Four responses towards one's mission in life are described in the readings this Sunday. They range from despair to enthusiasm, obligation to freedom.

Job was a broken man due to a string of personal tragedies causing him to see life as a hopeless drudgery. Rather than surrendering totally to God, he clung on to the conviction of his self-righteousness before the Lord. Pride hinders his moving on in life.

Simon's mother-in-law on the contrary showed urgency and enthusiasm for the new life given her the moment Jesus healed her. She wasted no time and began to wait on Jesus and His disciples.

Following his conversion, St. Paul saw in his new life, his proclamation of the Good News, as an obligation that he could not turn down. In this regard, he exercised much flexibility and creativity by making himself "all things to all men in order to save some at any cost" (1Cor.9:19).

Finally, one sees Jesus, the giver of life, who freely dispenses gratuitous service. He attended to the needs of the whole town, working through the night without rest except to set time aside to pray. And when told of His popularity, He did not cling on to this but freely moved on to other towns for the benefit of the people there too. What then is our attitude and response to our life mission?