Rev. Eugene N. Nelson, Jr.
The Community Church of Sebastopol
August 16, 2009
I Kings 3:3-14
Lucy is reading Linus a story. "And so the King was granted his wish. Everything he touched would turn to gold. Now the next day"... "Stop!" says Linus as he stands up, "You don't have to read any further. I know just what's going to happen. These things always have a way of backfiring." And he's right. Think back to stories of genies and leprechauns, magic lamps and pots of gold. Someone is granted a wish, or three wishes, and somehow, it always seems to backfire. Think of the number of stories you've read about lottery winners who found that winning was more curse than blessing. Look at the number of talented athletes who have crashed and burned under the weight of great wealth and even greater expectations. The Midas touch is great until you try to eat some corn on the cob or hug a child. The familiar words of Emerson come to mind. "Beware what you set your heart upon; for you will surely get it." Still, the question remains - if someone granted me three wishes, what would I ask for… and what if that someone was God, the creator of heaven and earth?
"At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night and God said, 'Ask what I should give you.' " Be still my foolish heart. Talk about receiving an offer you can't refuse. "Ask what I should give you." This is God talking here. I mean, visions of sugar plums and fishing equipment dance in my mind! What would you have said if you were Solomon and received such an offer from God Almighty? What do you want?
Now these were heady days for Israel. The country, which for so much of its history had been beaten up by its neighbors, was now a world power, the conqueror instead of the conquered. King David had brought Israel to a position of undreamed of power and influence. Now he was dead and his son, Solomon, was on the throne. But Solomon was not off to the best of starts. Many were already questioning his judgment. Seemingly he was even questioning himself. For example, the book of Deuteronomy forbids intermarriage with foreigners (Deut. 7:3), and even, way back then, specifically warns against getting too friendly with Egypt. (Deut. 17:16) Well, what had Solomon done? Early on he formed an alliance with Egypt and sealed it by marrying Pharaoh's daughter. And he had taken other shortcuts around the law. And so, in our text, we hear him honestly acknowledge to God that his brief rule has already been flawed. He feels like, "a little child who does not know how to go out or come in." He seems to have lost his way - morally, spiritually, politically. And then God shows up with this incredible offer, "Ask what I should give you." Think about it, Solomon. What do you most need right now? What would you say?
Two stories, the first told by my favorite preacher Fred Craddock: “There is a church governing board in Atlanta that will be voting whether or not to invite a motivational speaker to their congregational meeting in October, the time when they launch their annual program. New members, new money, new program, new volunteers, and so on. It's a big occasion, and so they are going to vote whether or not to invite this speaker. When one of the board members told me about it, I said, 'Aren't those speakers kind of expensive?' "
"He said, 'Yes, they are expensive, but he's going to cut us a deal since we're a church.' "
" 'What kind of a deal?' I asked."
" 'He'll come for fifteen thousand.' "
" 'For one speech?' "
" 'Yes, one speech.' "
"I said, 'I'll make the speech for twelve thousand and feed you corn on the cob.' "
" 'I know it's expensive,' said the man, 'but he's really good.' "
" I said, 'Why don't you get a church-oriented inspirational speaker, someone who is in the church and of the church and could appeal to the ideals of the Christian life? Someone who could speak about the way of Jesus in the world? That would be appropriate to the setting. It is, after all, a church.' "
" 'Well, we tried that,' he replied, 'and some of the folk don't think we ought to go that way again. Maybe we need something that has a little more success built into it. This guy's really good. I think this will pass our board, because we need to be successful. That speaker can push the right buttons and get everybody going.' " Can push all the right buttons. What buttons do you suppose? Buttons labeled success, growth, money, ambition, enthusiasm? That doesn't sound too bad, huh. I mean, I'm sure we could all use a good motivational kick in the behind from time to time. It's easy to lose our enthusiasm, our energy, to find ourselves losing our appetite and interest for what we are doing. It happens all the time in the church. People get busy, get tired, burned out, sliced one too many apples, you know, they need some inspiration. Now, of course, this motivational speaker had never, ever addressed a church before, but he figured out that the same things that are true in the world of business and politics, would be true in the life of the church. Just push the right buttons guarantees success. And we all know what success looks like. "What should I give you?" And the church answers, "We need worldly success."
And the second story. I may have told you before about the author, George Eliot and her friend McCarthy. I said ‘her’ because, as you know, her real name was Mary Anne Evans. She had to use a man's name in order to get her writing published. When she learned that McCarthy had died, she went to his grave to mourn. She was the only one that went. He belonged to her circle of friends, she said. There were quite a number of folks the same age who went around together and McCarthy was one of them. But, she said, McCarthy was a little different than the others. It was as if he was always looking for the pearl of great price in a group of young people who were content with fake jewelry, as long as it was gaudy and would shine at parties. He was, she said, a most sensitive and caring person, and sometimes, even at social events, could be moved to tears by things that happened to people. She said that McCarthy would talk to them and tell them that you don't have to buy friendship, you don't have to buy membership in the human race, you don't have to buy love, just love and just be a friend. That's what he would say...and people just looked at him like he was strange. Eliot said that McCarthy would have given his life for people who would not give him the time of day. And so none of his "friends" except for George Eliot, showed up at his grave.
Ah, just another loser, I suppose. Certainly wouldn't look at him as an inspirational or motivational example of worldly success. Not too good at pushing the right buttons. My goodness, McCarthy didn't even know where to find the buttons. But I have to wonder...what could be done in the name of the Gospel if we had a church full of losers like McCarthy, people who look for - yearn for - that pearl of great price even in a world obsessed with fake jewelry?
I just can't seem to get him out of my mind. I mean, there was no instant gratification for him, no worrying about the worldly trappings of success, not even really worrying about pleasing his shallow friends. He was looking for something lasting in his life, wanting something with staying power, something worth remembering and renewing, something that could enable him to put his life to some good and worthy end. And so God said, "Ask what I should give you. What do you wish for, what do you want in life, what ultimately matters to you?"
Solomon, a young king, who may have already felt his kingdom slipping through his fingers, primarily because of his own bad decisions, says this:: "I do not know how to go out or come in. God, I'm like a lost child...And so give me, your servant, an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil..." "Anything you want," says God. "Your heart's desire." And Solomon does not ask for wealth, for power, for a long life, for true love, for the defeat of health care legislation. He asks for God's help in discerning what is right and just and wise. "Help me to be your good servant, and a good servant of my people." What is it that you truly wish for?
The Apostle Paul often contrasted what he called the wisdom of the world with the wisdom of God. The wisdom of the world, of course, is all about pushing the right buttons, accumulating all the worldly trappings of success. I don't have to describe it for you. We know what it is. But the wisdom of God? What does that look like? Well, Paul suggested we need to look no further than Jesus. And in his letter to the Philippians, he beautifully outlines just what God's wisdom looks like: work together, he says, serve together, praise together. Don't just look to your own happiness, but to the happiness of those around you. Look to the interest and concern of other people and not just your own. In fact, at times you might need to put your own interests and concerns on the back burner for a while. But most important is this: I want you to have among you the mind of Jesus, who though equal with God let it all go and became a servant, serving even unto death. I want you to have that mind. Not exactly the path to worldly success. So much for church growth, I guess. A letter written by a loser to a bunch of losers, right? Any motivational speaker would tell you that. You'll never get anywhere with that attitude, right?
Just a few years before his death, Albert Schweitzer was visited by an American clergyman who was shocked by the primitive surroundings in which this most sophisticated of men had spent so many of the years of his life. When asked about this, Schweitzer answered very simply, "This is what I have wanted; and this is what I want still." Quite a way to end a life; quite a way to live one.
"Ask what I should give you." And the young king responds, "Give me an understanding mind, and the ability to discern between good and evil, that I might be your good servant." A loser's response? Maybe. But, the fact is we speak of the wisdom of Solomon to this very day.