August 16th - Canon Stephen Carter

AUGUST 16^TH  2009   PROPER 15

1 Kings 2

‘The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, “Ask what I should give you”’

Perhaps this passage reminds us of the children’s story where the fairy godmother appears and offers to grant the princess any three wishes.

I recall, as a child, my great uncle lived with my grandparents for many years. Uncle Tom was perhaps the most miserable man I have ever known. You could never do anything to make him happy. I remember one day, when he was trying to mend the shed, my mother tried to make him smile: a vain attempt.

“Well Tom” she said, “if you could wish for anything in the world, what would you have?”

“I’d have a better damned hammer than this one” he said.

Uncle Tom’s wish was easily granted. But what would you ask for if, like Solomon, the Lord appeared in a dream and said, “Ask what I should give you”

For most of us, I suspect, we would ask for good health for ourselves and the people we love. When we are younger, we take health and our senses and mobility for granted. But as we grow older, and the aches and pains increase, and our sight and hearing diminish, we begin to realise what a precious thing our health is.

For others, financial worries might determine what they should ask for. For many people, the national lottery has become a weekly ritual. No matter that the chances of winning anything significant are miniscule. For many people the lottery provides a regular fantasy –an escape from the cares of the real world: an opportunity to dream of what their lives could be like  with all that money.

For others, the wish would be focused on the family: solving the problems being experienced by your children, or perhaps reconciliation where relationships need healing.

Or perhaps your wish would be for the world: for peace, or for the eradication of poverty and disease?

So what would be your heart’s desire? We heard in our Old Testament reading of Solomon’s response to this question.

After Solomon had been offering sacrifices at Gibeon, the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and invited him to ask for whatever he watned.. But he doesn’t ask for money.  He doesn’t ask for health and long life, or even for victory over his enemies. He asks for wisdom, and for the ability to judge between good and evil. And it is for his wisdom that King Solomon is chiefly remembered for.

The Jews have always looked back on Solomon’s reign as a golden age: the period when peace ruled, and Jewish art and culture flourished; an  age of great prosperity. And it all started, so it seems, with God asking Solomon to name what he wished for. And we are told, that though he only asked for the gift of wisdom, he was given all the other gifts as well, all those things that he might have asked for: long life, wealth and victory over his enemies.

There was no time in Israel’s history when so many hopes had been pinned so justifiably on a new king. King David had achieved much, and had opened many doors of opportunity for his successor. The new monarch consolidated his kingdom by leading a lavish act of worship to the Lord at Gibeon.

It is interesting that for all his thousand offerings, it’s not during the display of public worship that God speaks to Solomon. Nor is it through the utterance of an ecstatic prophet that Solomon hears God’s word. Rather it is through the silent hours of sleep that he hears God’s word. In those unique hours of privacy God met with him. In his dream, God’s question is simple, and the King’s response if profound.

Our respect for Solomon increases as he first recalls the loving kindness of God to his father and to his nation. He then confesses his own child like inadequacies in the face of the awesome responsibilities of government.

 His wish, for an understanding mind, and for the ability to discern good from evil, was a good one.  And like all good stories, this one has a happy ending. Solomon will not only be given the wisdom to discern and listen, but in addition all the power and wealth and fame which we would have expected any king worth his salt to ask for.

For all the optimism of this account, the sky is not quite cloudless. Solomon has made a flying start. His sense of occasion, his humility and his growing wisdom, have had their effect-reflecting the qualities of kingship under God. But what is to come?

We already know the ending. Solomon’s love of God was to be eclipsed by his love for foreign wives. His ease at public worship was to develop into an easy going tolerance of the worship of pagan deities by the same wives. It was to prove a running sore in the years to follow. It showed that people would look not only to Solomon’s example, but also that of his whole court.

In contrast, the psalmist will not allow these shadows to obscure his crystal clear vision of the life blessed by God.  The psalmist declares that God is faithful, compassionate and caring, and that all we have to do is to obey his commandments.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

all who follow his precepts will have good understanding.”

Today’s reading from 1^stKings seems very relevant as we reflect on the way world leaders use their power. In our own society, confidence in our elected representatives has been shaken by the ongoing scandal over MPs’ expenses. But it is sobering to reflect that this is mild compared to the corruption and self seeking that we see in the leaders of many nations. At least, in our Parliamentary democracy, for all its faults, there are all those checks and balances to prevent anyone person gaining absolute power. And our leaders are answerable and accountable for their actions. 

Consider Solomon’s prayer, that he should use his power with wisdom and in the persuit of justice. Behind that prayer is the desire that he should be a good ruler, exercising his power for the good of his people. But as we know, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. We think of Zimbabwe and the evil regime of Robert Mugabe: we think of North Korea; of Burma, and countless other states, where power is used for personal gain and with no regard to the people. We think of those states where human rights are abused and the most basic of human decencies are ignored.

How different would be our world if the Solomon’s humility and desire to discern good from evil were present in the hearts of all world rulers.

So perhaps Solomon’s prayer should be our prayer today for the leaders of the world:

“Give to your servants an understanding mind to govern your people, that they may be able to discern good from evil”