Word to the Wise
Saturday, February 8, 2020 - Saturday in the 4th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Kgs 3:4-13 and Mark 6:30-34]"Because you have asked for this - not for a long life for yourself, nor for riches, nor for the life of your enemies, but for understanding so that you may know what is right - I do as your requested. I give you a heart so wise and understanding that there has never been anyone like you up to now....." [1 Kings]
The word usually associated with Solomon is "wisdom," but the translators for some reason have substituted "understanding" in the New American Bible. Be that as it may, it is wisdom that is celebrated in the Bible and in the earlier years of his reign, Solomon became famous for his wisdom. He received it because he prayed for wisdom instead of other things that would have been considered great blessings in his day. Indeed his request was aimed at helping others, which is one of the principal characteristics of a wise person.
In my years as a pastoral minister, it is wisdom that I have prayed for again and again because the challenges presented by those who ask me for help require more than a sympathetic or empathetic response, important as those are! It is discerning the "way forward" that demands wisdom. Since I have spent the majority of my pastoral life in campus ministry, responding to the needs of university students, faculty and staff, I rely on what the Lord has revealed to me from their lives and I pass it on to succeeding generations. Each year brings new faces and challenges and "keeping up" with what students face anew each year can be bewildering. My task is not that much different from that of a grandparent at this stage of my life - to provide some wisdom from experience to help someone find a way forward.
Praying for wisdom can be a contemplative act or a desperate one! But, as Solomon's prayer shows, God is more than willing to give it! AMEN