The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to seek wisdom through our relationship with God.
Away to rest
The reading from the First Book of Kings highlights the early promise of Solomon’s reign.
* [3:1–15] The third major unit of the Solomon story depicts the bright beginning of his reign. It includes the narrator’s remarks about Solomon’s marriage and his building projects, and a divine appearance to Solomon. Compare 11:1–13, where the same themes recur, but in negative fashion. The story of the divine appearance is told also in 2 Chr 1:1–13.1
Psalm 119 praises the glories of God’s Law.
* [Psalm 119] This Psalm, the longest by far in the Psalter, praises God for giving such splendid laws and instruction for people to live by. The author glorifies and thanks God for the Torah, prays for protection from sinners enraged by others’ fidelity to the law, laments the cost of obedience, delights in the law’s consolations, begs for wisdom to understand the precepts, and asks for the rewards of keeping them.2
In the Gospel of Mark, after the return of the Twelve, Jesus seeks rest before feeding the five thousand.
* [6:31–34] The withdrawal of Jesus with his disciples to a desert place to rest attracts a great number of people to follow them. Toward this people of the new exodus Jesus is moved with pity; he satisfies their spiritual hunger by teaching them many things, thus gradually showing himself the faithful shepherd of a new Israel; cf. Nm 27:17; Ez 34:15.3
Vivian Amu comments that despite all distractions and interruptions to our need for rest, we do what we must and what we are able to do from moment to moment. We trust God to lead us through whatever is most needed here and now.
God already knows about the things we want but do not have the courage to ask for. These things, God will provide at the right time. Having said that, what would we have the courage to voice as a need if we should be asked today? What would we do when we have received what we have asked for from the Lord? Do we even know for sure what we want from the Lord? Regardless of our needs and wants, may we take time to intentionally rest in the warm embrace of the Lord, and trust that what we need will be provided by God’s grace and in God’s time. Lord, give us courage and wisdom to ask for rest when we need it and strength to care for the hearts and souls of others when we are called to do so.4
Don Schwager quotes “The good shepherd feeds us with the words of God,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The pastures that this good shepherd has prepared for you, in which he has settled you for you to take your fill, are not various kinds of grasses and green things, among which some are sweet to the taste, some extremely bitter, which as the seasons succeed one another are sometimes there and sometimes not. Your pastures are the words of God and his commandments, and they have all been sown as sweet grasses. These pastures had been tasted by that man who said to God, 'How sweet are your words to my palate, more so than honey and the honeycomb in my mouth!' (Psalm 119:103)."(excerpt from Sermon 366.3)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Kings 3:4-13 comments that we might think that Solomon was given a special gift that none of us could ever have, but all people are meant to hear God’s voice and walk in his ways. The Book of Proverbs compares the spirit of God’s wisdom to a lady in waiting who stands ready to help those who seek her (1:20-32). The truth is, God’s wisdom is available to everyone who seeks it.
Some of the wise sayings in Scripture will be different from the viewpoints you might hear in commercials and popular social movements today. They might even challenge your own perspective. But a listening heart is also a meek heart, one eager to put on the heart and mind of God. The more you study and reflect on these wise sayings, the more your heart will grow in understanding. That’s what Solomon asked for—and that’s what God wants for you too! “Lord, give me an understanding heart that listens and obeys.”6
Friar Jude Winkler notes that Solomon encountered God while sleeping at a shrine. The wisdom we need is to see things through the eyes of God and judge situations in that light. Friar Jude notes the failure of the high priest and priestly clan to be shepherds to the people.
The post from Franciscan Media about Saint Agatha comments that in the case of Agnes, another virgin-martyr of the early Church, almost nothing is historically certain about this saint except that she was martyred in Sicily during the persecution of Emperor Decius in 251. The year after her death, the stilling of an eruption of Mt. Etna was attributed to her intercession. As a result, apparently, people continued to ask her prayers for protection against fire.
The scientific modern mind winces at the thought of a volcano’s might being contained by God because of the prayers of a Sicilian girl. Still less welcome, probably, is the notion of that saint being the patroness of such varied professions as those of foundry workers, nurses, miners and Alpine guides. Yet, in our historical precision, have we lost an essential human quality of wonder and poetry, and even our belief that we come to God by helping each other, both in action and prayer?7
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces CAC Board member Drew Jackson, a pastor and poet, whose poems reflect his deep understanding of and relationship with Scripture.
Of Earth and Sky
Let me tell you about the ancestors,
she said to me as I sat and relaxed
myself into Grandma’s lap. She was
sharp, and even in her old age
her memory could search
into the far reaches of the past.
I can’t stay up too late, not like I used to.
And then she proceeded to tell me tales
of Greats and Great Greats who did some
great and not-so-great things. Our family
tree is filled with triumph and struggle.
The imperfections make it beautiful.
They’re all just human, you know, just like you.
She poked her frail finger into the flesh of my pectoral.
My kin, of the earth—the humus—yet filled with the breath
of God. Is this not what it means to be adam?
Never forget who you come from,
she said before calling it a night. Her words
implied that this sort of remembrance
would keep me grounded, but also keep me going.
Soaring high when they try to keep me down.
I won’t forget that I am of earth and sky.8
As we go apart to rest, we are preparing to respond to the prompting of the Spirit to be wise and active as a shepherd to the flock in our care.
References
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