The Rev. Tom Krenik, pastor of the Church of the Risen Savior in Burnsville, had a pointed question for parishioners in the July 26 weekly bulletin.

"During this week, prayerfully imagine that God says to you, 'Ask something of me and I will give it to you,'" Krenik wrote his Pastor's Corner column on page 2 of the bulletin. "How would you respond?"

Krenik was referring to the reading earlier in the day from First Kings 3:5 and 7-12. In that passage, God appears to Solomon in a dream and has a conversation with him.

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"Today we hear something very striking that God says to King Solomon in a dream: 'Ask something of me and I will give it to you,'" Krenik wrote. "Wow! Wouldn’t each of us wish that God would say such a thing to us?"

Solomon responded to God's question with – perhaps to some – a surprising request, Krenik said.

"Solomon asks God for an understanding heart so that he can distinguish right from wrong as he carries out his responsibilities of governance," he wrote. "To this day, we speak of the wisdom of Solomon. For what would you ask?"

Krenik also referred to the day's Gospel reading from Matthew, Ch. 13.

"This reading is paired with a kind of summary statement of Jesus in the Gospel," Krenik wrote. "He says that everyone who has been instructed in the Kingdom of Heaven is like the head of a household who brings both the new and old from the storeroom."

Each individual Christian's journey "is one of continually being instructed in the things of God," he continued. "Hopefully we grow in wisdom. This heavenly way is like finding a great treasure. It is like finding a fine pearl of great price."