The Judgement of Solomon, Raphael, 1509-1511, Palazzi Pontifici, Vatican

FIRST READING:
September 8, 2019
Wisdom 9:13-18B

Our reading today is from the Book of Wisdom. As we have seen previously, it may be the last book of the Old Testament, written possibly as late as 30 BC, although the author speaks in the name of King Solomon from about 1000 BC. It was composed most likely in Alexandria, Egypt but nonetheless shares some of the concerns and features of the Book of Sirach, which we read from last week. The authors were both teachers of the young Jewish elite and labored to show them how they could be part of the wider—by this time Greek and Roman culture—and still be authentically Jewish.

Today, the author of the Book of Wisdom will emphasize through Solomon the importance of Prayer. This section is indeed called the Prayer of Solomon. To be precise, it is the final of three sections. We will need to look at each, but first it should be remembered that in the chapters leading up to this, Solomon is relating his successes but ends with:

And knowing that I could not otherwise possess her except God gave it—
and this, too, was prudence, to know whose is the gift—
I went to the LORD and besought him,
and said with all my heart:
(Wis. 8:21)

The prayer follows. He knows that he cannot succeed without Wisdom, which is more than intelligence, understanding or talent, and must be given by God. He will first acknowledge that it must be given to every person and not just kings. He offers his prayer in a typically Jewish form:

Continue reading “23rd Sunday Ordinary Time – Applying Wisdom in the World” →

Before the Banquet, Francis Chin, 2012

First Reading
September 1, 2019
Sirach 3:17-18, 28-29 

We return today to the book of Sirach. We read from this book a few months ago and called him one of the great virtually unsung heroes of Judaism. Ben Sira lived in Jerusalem in about 200BC. By this time, the Jews had been under direct foreign domination for over 300 years. First by the Assyrians and then by the descendants of the great Greek general Alexander. The beliefs of the Jews were radically different from their occupiers and, although there was little direct persecution, there was pressure to conform to Greek mores. This was particularly true of the elites. The sons of wealthy and well-placed Jewish families who associated with wealthy and important Assyrians then Greek leaders were particularly tempted to take on foreign ways.

Ben Sira, better known as Sirach, was the teacher of these aristocratic scions. He understood the teachings of the day both the traditional “Wisdom” of the East and the philosophy of the West, i.e. the Greeks. He admired some of it and assimilated where he could, but he understood very clearly that ultimately wisdom or philosophy were incompatible with authentic Judaism. Continue reading “22nd Sunday Ordinary Time – Anti-Nicomachean Ethics” →