Daily BIble Reading: Sirach [Ecclesiasticus] 1-3 and Acts 4

The Apocrypha – Books of the Old Testament – about 16 of them - included in the Septuagint and Latin Vulgate but not in the Masoretic Bible or the Protestant Bibles. The word in Greek originally meant “hidden” or “secret” – thought to be somewhat beyond the reach of ordinary readers - but because of the exclusion of some of the texts from the Masoretic text, compiled by Torah scholars between the 7^th and 11^th centuries AD. Their criteria was generally to accept the book as canonical only if it was written before the time of Ezra (450 BC), before the promulgation of the Pentateuch as binding.  Ecclesiastes we now know came after, but at the time it was thought to have been written by Solomon (Boadt, 535) And among Christians during the Protestant Reformation, it came to mean “questionable” or “false” - not reliable. While the books were not seen as canonical by the Lutherans or Anglicans, German and English bibles kept the books as a separate group of “apocryphal” books that should not perhaps be given as much authority, but should be approached with a degree of respect since they were often alluded to or quoted in New Testament writings.

Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)

The book of Sirach (Jesus Ben Sira) or Ecclesiasticus is part of the Greek Bible and is not in the Jewish Canon. St. Cyrpian is the one who started to call it Ecclesiasticus. The forward has words alleged to be those of the author’s grandson, and it refers to a time around 132 BC as the date of composition. At this time Palestine was newly under the rule of the Seleucids; and it was a time when that ruling class promoted Greek culture. Ben Sira is part of the traditionalist resistance of the time. He is devoted to the Temple and the law. He has studied the Prophets and the wisdom writings.

                 

There is little logic to the writing overall though many parts of it are quite beautiful. The author believes that the way to wisdom is through adherence to the Mosaic Law and the Prophets. In this he is somewhat different from other wisdom proponents. The Jerusalem Bible introduction to the book says Sirach, the author, “is an outstanding example of those Hasidim (the ‘devout’) of Judaism, . . . who were soon to defend their faith against the persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes, and preserve little islands of faith in Israel, in which the teaching of Christ could later take root” (1035).

                 

In the New Testament, James borrows from it and “it is, next to the Psalms, the Old Testament book most frequently quoted in the Christian liturgy” (1035).

Translator’s Forward - The Translator’s (Greek) Forward is included in the Jerusalem Bible translation, which I will use: He refers to his grandfather, the supposed author, as Jesus. He saw “Wisdom” as rooted in the Mosaic Law and the Prophets. He says it was when he went to Egypt in the year 132 BC that he sought to instruct himself in the language so he could translate this text. It is intended to help people live according to the Law.

Sirach 1 – “All wisdom is from the Lord, and it is his own forever” (1:1).

“Before all other things wisdom was created. . . One only is wise, terrible indeed, seated on his throne, the Lord. He himself has created her, looked on her and assessed her, and poured her out on all his works to be with all mankind as his gift, and he conveyed her to those who love him” (1:4-10).

“To fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, she was created with the faithful in their mothers’ womb; she has made a nest among men, an age-old foundation, and to their offspring she will cling faithfully. To fear the Lord is the perfection of wisdom; she intoxicates them with her fruits; she fills their whole house with their heart’s desire, and their storerooms with her produce. The fear of the Lord is the crown of wisdom; it makes peace and health to flourish. . . To fear the Lord is the root of wisdom, and her branches are long life” (1:14-20).

“If you desire wisdom, keep the commandments, and the Lord will convey her to you. For wisdom and instruction mean the fear of the Lord, and what pleases him is faithfulness and gentleness. Do not be unsubmissive to the fear of the Lord, do not practice it with a double heart. Do not act a part in public, and keep a watch over your lips” (1:26-29).

Sirach 2 – “My son, if you aspire to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for an ordeal. Be sincere of heart, be steadfast, and do not be alarmed when disaster comes. Cling to him and do not leave him. . .” (2:1-3).

“Whatever happens to you, accept it, and in the uncertainties of your humble state, be patient, since gold is tested in the fire, and chosen men in the furnace of humiliation. Trust him and he will uphold you, follow a straight path and hope in him” (2:4-6).

“Look at the generations of old and see: who ever trusted in the Lord and was put to shame? Or who ever feared him steadfastly and was left forsaken? (2:10)

“Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, not into the hands of men; for as his majesty is, so too is his mercy” (2:18).

Sirach 3 – The first part is about respect for father and mother.

“The greater you are, the more you should behave humbly, and then you will find favor with the Lord” (3:18).

“Do not try to understand things that are too difficult for you, or try to discover what is beyond your powers. Concentrate on what has been assigned you; you have no need to worry over mysteries. Do not meddle with matters that are beyond you; what you have been taught already exceeds the scope of the human mind” (3:21-23).

Acts 4 – The priests, the captain of the temple and some Sadducees complain that Peter and John are teaching the people about resurrection from the dead. They are arrested and brought the next day to Annas, Caiaphas and others. Peter speaks out of the Holy Spirit to them, that the good deed done by them was done in the name and power of Jesus Christ “whom you crucified,” again trying to spark in listeners a sense of the terrible thing they had done. For Peter, there “is salvation in no one else” (4:12).

                 

The fact that Peter and John are “uneducated and ordinary men,” or “uneducated laymen” in the Jerusalem BIble, they are not held to quite the same standard as a rabbi would be found teaching something like this, so they are warned to stop. The apostles retort by saying, “Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge” (4:19). They know they cannot keep from speaking “about what we have seen and heard” (4:20). The official lets them go, fearing the people.

Peter and John return to their friends. The incident only shows them that the “kings of the earth . . . and the rulers have gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah,” quoting Psalm 2. They simply ask God to grant them power to speak his word “with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus” (4:30).

                 

The writer returns to the theme of the apostles’ social testimony: The “whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common” (4:32). An example given is Barnabas, who sold a field that belonged to him and brought the proceeds to the apostles. The Jerusalem Bible translates 4:37 so it reads “he had a field and sold it”; the NRSV simply said “he sold a field that belonged to him,” (4:37) leaving it to the reader to wonder if it was one of many or his only field. I guess, considering what happens to Ananias in the next chapter, the Jerusalem Bible translation probably reflects better what the tradition believed about Barnabas.

Daily Bible Reading: Tobit 1-2 and Luke 18

Tobit is not in the Protestant Bible; it is part of what is called the “apocrypha.” My Jerusalem Bible introduction to the books says they were “only recognized by the Church after a certain hesitancy in the patristic period” but they have been “read and quoted from early days and appear in the official canonical lists in the West from the time of the Roman Synod of 382 and, in the East, from 682” (601). All three “belong to the same type of literature”; they all deal with history and geography with a “good deal of freedom” (602). 

They are clearly NOT being used as “historical” texts themselves. For example, Tobit tells his story as if he could personally have lived at three very different times in Israel’s history. He tells of being a young man when the kingdom was divided at Solomon’s death in 922 BC and how he continued to travel to Jerusalem to bring offerings. Then he is part of the diaspora of the northern kingdom and is taken to Nineveh. In chapter 4 he is deported with the tribe of Naphtali in 734 BC and his son does not die until after the fall of Nineveh in 612 BC – so it “covers” about three hundred years of history. The original semitic text of the story is no long extant. A “few Hebrew and Aramaic Fragments of the book have been recently discovered near the Dead Sea” but the text Jerome used in putting the Latin Vulgate Bible together is no longer with us. “The Book of Tobit was written among the Jews of the Dispersion, possibly in Egypt, between the 4^th and 5^th centuries B.C.” (603).

Tobit 1 – Tobit introduces himself. He says he is the grandson of Deborah and a man from Israel in the north. He says “when I still was at home in the country of Israel, the whole tribe of Naphtali my ancestor broke away from the House of David and from Jerusalem” (1:4). But while most of the House of Naphtali “offered sacrifice to the calf that Jeroboam. . . had made at Dan. . . I was quite alone in making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, fulfilling the law that binds all Israel perpetually” (1:6).

Tobit is not just fulfilling the Law outwardly. He claims he has “walked in paths of truth and in good works all the days of my life” (1:3). In the days when his tribe was taken into exile to Nineveh, he says God made him prosper among the Assyrians as well. He was put in charge of buying goods and supplies for Shalmaneser (r.727-722 BC). “Until  his death I used to travel to Media, where I transacted business on his behalf” (1:16). “I had often given alms to the brothers of my race; I gave my bread to the hungry and clothes to the naked” (1:17). On one of these trips to Media, transacting business for the emperor, he deposited “sacks of silver worth ten talents” with a man named Gabael.

Under the reign of Shalmaneser’s grandson, Sennacherib (r. 705-681 BC), many of Tobit’s countrymen from Israel were killed. When he saw them Tobit “stole their bodies to bury them; Sennacherib looked for them and could not find them” (1:18), soon Tobit was hunted, his property was seized and he was left with only his wife Anna and his son Tobias.

Forty days after this confiscation, however, Sennacherib’s own children killed him and fled. Another son, Esarhadden (r. 681-669 BC), took over and put Tobit’s nephew, Ahikar, in charge of administrative tasks. This opened the way for Tobit’s return to Nineveh.

Tobit 2 – Back at home, he prepares to celebrate Pentecost (Feast of Weeks) and sends Tobias out to find a poor compatriot to invite; but Tobias comes back with a report that one of their countrymen has been killed and lies in the street strangled. Tobit goes out and retrieves the body, prepares it in his home for burial and then goes about celebrating the meal. At sunset, he buries the body. People are amazed that he continues to do these things that have gotten him into trouble.

He sleeps outside one hot night and bird droppings fall onto his eyes, leaving a white film that eventually make him blind. Then it tells of an interchange with his wife, where he accuses her of lying to him and she says to him, “Where are your acts of charity?” This story resonates because here is a situation where Tobit, known for his acts of courage and charity in the community, fails to act with charity at home. He is a good man but he is blind to the need for a faithful spirit in his relations to his wife – at least temporarily.

Luke 18 – A parable about “their need to pray always and not to lose heart” (18:1). An unresponsive judge is petitioned by a widow who looks to him for justice.  He is finally moved to do his job by her persistent nagging. How much more will God grant justice to those who cry to him. But will the Son of Man find people with faith when he comes?

                 

Jesus addresses those who think they are better than others.  Two men went up to the temple—one said “I thank you I am not like other people” (the bad people); the other prays “God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (18:3).  That man is justified.  All “who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted” (18:14). What pleases God is not formal piety, especially when it leads to self-righteousness, but a spirit bowed by a sense of the great mercy of God and a sense of the great need we have of God’s love and forgiveness.

The disciples try to keep people from foisting children on him for his blessing.  But he tells them not to stop them “for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs” (18:16).

                 

A “ruler” asks Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (18:18) Why do you call me good, Jesus asks.  Only God is good.  Then he goes through the usual commands and ends by saying, “sell all that you won and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow” (18:22). Unlike the Lucan doublet of this at 10:25, just before the parable of the good Samaritan, this one does go back to the form of Mark 10:17. Here, though, the man Jesus meets is a ruler, and he instructs the man not just to unburden himself of his possessions, but to sell them to give the money to the poor. “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” (18:24) But it is not impossible with God’s help.  Peter reminds Jesus of all they have given up to follow him, and he reassures them.

                 

Jesus takes them aside and gives them the last warning of the suffering that he will have to endure when they get to Jerusalem. “But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said” (18:34).

                 

Near Jericho, they encounter a blind man begging by the side of the road (Bartimaeus in Mark).  He cries after Jesus and calls him “Son of David.” Members of Jesus’ entourage tell him to be quiet, “but he shouted even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’” (18:39) This is an example of the kind of persistence Jesus encourages in parable such as the one about the widow and the judge or the neighbor who refuses to get up when you call on him. Jesus does heal the blind man.