Theme: There is no greater gift than the “rest in Jesus”.
Scripture: 1 King 3:4-15; Ps. 118:9-14; Mk. 6:30-34
We hear in the readings today that God is pleased with Solomon and his disciples. In the first reading, Solomon after listening to his father David, did exactly what his father had told him. He was asked to follow the ordinances, commands, statutes and decrees of the Lord by Moses. He went to Gibeon. It was a place of the tabernacle. Moses had guided them to make the tabernacle. It was on a high mountain. Solomon walked 4 to 5 miles from Jerusalem to make the burnt offerings to the Lord. He offered 1000 burnt offerings to the Lord. Never was it known that such offering was made to God. This was the first act of Solomon. It pleased God because Solomon sought blessings of the Lord at the beginning of his kingship. Solomon did not ask honour and riches for himself but the wisdom to rule his kingdom. God blessed him with wisdom and all the graces. Solomon could get favours from the Lord when he followed the ordinances, commands and statutes of God.
The disciples were also did well when they returned from their mission. They too had followed the instructions of Jesus. We can conclude that the disciples were definitely successful for many people were coming and going. They did not have time to eat. The success of the mission was not in achieving people’s attention but the reward from Jesus. He took them away to a deserted place by himself. A reward of being in his presence cannot be compared with anything else on earth. Being with Jesus means heaven itself. All the riches in heaven and on earth are summed up in Jesus. Jesus gave them rest in himself. The most wonderful reward comes when you follow the instructions of the Lord: resting in Jesus where is no worry, no tension, no fear, no fight, etc.
We too have been given a mission in our lives. God has also given the instructions through the teaching of the mother Church. The success of the mission is not in achieving merits in material things e.g. accomplishing targets and goals. But the success of the mission is in fulfilling the instructions of Jesus, being faithful to Jesus. Missionary saints had unfulfilled mission in their lives e.g. St. Francis Xavier wanted to enter in China. St. Teresa of Lisieux prayed for the conversion of China. They could not get what they dreamt in their life time. Yet both of them are called the patrons of missions because they followed the instructions of Jesus in their lives. They are successful only because they followed the instructions of the Lord. God rewarded them best gift: the rest in Jesus. We are called to do the same.
Fr. Alex D’Mello
