17th Sunday in OT 2020 - King Solomon and the Virtue of Prudence

Here at St. Ignatius, we have what is probably the most unique ceiling in the diocese, depicting the tree of Jesse. “A shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. So, at the edge of the sanctuary, you see Jesse, on his side, with a shoot coming forth from his side. And we can trace that shoot, through the generations of Jesse’s descendants, all the way to Our Lord, who blesses us as we come into and exit out of the Church. From Jesse to Jesus was about 1000 years, so we don’t have all of the direct descendants of Jesse, in fact someone pretty important is missing right near the beginning.

Well, immediately after Jesse, we see depicted his son, King David, holding the harp, a reference to the psalms which he composed, the songs of praise and lament and joy and petition to Almighty God, that we still sing, 3000 years later. But, after David, our ceiling skips a generation for some reason, skipping one of the most intriguing characters from the scriptures, who we hear about in our first reading today, the son of David and Bathsheba, King Solomon.

It was under Solomon's rule that ancient Israel reached its pinnacle of prosperity, influence, and geographical size; the great Temple of Jerusalem was constructed by Solomon. And Solomon became quite renowned for his wisdom. In the Gospels, the Lord himself extols Solomon’s wisdom, speaking about how the Queen of the South traveled from the edges of the known world just to hear the wisdom of Solomon.

Most of us know the story of Solomon and the two prostitutes, that story is depicted in one of our magnificent stained glass windows, see if you can find it after Mass. From the first book of Kings we read of the two prostitutes who had each given birth to a baby, and during the night, one of the infants was smothered and died. The woman whose baby had died switched her dead baby with the baby of the other woman as she slept. She then claimed the living child to be her own.

The women came to Solomon to make a judgment about this case. And Solomon devised a very clever method of determining the truth. “Bring me a sword”, he said, “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.” In response, the first woman cried out, “Please, my lord,” she said, “give her the living baby. Do not kill him!” While the other woman said, But the other woman said, “He will be neither mine nor yours. Cut him in two!”

Solomon then gave his wise judgment: give the baby to the first; for the true mother would never consent to the killing of her child.”

I was always impressed by Solomon’s cleverness, and I always wondered how many other wise solutions did Solomon came up with.

Well, in our first reading today, we hear that not only was Solomon wise according to human standards, but considered wise by God. Early on, after taking the throne of Israel, God promised Solomon that he would give him anything he prayed for. So Solomon prayed to God for what he needed in order to govern Israel effectively. And he did not pray for a long life, or riches, or the heads of his enemies, or any of the other material thing that people often value.

Rather, Solomon believed that the most important thing he could possibly ask from God, was wisdom—prudence—to know what is right and how to pursue it. Solomon, in the words of his Father David, as we heard in the Psalm today, counted the law of God as more precious than silver or gold.

Of all the virtues, prudence, the ability to make right and sound judgments, according to the ancient Greek philosophers, like Plato and Aristotle, and later by Christian theologians like St. Thomas Aquinas, was considered to be the most important of all the virtues. Prudence enables us to identify what is best, what is right, what is good, what is true and to order our lives accordingly.

Prudence says seek what is most essential before pursuing the non-essential. Should we blow all of our savings on a luxurious vacation, or should we make sure we can pay our bills, living within our means. Should I stay up all night playing video games the night before a big test, or should I study and get a good nights sleep? Should I spend all day watching television and social media, or should I go for walk, get some exercise, say my prayers? Should I gorge myself on junk food all day, or save my appetite for a good healthy dinner?

Prudence helps us to judge rightly. Who is the real mother? Who is lying and who is telling the truth?
The Lord extols prudence in the Gospel today, saying, do you wish to inherit the kingdom of heaven, become like the merchant who finds the pearl of great price, and does everything he can to obtain it. The merchant prudently identifies that this pearl is worth more than everything he owns, and he does what it takes to obtain it.

Prudence means using our intellect the best we can to discover the best thing to do with the time available. It enables us to discern among many possibilities which is best.

Again, in the Gospel, the man who found the treasure in the field had a lot of options: He could have told all his friends about the treasure before digging it up. He could have dug up the treasure at once, brought it home, told his wife and kids and neighbors. But he discerned among the many possibilities the best thing to do was to sell everything he had and buy the field. So, no one could accuse him of stealing it from someone else.

Prudence isn’t just about knowing what is right, but using our free will to do it. Having used his intellect, considering his many possibilities, the man in the Gospel made a choice, he took action. Prudence requires action. The man sold his worldly possessions, he bought the field, so, he got the treasure. He took action.

The virtue of prudence is important for Christians. It helps us to avoid sin and pursue what is good. It enables us to know what to do when faced with a moral decision: should I live with my fiancé before marriage, should I cheat on my taxes, should I spend all day in front of the television?

For every day we have a great many choices before us: but so many of them boil down to the choice Solomon made in the first reading today—do I pursue what is passing and superficial—riches, revenge—entertainment and pleasure—or do I pursue the one things that really lasts—friendship with God. Do I seek first the empty promises of the world—or do I seek first the kingdom of God?
Why is prudence so important? Every sin, essentially is failure to exercise prudence, to think before we act, to consider what is God’s will, to act according to what is true and good. And often we keep falling in to the same sins over and over because we fail to prudently avoid the near occasion of sin.
So much of the disorder, violence, division, and suffering in the world is the result of being cut off from prudence.  How much suffering in our families could be avoided if we thought before we spoke!

Without prudence we will never be truly free. Because prudence grants liberation from being ruled by our emotions or passions, not to mention by popular opinion, which is often at great odds with the wisdom of God.

Prudence, it’s a matter of freedom and a matter of salvation. For prudence enables us to identify the those non-essentials which keep us from pursuing the pearl of great price, the life God wants for us. What are the non-essentials the Lord is inviting me to leave behind, in order to pursue the holiness is wants for me?

May the Lord grant us prudence, that we may build our houses, not on the shifting sands of worldly opinion, but on the solid foundation of what truly lasts. Lord grants us prudence, that our children may live. Grant us prudence to become truly wise in your sight, dealing judiciously with the things of the world, and pursuing above all the kingdom of God, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.