|
Proper 12, Year
A I Kings
3:5-12
Wisdom Personified Solomon’s name looms large in our first reading for today. His reputation for wisdom is so widespread that when we hear the name of Solomon, we often associate it with wisdom. In scripture, Solomon is credited with the Book of Ecclesiastes and the Book of Proverbs. What could be wiser than the Book of Proverbs? Many Christians read it through every month just to absorb the wisdom of Solomon. Jesus drew from Proverbs, and St. Paul quotes Proverbs in his letter to the Romans. They knew, as every preacher knows – those ideas will preach. Part of the wisdom of Solomon was that he was present to his surroundings and simply stated the obvious. To the Book of Ecclesiastes we owe the beautiful piece of prose that begins, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.” Books have been written using that theme. Modern songwriters have made a good living on a song using those very words. But where did Solomon get all that wisdom in the first place? It wasn’t present in his human nature. Perhaps in worshiping God, Solomon realized that God is very very big, and that Solomon was very very small by comparison. He asked God to give him something of God’s self. Solomon obviously had mustard seed faith – faith that seemed very small that turned into something big. Here we are - still talking about it almost three thousand years later. His experience also gives us a standard to go by when we are faced with tasks that overwhelm us. We can pray for wisdom to do the right thing at the right time. We also pray for wisdom in the Serenity Prayer, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Solomon’s father David had won the kingdom by brute force. David was a shepherd turned warrior who had conquered the neighboring tribes and patched together a united kingdom. Solomon longed for peace and had forty years of peace, but it came at a great price. It came at the price of the compromise of his faith in the one true God. Just because Solomon asked for and received wisdom in his younger days, that doesn’t mean he always applied it. Wisdom is something that has to be used and nurtured. Maybe that’s why Solomon could say in his old age, “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth.” Solomon is perhaps best remembered for the incident of judging between two mothers who were claiming the same baby. He commanded that the baby be divided between the two mothers – literally. The real mother shrieked and said, “No – let the other mother have the baby.” Well, Solomon in his wisdom knew right then and there who the real mother was – the one who was trying to save the baby’s life. So, he gave the baby alive and whole to his real mother. That, unfortunately, is where Solomon’s wisdom seems to start phasing out. Although he has his moments, such as at the dedication of the Temple eleven years later, his wisdom seems to go downhill from the baby incident. Solomon kept the peace at the cost of making alliances with foreign kings. He did this by marrying their daughters. This happened so many times that Solomon wound up with more than a thousand women in his household. How did he keep straight all their birthdays? To make matters worse, most of these women brought their idol-worshiping religions into his house. These pagan women caused Solomon to sin and turn his heart away from God. Because of this, his kingdom was once again divided after his death. Solomon’s life is set before us as an example of how to live, and how not to live. It’s an example of how much responsibility is entrusted to us when we live in the wisdom of God. It takes vigilance, self-knowledge and discernment to keep wisdom growing in our lives. And, it takes the Holy Spirit of God interceding for us with sighs too deep for words. We have to hand it to Solomon for building the temple in Jerusalem where God’s people worshiped for more than 370 years. After Solomon’s temple was destroyed, things were never again the same in Jerusalem. The temple was eventually rebuilt, but everyone longed for the glory days of Solomon – the days of peace in a kingdom united. In his days on earth, Jesus compared himself to Solomon. Jesus said of himself, “Behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” Jesus Christ is our wisdom from God. Pure wisdom in human form. Jesus told all who would listen about a better kingdom – the kingdom of heaven. This kingdom would not be won with swords and arrows, or with alliances with foreign governments. The good news about the kingdom of heaven is that it has no geographical boundaries. It has no boundaries of time or space. It has no boundaries of language. All who follow Jesus and proclaim him as Lord are part of this kingdom of heaven, which is also known as the family of God. Solomon’s kingdom lasted forty years. God’s kingdom lasts forever. We are a part of God’s kingdom of heaven even now. This kingdom sometimes grows quietly as more and more believers are added day by day. Jesus used the comparison of bread rising. He said that the kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman mixed into more than a bushel of flour. That combination would have fed more than three hundred people Have you ever made yeast-raised bread from scratch? It doesn’t take very many ingredients to make a lot of bread. It has been a long time ago, but I used to make whole-wheat bread. My late husband loved to cook, and he wanted to learn how to make bread. We started early one Saturday morning to make a small batch of something simple. By small batch, I mean one cake of yeast and a little flour, milk, honey, oil and salt. He thought that was too small. He didn’t want to mess with something so little, and wanted to triple the recipe. I took a deep breath and said OK. The batch of dough all fit into one bowl at first, and then it began to quietly rise. Did you ever watch whole wheat dough rise? If you did, you are more patient than I am. It’s something I would go back and check on every hour or two. You can imagine what happened with our bread-baking lesson. We wound up working with that dough all day long, and using a lot of flour to knead it out. The yeast changed that flour into big chunks of dough that we had to make into something good to eat. We made loaves of bread, dinner rolls, and even some cinnamon rolls. By six o’clock that evening, we had plenty of bread to share with our neighbors. Sometimes, I think that St. Margaret’s Church can be compared to a cake of yeast. If we apply God’s wisdom to our situation, we can be a leavening agent in the world around us. Our building sits quietly on this corner, but people are beginning to notice it. As members of this mission parish, we go quietly about living our lives, but our neighbors are beginning to come and join us in worship of Almighty God. Leavening is an agent for change and growth. If we think of ourselves as change agents for the kingdom of God, we need to be patient. Flour, yeast and water don’t change into bread in five minutes. It takes time and careful shaping. Being the church and interceding for others grows into love. That’s why we are supposed to pray even for our enemies, if we have any. We should not rest until all know the love of God. The world is hungry for the results – the peace of God that passes all understanding that comes from the knowledge of Jesus Christ as savior and Lord. |
Home
St. Margarets Church, Moultrie, Georgia