be urgent. We need a compassionate and discerning heart to make wise decisions that call for a disruption to our routine and schedule. Being rigid means that we are only operating with logic and not with the heart that feels with people.
Jesus leads the way by delaying the much-needed rest of the apostles and His as well, when “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.” The people had heard of the wonders and great things worked by the apostles and our Lord. This explains why the people could recognize them. And when they “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.” They were desperate and hungry for the Word of God. Even though our Lord was tired and needed rest as much as the apostles, Jesus went out of His way to reach out to them and taught them “at some length” which means for a long time until it was late.
In the following episode of the multiplication of loaves, again the apostles wanted to get rid of the people quickly when it was dark. They said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.” (Mk 6:35f) Their reaction again lacked a discerning heart. Logically, it was the best thing to do for it would be difficult to feed the five thousand with five loaves and two fishes. So to avoid responsibility for the people, their recommendation was to send them away to buy food, but even then at such hour, it would be hard for all the people to secure food. But Jesus acted in faith which goes beyond logic and asked the people to sit in groups. As the Good Shepherd, He fed them all and still had twelve basketfuls of leftover.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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