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Proper
12: 8th Sunday after Pentecost
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1 Kings 3:5-12
At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and
God said, “Ask what I should give you.” And
Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my
father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness,
and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great
and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. And now, O Lord
my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I
am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of the people
whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or
counted. Give your servant therefore an
understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and
evil; for who can govern this your great people?” It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked
this. God said to him, “Because you have
asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the
life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what
is right, I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind;
no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you.”
On these Green Sundays in between Pentecost and Advent we have the
option between two Old Testament readings. Today I want to tell you about the other
reading, the one we have not heard. This
reading focuses on King Solomon.
Today I want for us to consider King Solomon, the son chosen by
King David to succeed him in leadership of the people of God. At some point following the transition of the
throne, God comes to Solomon in a dream. In the dream, God asks: "What shall I
give you?"
Can you imagine what this moment must have been like for Solomon? I dare say it's hard for us all to imagine
such a moment in which God is willing to give whatever we desire. We are told that Solomon responds to God in
such a way that he refers to himself as "a little child." There were indeed times when new kings who
followed in the footsteps of their father to become king were indeed children. Such does not apply to Solomon. He is a grown man. The fact that he refers to himself before God
as a child shows that this king has humility, especially before God. In that humility, the King asks for "an
understanding mind able to discern between good and evil."
The Scriptures tell us that God delighted in Solomon's response. This should not surprise any of us. The desire of this king is indeed good, and
how we long to see in those who are in leadership in our own generation the
wisdom and humility of Solomon.
But, my friends, the combination of wisdom and humility ought not
be desirable only in those who are in positions of high authority and
leadership. If we make this our desire
for others, the story of Solomon becomes an instrument of praise for some and
condemnation of others. What's missing in
that approach? The missing piece is the
effect of the Word of God on us individually.
Certainly, this scripture is intended for us all. All of us, in the various roles and
relationships we share with others, need to be filled with humility that leads
us to know what we know and what we don't know as well as the wisdom to say and
do the right thing, especially when that right thing is to say and do nothing,
to be present to listen rather than to speak.
Are we bold enough like Solomon to ask God to grant unto us the
gift of wisdom? Make no mistake about
the fact that this is a prayer that will delight God's heart. The Scriptures show this clearly. God delighted in Solomon's request and granted
that request joyfully. Here we find for
us a gracious invitation. In these words
of Scripture, we find a promise from God that if we are bold like Solomon, God
will hear and grant our request with delight.
This all sounds wonderful, doesn't it? The appointed reading for this Sunday ends
here, with God delighting in the request of Solomon. But here is where things get interesting.
I have often heard it said, and have repeated it a time or two,
that the most commonly prayed prayer is this: "Lord, give me patience, but
give it to me right now." When we
ask things of God, we often do so without considering how God might respond to
our request. When we do, we are tempted
to tell God how to respond. It makes us
uneasy that sometimes God makes us wait when we have prayed. We become anxious when God responds to our
prayers for the help of others by sending us to be the helper to those whom we
have lifted up to God for help. The
Church prays for God to raise up bishops, priests, deacons, monks and nuns,
faithful lay people, committed to serving the Gospel and loving others with the
love of Christ. And let me assure you
personally that when I began discerning the call to the priesthood, it scared
me more than words can express. Oh how I
tried to do my best impersonation of Jonah and run away. There is a reason for the often-repeated line:
"Be careful for what you pray; you might get it."
And yet there is a better way of wording the sentiments of that
popular comment. Our focus shouldn't be
so much on "you might get" what you have requested of God in prayer. Instead we should say: "Be careful for
what you pray; you might need it." And
if God grants the request, go back and change "you might need it" to
"you will need it, and soon."
God delights in Solomon's request for wisdom and grants that
request. In the very next verse, Solomon
wakes from sleep. The King goes
immediately to the Temple to offer sacrifice in thanksgiving for the gift
granted in the dream. And in the very
next verse, while the King is yet in the Temple worshipping God, the gift
granted becomes the gift needed.
Two women who lived together were both with child at the same time.
Both delivered sons at around the same
time. One night, while sleeping, one of
the women awoke and noticed that her son who slept at her side was dead. She had accidentally smothered him as they
slept. She rises, takes the dead child
and places it next to the other woman, then takes the living child as if he
were her son. In the morning, when the
other woman awoke and got past the initial shock of the dead child, she
observes that this dead child is not her son.
The women both lay claim to the living child. They are brought before King Solomon for his
judgment in their case. After hearing
them out, the King asks for the living child and a sword. He orders that the living child be divided in
half by the sword, and that each woman be given a half of the child.
One woman agrees and calls this fair. The other woman pleads for the life of the
child and asks the King to give the child alive and unharmed to the first
woman. And how does Solomon the Wise
respond to the request of the later woman? The King orders that the child be given
unharmed to her who was willing to give him up in order to protect the child. By her sacrifice, Solomon is convinced that
she is the mother of this child and that she is the one who has told the truth.
Those who witnessed this decree perceived that the King showed
wisdom and discernment. They offered
praise to God for these divine gifts. We
join them today. We long for such
wisdom. We pray that God will raise up persons
in our own day who are filled with the wisdom, humility and discernment of God
to know and to say and do what is right and good and which builds up the
Kingdom of God. Only be careful, for
once we have so prayed, God might just tap us on the shoulder and send us in
response to our prayers. And should God
do so, never fear. God gives us what we
need, and when we need it. Therefore, we
need not become anxious. Rather, like Paul, we can say: "I can do all
things through Christ who strengthens me."
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Father Timothy Alleman
Rector of The Church of the Holy Cross
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