Reflection on Today's Readings, Wednesday of 5th Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, February 9th, 2022
Texts: I Kings 10:1-10; Psalm 37:5-6.30-31.39-40; Mark7: 14-23
Today's first reading gives us an insight into how far the fame of Solomon travelled and how deep and vast his understanding could likely be. His fame travelled across nations and social statuses. His understanding was so vast that he could answer all the questions on the mind of the Queen of Sheba and so deep that the Queen lost her spirit. Solomon must belong to a group of people that we see one of their kind in a generation; they exhibit personality beyond human expectation. This is clear in the words: "And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king which he could not explain to her. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her."
Today's psalm tells us so much, in few words, about how to attain understanding like Solomon. It says, "The mouth of the just man utters wisdom, and his tongue tells forth what is right. *The law of his God is in his heart".* Keeping the law of the Lord in our hearts and acting on it makes us wise. This is true about Solomon. This is clear in the first clause of today's first reading: "When the queen of Sheba heard of *the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord".* His fame that travelled around the then world was about the name of the Lord. The reading does not say the Queen heard the fame of his wisdom but his fame concerning the Lord. She heard the fame of his devotion to the Lord, the fame of his love for the Lord, fame of his knowledge about the Lord. Solomon challenges us to ask the question: what do people hear about me? My fame is about what? Perhaps, it is about myself. Perhaps, it is about my love for the world. Perhaps, it is about mischief, playing of antics, youthful shenanigans and exuberance. Perhaps, it is about lies, playing pranks, immorality, theft, terrorism, kidnapping, robbery, banditry etc. Asking the question again: What does people know me for? My fame should be about the truth, the justice, the making of peace, the righteousness, any thing that is good and praiseworthy. Solomon was known for his love of God, for his devotion to Him.
The reading also shows that who we are, our gifts, reflects in the things around us. It is said thus: "And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her." Solomon's wisdom manifests in the things he did, in the things around him. What do people see around us? Perhaps, hatred, injustice, oppression, disorder, sadness, cheating, sins and iniquities, etc. We should always try to see that peace reign around us. We should always try to spread love. We should always strive after holiness. We should always try to maintain justice, righteousness and order around us. We should also know that if we love God, it will show around us, in things we do and in our words. Let us keep loving God.
Queen of Sheba also challenges our age, the age of information and communication, the age of social media and internet. She teaches us to verify every information. The virtue we need to maintain integrity in our own age and time was what Queen of Sheba exhibited in her own time: she came to Jerusalem to verify the news she was told. In our age and time falsehood and fake news are everywhere; they spread faster than ever before. Our world is now confused more than ever before. We stand high rate of being gullible. Truth is receding more than ever before. We are in age whereby information travels faster and communication is easier than ever before, yet truth is still limited to few people, people who could verify information. Falsehood is readily available instead of truth. This once again reminds us how corrupted human nature has been. It reminds us of our fallen nature and once again confirming the truth of the Scripture. We have been wounded seriously by sin. We are in dire need of the Saviour, Jesus Christ. Let us turn to Him; only Him that can deliver us from this menace. Only Jesus Christ that can heal the wound we incurred from sinning.
Queen of Sheba also reminds us that even when we are told the truth, it will not be full. She says, "The report was true which I heard in my own land of your affairs and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it; and behold, the half was not told me; your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report which I heard." We always  need to verify every information we are told so as to know the whole truth. Half knowledge is dangerous. Many people are held down, today, by falsehood, fake news or being partly informed. We hear very often the bad things government is doing but rarely hear of the good things government is doing that can benefit us. Many minds are already disabused and their eyes blindfolded with falsehood and fake news so that they can no longer see the good things government is doing; they are perpetually kept outside of government programmes. The more we spread falsehood  and fake news about government, the more we impoverish people.
Jesus Christ, in today's gospel reading, reveals the root of our problem: the decay of human mind. Human mind has been corrupted. He says, "For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and they defile a man.” The remedy to our problem is, therefore, renewal of human mind. Human mind is renewed when God's words dwell therein. We  are enwisdomised when the words of God dwell in our hearts just as Solomon became wise when the law of the Lord dwelt in his heart. Human mind is corrupted, for they prevent the words of God from dwelling therein.

God our Father, remove from our minds all the things that prevent your word from dwelling in there; may your word finds a room in hearts, that we may be renewed and our fame will be that we know, love and serve You. Amen.

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke