Day 146: The Universal Church

1 Kings 4:1-28 Solomon inherited his kingship from his father, David. His governance was a monarchy, with a system of taxation and commerce, which fulfilled the people’s longtime desire for a king to rule Israel in the way other nations were ruled. His military might and well-organized protection of the land allowed Israel to live in peace with its neighbors. 

Ch 4:29-34 Solomon was so endowed with wisdom that many of his sayings and hymns are remembered and often quoted. In those days, wisdom was considered to include not only sound judgement but also a wide-ranging knowledge of history and the sciences.

2 Chronicles 6:1-42 Solomon’s address and prayer, although similar to the corresponding passage in 1 Kings, are adapted for a people returning from exile. First, the covenant is made not “with the fathers” (1 Kgs 8:21), but “with the people of Israel” (2 Chr 6:11), emphasizing that the covenant did not expire with the exile but rather would remain in force for every generation. Similarly, his prayer did not close with a reference to Moses and the Exodus from Egypt (cf. 1 Kgs 8:52-53); rather, it concluded with the verses from Psalms stressing the Davidic Covenant and post-exilic Israel (cf. 2 Chr 6:41-42; Ps 132:8-10). Reflecting the growing separation in Israel between the civil and the priestly authorities, this version has Solomon addressing the assembly not from the altar (cf. 1 Kgs 8:22) but from a special platform (cf. 2 Chr 6:13). (CCCC 58, 2063, 2260)

Psalm 65 In the Temple, the People of God sought forgiveness of their sins and deliverance from evil. The rebellion of sin is mirrored in nature, particularly in the sea, where mighty storms can toss about and threaten the very lives of those who dare to challenge it, yet God, who is an All-powerful Creator, has the sea, with all its turbulence, under his dominion. Just as he can calm the sea, he can remove sin and restore the repentant soul to peace and a renewed life. (Cf. St. John Paul II, General Audience, March 6, 2002)

To you shall all flesh...forgive them: In this impressive list of reasons to praise God, it is significant that his mercy and willingness to forgive rang first among the aspects of his infinite perfection.

The outgoings of the morning...for joy: All creation joins in the praise of God, even the bountiful harvests that he has blessed for Israel’s use. Thanksgiving in response to God’s bountiful goodness is reflected at the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist when the priest blesses God for the Eucharistic bread, the “fruit of the earth,” and wine, the “fruit of the vine.” (CCC 270)

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)

• Solomon is a really smart guy, obviously

• Clearly one of the wisest men ever because that’s what Scripture says

• And that is what seems to be the case in 1 Kings Ch 4

• It’s striking and worth noting all the people Solomon brings around him

• Solomon is the King, and he is DELEGATING HIS AUTHORITY AND LEADERSHIP to the people around him

• That’s one of the things that great leaders do

• The great men and great women around us who LEAD WELL equip OTHER PEOPLE TO LEAD WELL 

• This is what Jesus does too!

• Jesus goes out HIMSELF and preaches

• Jesus goes out HIMSELF and heals

• Jesus goes out HIMSELF and does incredible signs and wonders

• But then what does he do?

• HE GATHERS PEOPLE AROUND HIM

• The 12 Apostles and other disciples

• Jesus delegates THEM to go in his name and do what he had been doing

• Solomon gathers these 12 MEN and they become the leaders of 12 REGIONS in the land of Israel

• So this is MINDBLOWING when you consider it

• One would think that Solomon is going to have provisions coming from 12 different PLACES one for each  month of the year

• That way, you don’t tax one place more than another and that’s smart

• One would think you would go by the locality of EACH TRIBE

• But Solomon doesn’t do that

• Solomon distinguishes the sources of these provisions for the Kingdom of Israel not according to TRIBAL LANDS but according to GEOGRAPHY

• He does this in such a way that transcends the TRIBALISM that could still exist amongst the Kingdom of Israel

• While everyone recognizes they are the People of God, they would also recognize which tribe they belonged to i.e Tribe of Benjamin, Tribe of Manasseh etc.

• These goods that feed the king and the whole people don’t just come from each individual tribe, they come from regions WITHIN those tribes

• Nice Jeopardy fact

• But it’s worth noting for SOMETHING DEEPER

• Sometimes we see ourselves as being part of a GREATER CHURCH

• We see ourselves as being part of the GLOBAL CHURCH

• We see ourselves as being part of the UNIVERSAL CHURCH

• We see ourselves as being part of the CATHOLIC CHURCH

• But we also can sometimes be REALLY REALLY PAROCHIAL

• We get TERRITORIAL

• “I go to St. Mary’s and I would never go over to St. Bernadette’s” (That’s my neck of the woods, feel free to use your own examples for yourself 😉)

• Sometimes parishes have to be closed because of changing demographics or changing economic realities

• Some people will CLING to those churches and refuse to go anywhere else

• Yes, we belong to our LOCAL CHURCH, our PARISH

• BUT…

• We belong to the UNIVERSAL CHURCH as well

• Whether it’s St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Rome, Ga or Christ the King Catholic Church in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu in India IT IS GOING TO BE THE SAME MASS

• IT IS GOING TO BE THE SAME WORSHIP OF GOD

• Solomon is doing something like that

• He is uniting the people subtly

• He is not DECREEING to them that they have to see themselves as being part of this Kingdom of Israel

• He is allowing them to do that because each region, not defined by TRIBE, but GEOGRAPHICALLY is contributing to the needs of the ENTIRE KINGDOM

• Have you noticed how many provisions were dedicated EACH DAY to the household of King Solomon

• It is pretty impressive

• Solomon’s provision for ONE DAY were 30 cores of fine flour, 50 cores of meal

• One core = 55 gallons, give or take

• So do the math

• 10 fatted oxen

• 20 oxen from the pastures

• The list goes on

• Solomon is feeding A LOT OF PEOPLE in Jerusalem

• There are a lot of people in Solomon’s household that are being taken care of 

• Now let’s look at 2 Chronicles Ch 6

• This is a REMARKABLE PRAYER of King Solomon

• It’s also a big shift

• In the past, worship of God happened at a number of different places

• They offered sacrifices wherever there was a great moment

• Wherever God revealed Himself, they built an altar and offered sacrifice

• But NOW, Solomon says up until this moment there was NO ONE PLACE where God was worshipped

• Now that is all changed

• Since the Temple is now built in Jerusalem, THIS IS THE PLACE OF WORSHIP

• Solomon establishes Jerusalem as the CITY OF WORSHIP and the Temple as the LOCATION OF WORSHIP

• So from now on, ALL WORSHIP is going to happen in the Temple in Jerusalem

• This is a BIG DEAL

• Yes, in the past they would journey to Jerusalem for worship, but there was no Temple

• Now, it is only going to be in the Temple of the Lord at the Altar of the Lord in the Temple in Jerusalem

• So how does Solomon emphasize this?

• If you are a sinner and need to hear your sins forgiven, go to the Temple

• If you are a GROUP OF PEOPLE that has turned away from God then ALL WILL GO TO THE TEMPLE

• Before you go into battle, GO TO THE TEMPLE

• If you are ever taken captive, whether close or far away, just turn your hands and face towards the Temple in Jerusalem and there pray to God and God is going to HEAR YOU

• The Chronicler is REMINDING THE PEOPLE that Solomon had declared that Jerusalem is the CENTER and the Temple is the CENTER OF WORSHIP for them

• It’s really important for us to remember this

• When we get to all the kings and the kingdom gets divided, we will see that the people will have to remain UNITED even when they are scattered and in exile

• What’s going to unite them?

• Not just Jerusalem or the land

• It is going to be WORSHIP IN THE TEMPLE

• That is what is going to give them their identity for CENTURIES

• (Father Mike had some strong coffee today, it sounds like 😉)

• Day 146 is kind of a big deal

• We give God thanks

• Thank God for this community

• Thank God for Fr. Mike

• So many of us not only LISTEN to the podcast, but we READ ALONG

• We HEAR the words

• We SEE the words

• We WRITE DOWN the important notes

• We CAPTURE the way God is speaking personally to us each day

• We are a part of this COMMUNITY and we NEED EACH OTHER

• PRAY FOR EACH OTHER

• PRAY FOR FR. MIKE

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, yes all creation, all of creation praises your name. All of creation gives you glory. Father, the fact that we can look around this world that you have made with all of its danger, with all of its distress, but with all of its power and beauty and even mere existence, it all gives praise to you. It all gives you glory. It all points back to you, the creator of this incredible creation. And so we give you thanks, just like David, who wrote Psalm 65. We give you thanks. Thanks for earth’s bounty. Not only is this earth beautiful, this earth provides for us. And so, God, we give you thanks. And we actually also ask you to give us wisdom like you gave wisdom to Solomon to be able to know how to live in this world, how to live in this earth, how to not only give thanks to you for creation, but also how to use this creation in a way that honors you, that honors the gift, and that helps our neighbor. Not just our neighbor that exists, but our neighbor in the future, Lord God. You’ve made all creation for us, for our ancestors, and also for our descendants. And so help us. Give us wisdom to be able to know how to live in this world so we can pass it on to the next generation. But we give you thanks. In all things, Lord God, we give you thanks. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”