Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Thursday of the fifth week in ordinary time, February 12th, 2026

Delivered by Nia from the Parish of Good Shepherd in the Diocese of Surabaya, Indonesia. 1 Kings 11: 4-13; Rs psalm 106: 3-4.35-36.37.40; Mark 7: 24-30.UNITY IS A CALLING The title for ourmeditation today is: Unity Is a Calling. A 75-year-old man asked the ParishPriest to be baptized and accepted into the Catholic Church. His has been a nonbeliever person. The priest gave him special preparation before the actual riteof baptism served. Shortly after joining the catechumenate, his 72-year-old wifealso asked for baptism. So the Parish Priest prepared them together. When someasked them about this, they simply said: it is never too late to believe inGod. The step taken bythat elderly couple is a true expression of unity as a calling. God does notneed unity or fellowship, but we need it so we can be united with Him. Ashumans in this world our calling leads us to come the point of that unity. Butthis is not an easy thing to do. King Solomon's failure to maintain untiy withGod is an example for us. He did not follow the example of his father, KingDavid. Solomon's greatestsin that made him condemned by God was because he followed the will of hiswives who had no faith in God. His wives worshiped gods. God's wrath reallytroubled his kingdom. When the kingdom was continued by Solomon's son, itexperienced great divisions. The punishment for sin against the Holy Spirit isa destruction and cannot be forgiven, Jesus says this in the scriptures. Solomon wasresponsible for the division and the loss of unity that had been inherited tohim with a great trust. The most obvious of which was the separation betweenthe non believers and the believers. It's commonly understood that nonbelievers are the evil ones and do not have chance to believe in the Lord. The believerswill become defiled and unclean when they interact, touch, and communicate withinfidels. There is no possibility to have relationship with those unbelievers.They are basically considered as sinners.  It is precisely inthis sense we should say that the believers are the ones who create divisions.Unbelievers always try to live well as human beings and work for their livingin this world. In their hearts there are seeds of faith which are just waitingto be revealed, then they can look at and believe in God. Jesus opens the wayfor them. He opens the heart of the infidels, widening the way for them to walktoward God. Jesus is wiser and greater than Solomon, because he unites peopleof faith with those who are considered infidels. The same task that we mustcontinue at this time. Today it is not suitable to consider and treat others asinfidels!Let's pray. In the name of the Father... O Lord of wisdom, enrich us with Your wisdom, that we can create andmaintain the unity among us, and not to destroy it with division. Hail Mary,full of grace ... In the name of the Father ...