Saturday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Have you ever asked God for anything? Sometimes God doesn’t grant what we ask for or at least in the way we expect. Today’s first reading shows us an example of petitionary prayer. God asked Solomon what he wanted. Then, Solomon asked for wisdom so that he may be able to serve his people well. It was a selfless request, a gift that helps others rather than himself. In our own prayer, God too asks us what we want. This might seem strange especially if you are used to thinking of a relationship with God in which you are the one giving to God rather than the other way around. On the other hand, this might not seem strange to you. Sometimes I think we ask God for things before God asks us what we want. However, when confronted with that question, we are asked to discern our answer. When God asks you what you want, what will your answer be?
In today’s Gospel, Jesus called the Apostles to go to a deserted place and rest. To pray and discern our gifts, we need rest and solitude. Eventually, when the crowd caught up with them, Jesus taught those people since “they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34). Likewise, we are to learn from Jesus how to use our gifts to help others.
To return back to Solomon, I think that God already gave him wisdom before he asked for it. It’s just that he didn’t recognize it. This is a good reflection for us too. What gifts and talents do you have that you can use to benefit the community? Has anyone pointed out gifts that they see in you but that you didn’t know you had? Sometimes we need an outside voice to help us see our potential.
When God says to you, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you” (1 Kings 3:5), what will you say? I thought of a quote by Frederick Buechner that you can use as a source of reflection: “The place God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
-Sr. Emily Sandoval, FMI