Transitions!!!

 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14; Ephesians 5:15-20

With my vacation and last week’s focus on bread, we haven’t looked at the First Readings about King David in a while. So, tell me some things about David. We remember:

1.   - He was chosen by God and anointed by Samuel

2.  -  he defeated Goliath the Philistine with a rock and a slingshot.

3.   - He lived in the palace and was best friends with Jonathan

4.  -  King Saul tried to kill him

5.   - He brought the Ark of the Covenant containing the 10 Commandments to Jerusalem, establishing Jerusalem as the location for worshiping God.

6.  -  He was unfaithful to his wife with Bathsheba, and had her husband Uriah killed so he could marry her

7.   - He had mixed relationships with his children, and had to fight them to retain control

8.   - He grieved Absolom, the son who was trying to kill him

9.   - He was faithful to God

1- - And eventually, he died, and the crown went to his son Solomon

So now, David has been buried and twenty-year-old Solomon is king. He must have some idea about how to be king, since he was raised in the palace. But even pastors who are the children of pastors need their own vision and understanding of how to be pastors.

So, Solomon prays about it. A couple things to notice about this passage. First, Solomon does the right thing: he prays to God about his need for guidance.

But, second, he doesn’t go to the tabernacle in Jerusalem where God is believed to reside. He goes to the high place at Gibeon, a place with a mixed history. Known mostly as a worship site for other deities, Gibeon was also the site of a past compromise of who and where to worship.

Is this a political choice to bring more folks into the Solomon-supporting fold? Or does Solomon prefer worshiping in the out of doors instead of in a tent? I just wondered about that, this week, during this season of political choice-making.

Of course, it’s the praying that is most important. He reports his prayer and God’s response to someone – in the moment, or sometime later. The prayer is remarkable in that Solomon asks God – how do I do this king-thing? I need your help. I need wisdom. And God is impressed with the request, and promises wealth and power in addition to wisdom.

His wisdom is demonstrated with several stories, including the one about the two mothers claiming one child. Yet, he also has a cruel side, enslaving enemies and poor Israelites to build the temple. His policies cause the united kingdom formed by David to break apart, and few kings after him are successful, faithful rulers.

… In the same way that Israel faced a transition time from David to Solomon, UELC also faces a transition time. I know you may think that with the coming of a new pastor, your transition is over, but it is just continuing in a new phase.

It will take time for the new pastor – assuming you vote in favor of the candidate – to get settled into her role as your pastor. It will take time for her to know how you do things here, and time for her to discern how to do things in the community, and time for her to convince you that her ideas will work and be good for the congregation.

The most helpful thing you can do for your new pastor is to pray for her, pray that she has the wisdom she needs to be your pastor. And pray for UELC, that together you will seek to be the congregation God is calling you to be today, this year, next year.

… The author of Ephesians, who may or may not be Paul, urges disciples of all ages to be wise. Wisdom is having a relationship with God so strong that we give thanks to God for everything at all times.

This is the kind of wisdom Solomon asks God for, to know God and to be guided by God in all things.

This is the kind of wisdom it takes to be followers of Jesus, to be not just members of a congregation but active disciples.

This is the kind of wisdom that comes through regular prayer focused on who God is calling you to be.

As I complete my ministry with you today, I pray that you and your new pastor will have this kind of wisdom.

Amen