The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to reflect on the gift of Wisdom that we seek to apply in gratitude to our mission of compassion and care for all people.
The Reading from the First Letter of Kings presents the Early Promise of Solomon’s Reign.
* [3:1–15] The third major unit of the Solomon story depicts the bright beginning of his reign. It includes the narrator’s remarks about Solomon’s marriage and his building projects, and a divine appearance to Solomon. Compare 11:1–13, where the same themes recur, but in negative fashion. The story of the divine appearance is told also in 2 Chr 1:1–13. (1 Kings, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 119 delights in the law’s consolations and begs for wisdom to understand the precepts.
* [Psalm 119] This Psalm, the longest by far in the Psalter, praises God for giving such splendid laws and instruction for people to live by. The author glorifies and thanks God for the Torah, prays for protection from sinners enraged by others’ fidelity to the law, laments the cost of obedience, delights in the law’s consolations, begs for wisdom to understand the precepts, and asks for the rewards of keeping them. (Psalms, PSALM 119 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus interrupts the rest following the Return of the Twelve.
* [6:31–34] The withdrawal of Jesus with his disciples to a desert place to rest attracts a great number of people to follow them. Toward this people of the new exodus Jesus is moved with pity; he satisfies their spiritual hunger by teaching them many things, thus gradually showing himself the faithful shepherd of a new Israel; cf. Nm 27:17; Ez 34:15. (Mark, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)
Tom Lenz comments that what Jesus clearly taught his Apostles about dealing with stress is probably something we should pay attention to, as well. In our over-stimulated, constantly connected to electronic media-type world, Jesus teaches us to disengage from all the noise and retreat to a place where none of the distractions exist. It reminds me of Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.” We don’t need fancy equipment and expensive technology. We just need to be still.
There is one more piece to this Gospel reading that I also found strikingly wonderful. The final sentence tells us that even though Jesus and the Apostles retreated from the crowds and stress, they/it followed them. They “disembarked and saw the vast crowd.” This is so relatable. Sometimes we are only able to retreat for a short time, but the stressors still exist – almost like they follow us wherever we go. But “his [Jesus] heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.” Through the grace of God, their compassion, strength, and motivation were renewed. God did not abandon them. God provided them with what they needed to feel renewed and to keep doing the good work. What wonderful comfort that gives us today. (Lenz, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “The good shepherd feeds us with the words of God,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The pastures that this good shepherd has prepared for you, in which he has settled you for you to take your fill, are not various kinds of grasses and green things, among which some are sweet to the taste, some extremely bitter, which as the seasons succeed one another are sometimes there and sometimes not. Your pastures are the words of God and his commandments, and they have all been sown as sweet grasses. These pastures had been tasted by that man who said to God, 'How sweet are your words to my palate, more so than honey and the honeycomb in my mouth!' (Psalm 119:103)."(excerpt from Sermon 366.3) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 6:30-34 comments that Jesus invites us every day to come away with him. He might even lead us to spend a longer time—maybe a day or half day—on retreat with him.
He loves to pour his life into you, to mold your heart, and to give you his strength.
Every day is a new opportunity to say yes to Jesus’ invitation. Will you hear his voice calling you to “rest a while” with him? You could begin as soon as you finish reading this meditation! Tell the Lord about your hopes for the day ahead; share what’s weighing on your heart; thank him for being so close to you. And if you are able, think about how, sometime in the near future, you might set aside a few hours, or even a whole day, to come away with him. You could spend some time at a local shrine or other holy place, or you could attend a Lenten retreat at your parish. Explore what’s going on near you in the coming weeks. Whatever you do, let Jesus fill and restore you.
“Lord, fill me with your life and your love, and empower me to serve your people.” (Meditation on Mark 6:30-34, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments that in 1 Kings Solomon goes to Gibeon and he dreams and he asks for wisdom so that he might rule the people well. Solomon became known as “the wisest of men”, with a knowledge of science, solutions to riddles, and even alchemy. Jesus takes the disciples to rest and it reminds us to pull back and recharge the batteries. Friar Jude notes that Jesus sees “sheep without a shepherd”, a role missing in the religious leaders of Israel, and a role that Jesus takes on personally and as a mission for His followers to care for the flock.
Father Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Author J. Dana Trent who imagines the radical possibilities that could arise if we practiced communal Jubilee and Sabbath.
And Sabbath is practiced in community: “God did not give this commandment to a person but to a people, knowing that only those who rested together would be equipped to resist together,” Barbara Brown Taylor writes in The Christian Century. Keeping Sabbath not only prevents our own exhaustion but also defends against the exploitation of others.
Real Sabbath, Brown Taylor insists, is done in community each week and every seven years, Leviticus 25-style. Everyone and everything are affected: Land and animals are given rest; debts are forgiven; those who work in bondage (literally or metaphorically) are freed. It’s the kind of wild community cooperation we’ve come to expect from a triune God….
Sabbath as resistance is nearly impossible to practice in isolation. We must opt out of mammon to create new systems of care for the marginalized in our communities. Like Mohandas Gandhi’s satyagraha (“truth force”) movement, our positive duty is to create spaces that foster truth, love, nonviolence, fearlessness, tolerance, and the dissolution of the U.S. “caste” system. (Rohr, n.d.)
We implore the Spirit to sharpen our vision and understanding of the need for sabbath times to transform our somewhat distorted vision of the “good life” to see the people and situations we have excluded from our concerns.
References
Lenz, T. (n.d.). Daily Reflections. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved February 7, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-february-7-2026
Mark, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 7, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/6?30
Meditation on Mark 6:30-34. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved February 7, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/02/07/1495584/
1 Kings, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 7, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1kings/3?4
Psalms, PSALM 119 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 7, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/119?9
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved February 7, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/sabbath-and-jubilee-economics-weekly-summary/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Come Away and Rest a While. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 7, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/
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