Vigils Reading

A Reading on the Book of Sirach  from Fr. Raymond MacKenzie S.J. [1]

As a follow-up to the preceding sections, against pride and against superficial judgments, Ben Sira now considers the golden mean, the middle way between two extremes. This is his version of the Greek slogan meden agan , “Nothing too much”.

The sage begins by condemning premature judgments, as also involvement in others’ business. Then, with renewed address “My son”, he warns against being a “workaholic” in pursuit of wealth. As always, Ben Sira insists that human beings must not “play God”; they must act, of course, as prudently and effectively as they can, but realizing always that the last word belongs to the Lord. Ben Sira expresses reverent amazement at the Lord’s actions in reversing human fortunes; he does not suggest that such reverses can be explained as reward or punishment for human acts.

Verse 14 brings a favorite doctrine of Ben Sirra: the universal causality of the God of Israel. All dualism is excluded from this sapiential theology. There is not – as there was in Zoroastrianism, for example – any evil Spirit on a level with the Lord, to whom things wrong or displeasing might be attributed. Ben Sira affirms the origin in the Lord of evil as well as good, death as well as life, etc. leaving for later discussion how this is to be understood.

Verses 18-19 are as follows: “There is a man who is rich through his diligence and self-denial, and this is the reward allotted to him: when he says: “I have found rest and now I shall enjoy my goods!” he does not know how much time will pass until he leaves them to others and dies.” This is expanded in dramatic dialogue form in the Lucan parable of Lk 12:16-21: “I will pull down my barns and build larger ones… and I will say to my soul, Soul, take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you.”

[1] Sirach – R.A.F. MacKenzie SJ – Old Testament Message – vol. 19 – Michael Glazier Inc – Wilmington, DE – 1983 – pg60