What Would You Wish For?

Go back in time to your most recent birthday. You have family and friends around you. You have shared a dinner of delicious food and drink. And now the big hour is coming: the birthday cake – your birthday cake is brought into the room. The candles are burning brightly. The smiles on everyone’s face are quite evident. They break into the traditional song to celebrate your day of birth. And now it is time to blow out the candles – no matter how many there are! For some, it is an indication of how many years of life are left to you. But before you extinguish the lit candles, the traditional call is given to you: “First you must make a wish.” Even if this is a multiple amount of birthdays for you, many of us do not think about a wish until that moment. As you ponder what you would wish for, the candles are burning ever lower and all those around await in silence. You have but a few seconds to identify your wish. What shall you wish? What request shall you make? You have had that experience, haven’t you – maybe many time by now? The first reading comes from 1 Kings. It is God speaking to Solomon in a dream. In the dream, God encourages and invites Solomon to ask something of God. It is a familiar passage to most faith people because Solomon asks for “an understanding heart” so that he, Solomon, might be able to judge rightly the people of God and know right from wrong. Many accent that Solomon sought wisdom – the wisdom of God. If God was inviting you in a similar situation, what would you ask for? What would you wish for? You have more than a few seconds to come to your answer. Perhaps some time in prayer and reflection can help you make that choice.

Msgr. Mike