The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to prayerful discernment of the motivation and action on our journey that may be self-serving rather than in service of the people we encounter on our journey.
The reading from the First Book of Kings presents Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication.
* [8:1–66] The account of the Temple’s dedication ceremony is organized concentrically: Solomon gathers the assembly (vv. 1–13), blesses it (vv. 14–21), utters a long dedicatory prayer (vv. 22–53), blesses the assembly again (vv. 54–61), and dismisses it (vv. 62–66). To this account is appended an appearance of the Lord to Solomon (9:2–9) that balances the divine word to Solomon in the account of the Temple’s construction (6:11–13). (1 Kings, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 84 praises the Joy of Worship in the Temple.
* [84:4] The desire of a restless bird for a secure home is an image of the desire of a pilgrim for the secure house of God, cf. Ps 42:2–3, where the image for the desire of the pilgrim is the thirst of the deer for water.
* [84:10] Our shield…your anointed: the king had a role in the liturgical celebration. For the king as shield, cf. Ps 89:19. (Psalms, PSALM 84 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus criticizes the Tradition of the Elders.
* [7:3] Carefully washing their hands: refers to ritual purification.
* [7:5] Tradition of the elders: the body of detailed, unwritten, human laws regarded by the scribes and Pharisees to have the same binding force as that of the Mosaic law; cf. Gal 1:14.
* [7:11] Qorban: a formula for a gift to God, dedicating the offering to the temple, so that the giver might continue to use it for himself but not give it to others, even needy parents. (Mark, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)
Kent Beausoleil, S.J. comments that Jesus, in our gospel, responds with a sharp laser focus challenge. Jesus challenged the attitude of the Pharisees, perhaps even challenges us.
On the other hand, can we be a people of faith seeing beyond the tarnish of life and see instead the possibility that lives underneath. Can we love like Jesus and work to wipe away hearts, minds, and a world who sees only tarnish and uncover the shining beauty in God’s creation, all of God’s creation, even in the people God’s has graced us with in our life?
Can we, with hearts transformed by the truth of this God of love find our hearts bursting also with love and gratitude? Perhaps, we can take inspiration then from King Solomon, from our reading of 1 Kings, who God graced with wisdom and understanding, who looked back on his life and found his heart filled with love and gratitude for God’s many graces. Solomon’s life shone with a heartfelt ‘wow’ at God’s goodness.
The choice is always ours – woe or wow! (Beausoleil, 2024)
Don Schwager quotes “Mammon refuses to provide for parents in old age,” by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD).
"Christ says, 'Care for the poor' (Matthew 19:21; Mark 10:21; Luke 14:13); Mammon says, 'Take away even those things the poor possess.' Christ says, 'Empty yourself of what you have' (Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23); Mammon says, 'Take also what they possess.' Do you see the opposition, the strife between them? See how it is that one cannot obey both, but must reject one?... Christ says, 'None of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions' (Luke 14:33); Mammon says, 'Take the bread from the hungry.' Christ says, 'Cover the naked' (Matthew 25:34-40; Isaiah 58:7); the other says, 'Strip the naked.' Christ says, 'You shall not turn away from your own family (Isaiah 58:7), and those of your own house' (1 Timothy 5:8; Galatians 6:10); Mammon says, 'You shall not show mercy to those of your own family. Though you see your mother or your father in want, despise them' (Mark 7:11)." (excerpt from HOMILIES ON PHILIPPIANS 6.25) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30 comments that Solomon got it right. No one can contain the Lord. He is not a “small g” god who is limited to one place; he can’t possibly be contained in a building, no matter how majestic it is. God is everywhere, and his glory fills the whole earth. The awe that Solomon felt at that moment is the kind of awe that we can experience. We can stand in wonder that Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, actually does dwell on earth. Through our Baptism and the gift of his Spirit, he has even taken up residence in our hearts!
You may feel unworthy. You may feel too small and insignificant. You may think of yourself as a run-down, rickety old shack. But God sees something different. He sees a beautiful, gleaming, glorious dwelling place for his Son. And he loves what he sees.
“Jesus, I am in awe that you would choose to live in me!” (Meditation on 1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the prayer of gratitude or consecration of Solomon as he gives thanks for the choice of God, who is everywhere, to abide in the Temple. Our Sacraments make God present to us in a very intimate way. Friar Jude notes the over scrupulous emphasis of the Pharisees on the Law that may be motivated by seeking their own benefit.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Gareth Higgins who shares why the story of accumulation, which is second nature to most of us in the West, can be so damaging. Richard Rohr often critiques the story of accumulation.
Jesus is absolute about money and power because he knows what we’re going to do. Most of us will serve this god called mammon. Luke’s Gospel even describes mammon as a type of illness, as Jesuit John Haughey (1930–2019) explained: “Mammon is not simply a neutral term in Luke. It is not simply money. It connotes disorder…. Mammon becomes then a source of disorder because people allow it to make a claim on them that only God can make.” [3] “Mammon illness” takes over when we think all of life is counting, weighing, measuring, and deserving.
To participate in the reign of God, we have to stop counting. We have to stop hoarding in order to let the flow of forgiveness and love flow through us. The love of God can’t be doled out by any process whatsoever. We can’t earn it. We can’t lose it. As long as we stay in this world of accumulation, of earning and losing, we’ll live in perpetual resentment, envy, or climbing. [4] (Rohr, 2009)
We are called to review the traditions of our culture and attend to the prompting of the Spirit that illuminates behaviour that needs redirecting to be in harmony with the Way of Jesus.
References
Beausoleil, K. (2024, February 6). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved February 6, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/020624.html
Mark, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 6, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/7?
Meditation on 1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved February 6, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/02/06/890075/
1 Kings, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 6, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1kings/8?22
Psalms, PSALM 84 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 6, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/84?3
Rohr, R. (2009, June 3). The Story of Accumulation. YouTube: Home. Retrieved February 6, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-story-of-accumulation/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 6, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=feb6
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