The first reading serves as a beautiful introduction to today’s gospel. It’s taken from the so-called Book of Sirach, named after the author. It’s part of what is called the “wisdom literature” in the Bible. If you broke the Bible apart into separate sections, and distributed them on shelves in a bookstore, you would find the “wisdom literature” in the philosophy or spirituality section.
But sometimes, like in today’s reading, wisdom literature can hit home with a sharp point. In the first verse today, for example, we are greeted with a stunning image: “Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.” We all know how true that is. In the gospel, we’ll hear what Jesus has to say about that.
—Walter Modrys SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
believe. teach. practice. 