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First Reading: Sirach 3:17-18,20,28-29
The Book of Sirach (Aramaic and Greek) may also be called Ben Sira (Hebrew) or Ecclesiasticus (Latin). It was written in Hebrew at the beginning of the Second Century BC and later translated into Greek. It is not included in the Jewish Bible. The Protestants include it in the collection of the Apocryphal works, as a supplement to the Old Testament. The speaker is either a teacher to a student, or a father to his son. It provides practical advice to people of every social class for daily life.
Wisdom is not knowledge and control over all. That is condemned in the intervening verses, which were excerpted from this pericope. It is probably a commentary on the difference between the futility of Greek learning and the richness of what comes through faith and fidelity to God.
Second Reading: Hebrews 12:18-19,22-24a
The author refers to the experience of the Hebrews at the foot of Mt. Sinai, when they were terrified to approach the presence of God on the mountain, as narrated in Exodus 19 and Deuteronomy 4.
Mt. Zion was the name for the Temple mount or even a reference to the entire city of Jerusalem. It was also symbolic of the place of God’s reign. The designation is given to a different hill in Jerusalem today. It is the place where the Messianic figure will set up his throne, according to Jewish expectations. Thus, it assumed a futuristic, an eschatological, meaning.
“Festal gathering” referred to the feast days of the Jews, when people came to the city to offer sacrifice and celebrate an event of God’s manifestation in the history of Israel. The principal feast day was the Sabbath. The firstborn inherits a larger share from their parents. The image of “the assembly of the firstborn” and the mention of the “sprinkled blood” gives an image of those who inherit the covenant, as well as those who were spared from death on the night before the exodus from Egypt.
Gospel: Luke 14:1,7-14
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus often taught while at a meal. This may even be the same unnamed Pharisee, who invited Jesus to dinner earlier, in Luke 7:36 and 11:37. Here, Jesus speaks as a teacher of wisdom. The advice on how to obtain a higher position echoes Proverbs 25:7. Honor is bestowed by others, not self-imposed. Also, Jesus adds a new kind of repayment, which can only be obtained by service to the needy. He reverses worldly wisdom. People who have no power or material ability are required in order to achieve the goal. They are included in the banquet.
Material resources are not extended to those who have no need for them, but to those who are in need. This is the measure of the Old Testament prophecy for a “righteous” man. Hospitality is based on generosity and not self-interest. This parable and its lesson flows into the following verses about the guests at the banquet “in the Kingdom of God.” It lends an eternal facet to the practical advice.
One of the greatest American New Testament scholars was Fr. Raymond Brown. His lectures would fill whatever size hall where he spoke, including people from every religious affiliation. He also faithfully attended the more humble and smaller Catholic Biblical Association meetings, where I met him. Although he was a world renowned scholar, any attendee could sit down with him for lunch and dinner in the cafeteria. He never asked anyone to show their credentials or been published before talking over scriptural questions, or just passing conversation! I have not felt that in most of the meetings. If you did not have a Ph.D. or published significant articles and books, you were not part of the discussion and should not be “at table” in the seminars. I always felt uplifted by this scholar, whose expertise was the community of the early Church. He taught as much by example as in his lectures and books.
Although I love to play the expert and be the “answer man,” I have found that my most enjoyable times (and the one’s in which I learned the most), was when I shared ideas with another. Whether it was a student or colleague, I never go away without being inspired, when I assume the mental position of sitting at the feet of another. I know that the Lord is present in the exchange!
Fr. Richard C. Macey is pastor of Our Lady of the Woods Parish, Woodhaven.
