Justice, Sincerity of Heart, Patience, Steadfastness, and Trust in God

Homily for Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

The wisdom of Ben Sira, more commonly known as the Book of Sirach or the Book of Ecclesiasticus, was written sometime during the second century before the common era. Although the Book of Daniel was written after the Book of Sirach’s composition, this book of the Scriptures was written just before the advent of Jesus Christ.

The author, a sage who lived in Jerusalem, was thoroughly imbued with love for the wisdom tradition, and also for the law, the priesthood, the Temple, and divine worship. As a wise and experienced observer of life he addressed himself to his contemporaries with the motive of helping them to maintain religious faith and integrity through study of the books sacred to the Jewish tradition.

The second chapter, which is where we start today, begins with several wisdom maxims promoting justice, sincerity of heart, patience, steadfastness, and trust in God. The evangelical virtues of faith, hope, and charity figure prominently in this reading. His motivation for writing comes from the fact that he has placed his hope in the promises that the Lord has made to the people of Israel. Psalm 37, which we use as our response to this reading, mentions many of the same attributes.

Today we also hear the second of St. Mark’s predictions of the passion and death of Jesus. It is obvious that the apostles still have not understood what Jesus is saying. This is evident from the discussion they were having while they walked through Galilee. Though St. Mark does not attribute their discussion specifically to James, John, and their mother, the discussion does prompt Jesus to tell them that if they wish to be great, they must learn to serve others. This theme runs throughout the Gospels and can be said to be a wisdom maxim that comes from the mouth of Jesus. Indeed, the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus will turn the world upside down so that the victor is the one who is vanquished. It imitates the very first verse that we read from the book of Sirach today; namely, the one who wishes to serve the Lord must prepare for trials in this life.

None of us would ever choose suffering if it were left up to us. However, like the apostles themselves, we should be filled with joy when we are called upon to suffer, for it means that we can identify ourselves with Jesus himself.