The Wisdom of… Solomon? - August 16, 2015 (Guest Speaker Doug Wood)

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1Kings 2:10-12,3:3-14
John 6:51-58

You ever wonder about Solomon?
He was rich. He had 700 wives – and if THAT wasn't enough – he had 300 concubines. 1,000 women – and THIS was the guy who asked for WISDOM?
He was the son of King David and Bathsheba. Note that she was not QUEEN Bathsheba. She was one of David's many wives – not the Queen. And Solomon was not the first child of Bathsheba and David – the first son died. That was punishment for David having Uriah killed – and for disobeying God by being greedy.
Think about the stories that Solomon grew up with around the palace.
"You mean I had an older brother? What happened to HIM? He DIED, because the LORD killed him????"
"Hey mom, how did you and Dad meet?" "Ummmmmm... ask your father."
And many others. "Dad, what did YOU do in the war with the Philistines?" "I killed a giant who was 9 feet tall with one shot from my sling!" "Suuuuurrrreeee, Daaad?" - Cue the teenager eye roll...

Make no mistake – palaces are places of intrigue and back-stabbing. Sometimes literally. And Solomon was not the Crown Prince. He was the son of the King – but there were lots of those running around the palace – and many of them were older than Solomon. Undoubtedly he was the product of lots of teasing – some friendly – and some not so much. After all – it was the custom of sons of the king – when one was crowned King – to simply execute all of his brothers so they would not be able to de-throne him. Or he turned them into eunuchs so there would be no danger of them fathering a son who might compete for the throne later against HIS sons.
It was a tough life – being the son of a King.
So, it's no wonder that Solomon asked for wisdom from God.
That's where we pick up the story. Solomon travels to Gibeon and there – as is his CUSTOM - offers a THOUSAND burned offerings. The shrine at Gibeon was a "great high place" according to the Bible – not far from Jerusalem. It is where God made the earth and sun stand still – of course there would be a shrine. This worship to God was happening there because there was no Temple as yet. And, one would imagine, the site where the Temple was being constructed was quite the mess! So the King goes off to Gibeon to worship God. He worshipped in other places as well – keep that in mind!
God appears in a dream. I dream – I usually fail to remember them. I CAN recall general feelings – was I comforted, distressed. Solomon remembers this dream in detail – words of the conversation. Because it is a dream – no one but God and Solomon are present. And God says, "Ask whatever you wish, and I'll give it to you."
What would YOU ask if God came to you and asked the same question? World peace? A cure for your cancer? Life and prosperity for your grandchildren? Interstellar travel? Three more wishes? It's tough, isn't it?
Solomon says, "I'm young – and I don't know much. (cue the snorting of parents of teenagers) Give me a discerning mind in order to govern your people, AND to distinguish good from evil."
Discernment – and the knowledge of good and evil. Remember the tree that Eve harvested for dinner? Apparently, God has changed the rules – and the knowledge of good and evil was not passed on. Hmmmmmm....
God is pleased with the request. And he grants it – and more. MUCH more.
Sue has been teaching about leadership qualities these past several weeks. And here we have the one we really want to see in leaders: WISDOM. Or DISCERNMENT as it is often translated. Discernment is a little more than just "doing the next right thing" as we say in AA. It's figuring out what the next right thing IS – and then having the courage to do it.
Solomon got the long life God p[romised. He ruled 40 years – like his father had. And he did NOT walk in the ways of God and keep all of His commandments. He did pretty well – about as well as David had, I would guess.
And he's a leader – so he falls into the trap of trying to keep everybody happy. Including all 1,000 of those women at home. They came from a variety of places. Most of those wives were political alliances. And just to keep peace – he would worship THEIR gods as well.
You see, Solomon took the gift of God – wisdom – and figured it for his own. "Wowee, I'm a pretty smart cookie!" He missed the point that gifts are to be used for the people. As Sue often says during the communion liturgy, "The gifts of God, for the People of God." In communion, those gifts are symbols of a great, a deeper, truth. And that brings us to the Gospel lesson.
Jesus has been teaching a lot about bread. Bread is the staple of the diet. In Jesus day, it was a flat bread, cooked on hot stones. The drink was wine – usually mixed with water – LOTS of water, so the wine was more like a flavoring; rather like the little bottles we squirt into our water. Bread and wine. Body and blood. The completeness of God in and through Christ. Nourishing us, feeding us, watering us. Jesus says – If you don't eat Me and drink Me – you have no life in you. Jesus is THE Life. A God-gift. To you and me.
And life is not then, OURS. Any more than the Wisdom is properly the Wisdom of Solomon. It is the Wisdom of GOD, given to Solomon to be used for the People. Life is not MINE – it is the life of GOD, given to me to be used for others.
All that I am – and all that I have – is a gift. And I cannot rightly keep it for myself. The 11th Step – of the 12 Steps – says we work to "improve our conscious contact with God – as we understand Him – praying only for knowledge of his will for us and the power to carry that out." It's not enough to know God's will, though we ask for that all the time. We have to carry it out. It's not enough to have Wisdom – or Discernment – we have to DO IT. God's will is a gift – to be used for the good of all people. It's not about trying to keep everyone happy on both sides of the aisle. It's about discerning the next right thing – and then doing it. Life is a program of action. And it is also a program of acknowledging that the Life belongs to God – and that it is to be used for the People of God.
God asks you – today – right now.
What do you want?
Lots of preachers teach you to say, "I want a car." Or money. Or a cure. Or even wisdom. Some foolish people even ask for patience – you want to be careful with that one!
What do you want, Doug? Knowledge of your will for me – and the power to carry that out.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.