Breaking Open the Word

Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Luke 18:9-14
 
It has been a while since we have heard from Sirach, so a little review is in order. The book of Sirach also goes by the name of Ecclesiasticus which is the Latin name for “church book.” It also goes by the name of the Wisdom of Sirach. The first name comes from the use of the book by the early church. The second name comes from the name of the author. That in itself is unusual because normally the OT books are usually about the person and not by the person. In the forward of the book the author calls himself Jesus and in 50:27 we see his more complete name, Jesus, son of Eleazar, son of Sirach. You will also hear his name as Ben (son of) Sira.
We know very little about him personally, but can deduce some things from the book itself. He appears to be a family man who like to study and to write. His concerns seem to be for the upper-class and scholars believe he wrote this late in his life. He shows an interest in liturgy, but he was not known to be a priest. His writings appear to a long series of notes that he had collected over time and he has put them into poetry. He has rich images of nature and displays a wide variety of writing. It resembles the book of Wisdom because of its interest in history and theory. It also resembles the writings of Proverbs, but does not have a single proverb in it.
Scholars have determined that he wrote this book around the year 180 BC. They make this assumption by looking at the individuals he writes about and the history of the rulers who lived during those times.
Sirach is part of a group of books called the “deuterocanonical,” also known as the “Apocrypha.” This is part of the groups of books that the Jewish scholars did not add to the original list of biblical books or the Jewish canon.  Even early Christians did not always accept this book or questioned its authority. Both the Jewish an Christians faiths did use it extensively and continues to do so. For Ben Sira, God is all in all, the only God, the almighty creator who brings order to all life. For him God is the source of good, acts justly and forgives sin. Sirach has a world view of God and sees where the law applies to everyone in some way. For him fulfilling the law of Moses is great wisdom on our part. To him it is clear that virtuous living will be rewarded and sin will be punished.
 
Our passage today comes from chapter 35 where he explains that God is a God of justice, a theme we often hear. Then he goes on to say that God knows no favorites and is not unduly partial to the weak, but He hears the cry of the oppressed. At first glance this ought to strike us as not being inconsistent. How can God not be unduly partial to the weak and yet hear the cry of the oppressed?
 
The answer lies in the fact that God had already given the Israel the commands in the Torah, in Exodus 22:20-22, Leviticus 19:9-10, 23:22 and in Deuteronomy 15:8 to take care of the alien, the widow, the children and the poor. With that command already in place, then it makes sense that God is not doing anything different than He had already established. It is then expected that when these classes of people are mistreated, when they are oppressed, when they have been deemed unworthy in human terms, they will be exalted by God, and the oppressor will suffer the just judgement of the Lord.
 
I think by now we understand Paul uses several literary styles when writing to the communities he founded. In his 2 ^nd letter to Timothy today we hear him give one of his farewell speeches. Paul is well aware that he is going to be put to death and wants Timothy to understand what he has experienced.
Paul tells him that he has been poured out like a libation. In ancient Greece and Rome, a libation was an alcoholic drink that was offered to the gods. He also uses the athletic analogy of some one who has completed the race, that all of the preparation, all of the efforts to execute the race have cumulated in coming to the finish line, no matter what the results were. The results will speak for themselves.
 
Paul looks forward to being with the Lord, the only one who stood by him and gave him the strength to proclaim to the Gentiles all that the Lord had given to him about Jesus Christ. He knows that God will bring him to His heavenly Kingdom.
 
We continue our Gospel of Luke this week from where we left off last week. Jesus has been teaching His followers and using parables to explain who will be justified and who will enter the Kingdom of God. His examples in this parable are a Pharisee and a tax collector.
 
In the eyes of most people, neither of them were very good people. The Pharisee was so religious that he had no tolerance for anyone who deviated from the law. They followed the letter of the law and forgot why the law was actually given in the first place. The tax collectors were notorious for over charging the people and demanded more than what was due.
 
When both get to the Temple, the Pharisee lords it over the poor, the tax collector and anyone else who was not his equal. He says that he is unlike the rest of humanity. He brags on his tithes he pays on his whole income and that he fasts twice a week.  The tax collector on the other hand acknowledges that he is a sinner and is unworthy and asks the Lord for forgiveness. Jesus explains to them that the tax collector who sees his own faults and acknowledges them is the one who will be justified and gain entry to the Kingdom of God.
 
For us today, we need to remind ourselves just what the Lord is asking of us, how we act towards our fellow human beings, no matter who they are, where they come from, how we must remember that we are all sinners and that the Lord still loves us despite our sins and we must proclaim that love to all we meet, just as Paul did.