Good answer Solomon

Homily
17th Sunday of Ordinary Time A
24 July 2011
St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center at the University of Kansas
Daily Readings

I recently watched a discussion on television on whether the job of the President of the United States had gotten too big for one person. For the president has an almost impossible list of responsibilities - leading and inspiring the country, responding wisely to every new problem, keeping the country safe and building relationships throughout the world, and of course, he is held responsible for regulating the economy. Is such a job description realistic for just one person?

Archbishop Naumann used hyperbole during the Chrism Mass one year to demonstrate that people's expectations of priests, who are only ordinary guys like the first apostles, can be quite unrealistic as well. Before priests renewed their priestly promises, the Archbishop relayed to the people that he gets many compliments about his priests, but also complaints, that not every priest is perfect. For the expectations can run out of control. Everyone wants a priest who is young and energetic, yet wise beyond his years, who is funny, holy, has short homilies, is sociable, but still has time to pray for every need of the parish, to memorize every perosn's name, and available to answer the phone and visit the sick anytime of day or night, and who also can run a parish effortlessly without ever having to ask for money. The Archbishop got quite a laugh as we realized that none of us quite measured up to the job.

Solomon is in this mix of being responsible for too much. Although his kingdom is much smaller that the United States, and his responsibilites different than those of a priest, he realizes that the expectations and responsibilities of his kingship are enormous. He humbly realizes that he is not up to the task, for he says to the Lord - who could be qualified to govern this vast people of yours? It is impossible to know enough to do so. He is asked the 'genie' question by the Lord in a dream. It is a question that appears quite often in the Bible and in folklore. If you could have one wish, what would you ask for? This question touches on many areas of the human heart - our wisdom, our desires, our anxieties. It is a question that Jesus asks over and over - what are you looking for? What do you want me to do for you? It is a question that reveals the human heart; it is a question that eludes easy answers.

Solomon's answer is uniquely good because Solomon is already wise enough to turn the question on its head. Instead of considering first what he most lacked, what desire of his that remained unfulfilled, what fear of his that most needed to be consoled, Solomon instead took stock of what he already had. Solomon was already king, and he focused on the gift the Lord had already given - the gift of serving others. Solomon knew his vocation as one chosen by God to serve him in this impossible capacity as king. Instead of asking for something for his person - long life, or wealth or protection from evil - instead, Solomon asked for something for his mission to serve God's people. This shows the kind of person Solomon is; what was most important to him personally was not his own desires and fears personally, but his mission to serve. He thus asks for wisdom, so that he may serve well no matter what circumstance may come. Because Solomon was wise enough to recognize and accept his vocation from God, he is wise enough not to waste his wish on something separate from that vocation. So Solomon asks for wisdom that makes him ready for anything. If he lives a long time or a short time, Solomon wants the wisdom to live life well. If he is rich or poor, Solomon wants the wisdom to enjoy what he has. If he lives in peace or is attacked on every side, Solomon wants the wisdom to do good and defeat evil, no matter what form evil may take.

May we see in Solomon's request our need to ask God for wisdom. We have enough examples in our society, that when wealth, or popularity or health are given without wisdom, these very blessings can end up destroying people who do not know how to use them. Let us take stock of our vocation in life before we answer the question of what we want from God. Let us realize that all the world's riches mean nothing if we do not have what Solomon has, a mission from God to serve others, and a desire to fulfill Jesus' great commandment to love others as He has first loved us. Let us be grateful to God today for the mission he has given us, and to no one else in this world, and ask for wisdom to carry it out.