Breaking Opent he Word

 
Sirach 3:17-18,20,28-29
Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24
Luke 14:1, 7-14
 
Sirach is an interesting piece of scripture for several reasons. Primarily, it is the only book in the bible that has a forward that is detailed with its intent and a defense of what is written. Ben Sira starts right out from the beginning letting us know how important it is to read, study and understand what has been handed down to them through the ages by the law, the prophets and later authors.
 
He then tells us that he had found an ancient piece of writing that came from his family that was invaluable in its teaching. The problem he had was that it was written in Hebrew and that no mater what language he uses to rewrite the old text was not going to do it justice. Hebrew was a difficult language, and like many others, translation often loses its meaning as it is transcribed from one language to another. With this acknowledgement, asking us for pardon in the translation, he then lets us know that has spent may hours to do just that, translate into the language of the day, Greek.
 
He then starts chapter 1 with the very profound statement of “All wisdom comes from the Lord and with Him it remains forever.”  He then suggests throughout the rest of the book that by using this piece of advice, we gain wisdom, which leads us to todays verses from the book.
 
He starts out, not in a condescending way, but that of a wise teacher trying to impart some valuable knowledge on to the student, whom he uses the word child. One important aspect of that wisdom is humility. When we seek to be humble before the Lord, he tells us that we will be loved more than one who is a constant gift giver. When we learn to put others first, we gain so much more than we could ever ask for.
 
The author of Hebrews uses a compare and contrast style today to speak about the journey of faith we all should be on. He recalls for the people the early teachings of the Jewish community, but now he tells us that we should be beyond that in our growth in faith, especially since Jesus has shed His blood for us.
 
Luke writes in this section of his gospel, the story of the people who come to dine with Him who are seeking seats of honor at the table. This relates to our Old Testament writing today of humility. When we stop trying to put ourselves above everyone else, when we stop to acknowledge that there are going to be others who have a higher status than ourselves, not accomplished by our own doing, but that that of the Lord, then we begin to understand what the Lord is doing for us as we growth in our faith.
 
Jesus option for the poor is evident today when he says that when we host a feast, we need to seek out those who are sick, those who are the poor and the lame, those who can not pay us back by inviting us to a feast that they hold. This is the humility that the Lord wants from us, that the Lord expects of us, and that we will be glorified in Jesus when we follow this example.