Jesus ben Sirach tells us he wrote the wise instructions in the book that bears his name “as they gushed forth from my heart’s understanding” (50.27). He lived in Jerusalem and wrote around 180 B.C. In Sirach 35, this wise teacher insists there is more to true worship than making offerings.
“One who returns a kindness offers fine flour,” he says (35.2). The person who keeps the law makes the equivalent of the temple sacrifice called a peace offering. Sirach cautions against trying to bribe God or against making a public sacrifice without also keeping the law.
God will answer.
God is a God of justice
who knows no favorites.
Though God will not favor the poor,
yet God hears the cry
of the oppressed.
God hears the prayer of the orphan and the widow as
she tells her story.
Those who serve God are heard;
their petitions reach the heavens.
The prayers of the lowly
pierce the clouds;
they pray without rest until
their prayer reaches its goal;
they will not let up
until the Most High responds,
judges justly, and affirms the right.
Sirach 35.12-14, 16-18
Like Jesus’ parable and Sirach’s wisdom the Second Vatican Council encouraged Catholics not to separate heaven from earth, temple from world. The Council calls us to work for justice as well as pray for it, not to put the wiping away of every tear solely in God’s hand.
Liberation theology teaches us that God identifies with the poor. God’s partiality is for justice, not for those who keep the law without doing justice.
Sirach makes meeting the needs of poor widows and fatherless children a litmus test of the authenticity of our prayer and worship. Then as now, women and children made up a significant percentage of the poor.
Many churches work with Bread for the World to advocate in Congress to end hunger at home and abroad. Malnourishment in the first 1,000 days of a baby’s life creates irreversible damage and may make them dependent on others for life. Nutritionists know how to treat malnourishment with plumpynut and help babies flourish.
- How can you accompany your prayer to God in heaven with work for those in need here on Earth?
- What do children deserve?