Homily for Thursday, Week 5 of Ordinary Time

Homily for Thursday
Week 5 of Ordinary Time
Feb. 8, 2018
1 Kings 11: 4-13
Nativity, Washington, D.C.

“When Solomon was old his wives turned his heart to strange gods, and his heart was not entirely with the Lord, his God, as the heart of his father David had been” (1 Kgs 11: 4).

In the 1st chapters of 1 Kings, parts of which have been given to us at Mass in recent days, Solomon appears as a devout and wise king with whom God is very pleased.  Today we see something else; he’s grown old and foolish, led astray by his many foreign wives.

King Solomon's Court

(Ingobertus, ca. 880 A.D.)

We’re also reminded that God made a great promise to David, that his dynasty would last forever.  The passage today speaks of David’s heart belonging entirely to the Lord and of David’s following the Lord unreservedly (11:4,6).  Not that David was perfect, as we know.  But in spite of his weaknesses, he remained faithful to the Lord.  And God says today that he’ll be faithful to his promise.  But the realm of David’s dynasty will be constricted in punishment for Solomon’s infidelity.  At least, that’s the interpretation of the sacred writer who composed Judges, 1-2 Samuel, and 1-2 Kings as he looks back at the history of God’s people some centuries later, trying to understand what’s happened.

Very often we don’t know what God’s doing or why as we observe world events, Church events, or our personal lives.  It’s only by reflecting on them that we may see his hand at work, guiding people’s right choices, sending prophetic warnings, working to straighten out people’s bad or sinful choices.  Such reflection is, in fact, what we read that Mary did concerning the events surrounding the birth and childhood of Christ (Luke 2:19,51).

From what we read about Solomon in particular in today’s reading, we may draw 2 lessons.

1st, the company we keep influences our attitudes and our behavior for better or for worse.  The Scripture says that Solomon’s pagan wives led him into the sin of idolatry.  Don Bosco constantly warned young people to avoid “bad companions” and to seek good, wholesome friendships.  He made that his own practice when he was young, brought it out in his biography of St. Dominic Savio, included it in his handbook for the guidance of the young The Companion of Youth, and repeated it over and over when speaking to his boys.  It remains a practical lesson for young people today as we observe repeatedly about gangs, drugs, thievery, poor study habits, etc., as well as about the benefits of youth ministry, Scouting, Boys & Girls Clubs, and other such programs.

2d, Solomon was so good and wise for so long, but in his old age became foolish and sinful.  Maybe he’d “lost it,” gone senile—that’s not for us to judge.  But you and I can never, never sit back on our virtuous laurels—if we think we have some—and presume the gates of heaven are already open to us, and a heavenly mansion already has our name emblazoned on its door.  “It’s not over until the fat lady sings.”  Jesus doesn’t crown us with the laurels of victory until the very end, until our final perseverance in his grace.