20260206 FINDING FOCUS IN OUR VOCATION
07 February 2026, Saturday, 4th Week 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.
FINDING FOCUS IN OUR VOCATION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 KGS 3:4-13; PS 119: 9-14; 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 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. 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 must care for the well-being of the family and extended family, as well as the community. As a consequence, our lives can feel fragmented because of demands from all quarters, and everything seems urgent and important. We find ourselves trying to attend to everyone’s needs, and as a result, 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,” Solomon did not ask for riches or power to subdue his enemies or make the country wealthy. 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. He asked for what was most important for him as king–not riches, honour, or power. As king, he was called to serve his people well, to govern them so that all could live in unity and peace. Only when there is harmony in the country can people work together to grow the nation and make it strong and prosperous. Without order or justice, we cannot speak of growth because we will spend our time fighting among ourselves and cheating each other instead of working together for the common good. Indeed, all leaders must foster justice and harmony–whether in the country, the office, 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 be given a discerning heart and mind so that he could guide his people to live lives of integrity, obedient to the commands of the Lord, and walk in His ways and truth. Discernment is an essential quality for a leader because he is often confronted with many options and choices. Not only is he required to make decisions for the good of the country or organisation, but he must also discern who can best help him carry out the work of good governance. Indeed, without a discerning mind, a leader reacts to every situation according to whims and fancies motivated by insecurities, bringing only destruction to his country or organisation. 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, it is not simply our hard work that matters, but the grace of God. Every vocation is a call from God. We are all called to do different things for God and His people, and with each vocation, God supplies the necessary talents and charisms to accomplish the work. That is why we must be grateful for our vocation and never take it for granted, whether we are a doctor, lawyer, engineer, teacher, priest, or religious. Instead of feeling high and mighty because 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 humility.
Secondly, we must open the channel for the Lord to speak to us. We read, “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, and the holocausts he presented were a symbolic way of offering himself for the service of God. He made himself available to the Lord. Like Mary, we too 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 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, wealth, power, or interests. Every vocation exists for the service of the common good. We are all called to be shepherds for our people, many of whom are hungry for the Word of God, seeking meaning, purpose, 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 nourished by the Word of God and the Eucharist so that he can be enlightened in truth and be united with the Lord as he receives the Eucharist. Without feeding on the Word and the Eucharist, a leader will lose energy, passion, and strength to feed his people, and his ministry will become sterile and ineffective. This is what the psalmist urges as well: “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, God will bless us and help us fulfil our task on earth.Along with what we ask–faithfulness to our vocation–God will supply whatever else is necessary for us to undertake the task. God will not ask us to do what He has not equipped us to do. That is why discernment is always necessary. Not everything–even good things and opportunities–comes from the Lord; some may be distractions from the Evil One, who can appear as an angel of light. With a discerning heart and mind, like King Solomon, we must seek His will and wisdom to understand what He wants us to accomplish. 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 discerning judgment 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.” Truly, those who seek the Lord and His will will be blessed in many ways. May we always have the heart of a compassionate shepherd.
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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