Please read this passage before reading this homily.
The Queen of Sheba visited Solomon. She had heard of his wisdom and she had brought a wealth of goods as gifts or for commerce. The magnificence of Solomon’s court utterly astounded the Queen and possibly other foreign dignitaries and officials.
What amazed the visitor, however, eventually had to be paid for by the citizen. Another passage from 1 Kings (12;1-5) tells of the heavy burden of taxation and servitude that the impressive court and temple cost. When it came time to put Solomon’s son on the throne in place of Solomon, the opposition arose against the House of David and set up a rival kingdom with the northern tribes. Solomon’s son was left with only two tribes, Judah and Benjamin.
The Scriptures set out two reasons for the split into two kingdoms. One was that Solomon had many wives who turned his heart from the Lord his God. The other was the taxation and servitude that it had cost to build the kingdom.
Politics has not changed. We still rejoice at great monuments, but cringe at having to pay for our grandeur. We like the glory but not the price. We live in a divided society where personal wealth keeps us from supporting poor and marginalized peoples whether they are living in our country, trying to get into our country, or simply being poor and marginalized. Solomon’s fault may have been his many wives, but ours may well be our many greeds, privileges, and arrogance. We have the trade and commerce that many peoples of the world can only imagine. We have beyond measure. We are called to share our bounty with those who have not the half of what we have. In the Scriptures, the story of the Queen of Sheba comes shortly before the story of the breaking up of Solomon’s kingdom; do we have a Queen of Sheba whose arrival presages our fall?