Rev. George Miller
Oct 30, 2022
I Kings 3:16-28
52 years old. 52 and this week I
learned some basic things. Such as:
Successful people set aside time to focus on a task and adjust as necessary
without thinking they’re a failure.
When you can’t figure it out, seek guidance from someone you admire.
When a family member is angry with grief, it’s best to shut your mouth, let
them work it out themself.
Knowing when to speak, when to be still, when to move ahead, when to let
go, when to give something one last try all involves wisdom.
Wisdom is the ability to think beyond your brain and cold facts, but to use
heart, instinct, lessons learned from experiences and the ancestors, and
guidance from the Holy Spirit.
Wisdom is what King Solomon sought.
In chapter 3, Solomon steps into his role as Israel’s 3rd
King. God appears to him and asks “What
can I give you?”
Solomon says “God, you have shown great love to my Dad. You made me your new servant, and I don’t have
the sense given to a goose. I ask that you give me an understanding mind to govern
and serve your people.”
Solomon could have asked for anything - long life, riches. Instead he asks to serve God’s most precious possession
with an understanding mind.
What is the 1st case in which Solomon’s wisdom is put to use? A meeting between political leaders like
Desantis and Crist? Nope.
A discussion with corporate giants like Disney and Universal? Nope. Is
it a dinner with the Hollywood elite like Spielberg and Tyler Perry? Nope.
King Solomon’s first use of wisdom involves 2 unnamed citizens, women. Not just women, but prostitutes. Not just prostitutes, but their 2 illegitimate
children, one who is dead.
You may be so used to hearing this story that we have become numb to it
and taken it for granted. I know I have.
Then this week all the pieces came together: King Solomon, the most powerful
in the land, asks for wisdom to serve God’s people, and his 1st act not involves
3 humans who would’ve been seen as the lowest of the low.
AND, Solomon’s wisdom focuses on the most natural, necessary part of
human life-motherhood and childbirth.
As many here today know all too well, motherhood and childbirth are also some
of the most heartbreaking and painful experiences there is.
Childbirth is natural, but it’s not easy- too many variables, too many
things that can go wrong. Childbirth brings
forth life but pregnancy can also bring about pain, loss, tough choices.
The reality, complexity, and emotions of motherhood are perhaps the most female
centric topic imaginable.
And that is what Solomon is called to focus on.
Not which politician to endorse. Not
which corporation to give the biggest tax cut too. Not which celebrity to be seen with.
King Solomon’s 1st act as a public servant is to use his wisdom in regard
to motherhood, a vulnerable child and women earning a living as sex workers.
And not once does he take a holier than thou stance or judge the women
for who they are, what they do.
Today’s reading is an insight into who God is, how God wants God’s
servants to be, and just who God cares about.
This truly is a “least of these” narrative in which we discover that God does
care about us, God does care what we go through, God does care about all
aspects of our life.
This story is not about a far away God who only has time for the named,
the powerful, and the righteous.
Today’s story shows us how God is right here. God has time for the unnamed, the weak, and
those just trying to make it through another day.
God’s wisdom is that we are all God’s children; we all deserve to be
cared for, seen, and heard.
God’s wisdom reminds us that the most ordinary, and universally shared experiences
like life and death, loss and grief, really do matter to our Lord.
For that, we can say “Amen.”
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