I’m lucky to live near a farmer’s market in North Richland Hills. During the past couple of months, they’ve had an abundant supply of fresh Texas peaches. Every now and then, I stop to buy a few. I never have to ask where the peaches are—as soon as you walk through the door, you can smell them. I’ve had peaches on cereal for breakfast, homemade peach ice cream, sliced peaches with sugar and milk for dessert….and sometimes, I just rinse the peach and bite into it—over the sink!
At the center of every peach there is a pit, called a stone. It’s a hard, gnarly thing. I usually throw them away. But, inside every peach stone, there is much potential.
Solomon seemed to have it all. He grew up in a palace. David, his father, was the king of the Israelites for many years---and now, Solomon is the King. The text tells us that Solomon loved the Lord, and he followed all of his father’s statues….
Except, one.
Solomon offered sacrifices and incense “at the high places.” The places where pagan gods were worshipped. It’s a subtle reference in the text—but it appears both here, and in the parallel text recorded in 2nd Chronicles.
We are meant to understand that Solomon loved the Lord…and he worshipped other gods.
So, it is surprising that while he is still at one of the high places, Yahweh appeared to Solomon in a dream. God said, “Ask what I should give you.” Solomon asked for an understanding mind to govern God’s people, that he would be able to discern between good and evil.
It was a big ask. Way back in the garden of Eden, God said to Adam, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”[1] Discerning good from evil was reserved for God.
Solomon asked for the very thing Adam was forbidden to take. But Solomon did not ask for this gift for himself—he desired to govern God’s people as God would govern them.
Yahweh was pleased—and said, “I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no like you shall arise after you.”
We have amazing gifts within us—and God has given us the ability to choose how we will use them.
Solomon asked God for the ability to discern between good and evil. God answered, “I give you a wise and discerning mind.” Here’s the thing that really caught my attention this week: nowhere in the text does it say, ‘Then God performed a lobotomy on Solomon”. God did not replace his mind--God transformed the mind already within Solomon.
Solomon asked for the gift he needed to live into his calling as the leader of God’s people. He welcomed the transformation God offered.
Inside that hard, gnarly peach stone, there is a seed. It looks like an almond….but, unlike almonds, we cannot eat it. To most animals, including humans, peach seeds are poisonous. But that same seed can produce amazing fruit that we can eat.
The seed cannot choose its own path. Something external must act on it.
Imagine going to Home Depot for garden seeds—and discovering that all of the seed packets are unlabeled. There are no pictures—so you have no idea what the end product looks like; and there is no gardening information: like, what kind of seeds, how many, how to plant or care for them.
There’s one more challenge: the packets do not have ordinary seeds, …these seeds can freely choose whether they will grow.
In the tiniest of print, you find the words “to be planted August 18th, 2024, St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church Fort Worth.”
We have no idea what these seeds will become in 10, 20, 30 years.
Yet, our mission as a community of faith is to provide the very best soil for every one of the seeds God has entrusted to our care.
Today, Christian Formation begins for a new academic year.
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd has been coming to life in this church for the last 9 months. This is day 1. For children between nursey school and 11 years of age, there is a Catechesis atrium for you. There are catechists who are ready and excited to walk with you.
Journey to Adulthood welcomes youth from ages 11 to 18. This is our second year with the J2A program and we are excited to welcome everyone back.
On September 8th, Bible Study with Jackie Chambers picks up where we left off last Spring. We will open the Gospel of John together this Fall.
Irreverently Faithful, our online Zoom reading group, will discuss this year’s first book on September 4th. We’re currently reading “The Jesus Heist,” written by Bishop Doyle. It’s a good one to kick off our conversations—and we even have an opportunity to get the author’s signature.
Yoga, First Friday game nights, Advent soup ‘n salad series, and on and on….there are many opportunities here. We are ready to welcome a new season of growth.
None of us know exactly how St. Christopher’s will flourish or the vision God holds for us.
It is daunting to both plan for the moment and live in faith. And so, like Solomon, we pray for God’s gift of wisdom and discernment…not for ourselves, but for the St. Christopher’s of today and tomorrow.
May the decisions we make today, be the ones that God desires for us.
Amen.
[1] Genesis 2:16
