From: Sirach 36:1, 4-5a, 10-17
Prayer for Israel
[1] Have mercy upon us, 0 Lord, [4] As in us thou hast been sanctified
before them, so in them be thou magnified before us; [5a] and let them know
thee. [10] Crush the heads of the rulers of the enemy, who say. "There is no
one but ourselves." [11] Gather all the tribes of Jacob, and give them their
inheritance, as at the beginning. [12] Have mercy, 0 Lord, upon the people
called by thy name, upon Israel, whom thou hast likened to a first-born son.
[13] Have pity on the city of thy sanctuary, Jerusalem, the place of thy
rest. [14] Fill Zion with the celebration of thy wondrous deeds, and thy
temple with thy glory. [15] Bear witness to those whom thou didst create in
the beginning, and fulfill the prophecies spoken in thy name. [16] Reward
those who wait for thee, and let thy prophets be found trustworthy. [17]
Hearken, 0 Lord, to the prayer of thy servants, according to the blessing of
Aaron for thy people, and all who are on the earth will know that thou art
the Lord, the God of the ages.
Commentary:
36:1-17. ThIs prayer addressed to on behalf of the people of Israel recalls
his mighty deeds and asks for his further help. It does not argue that the
people have merited God's intervention as a reward for their actions, but it
appeals to the promises he made; it will redound to his glory.
This is one of the few passages in Sirach that looks forward to the
messianic times when God will restore Israel. God's response to Israel's
appeal went much further than the Jews envisaged: he used Israel to extend
salvation to all mankind: "At all times and in every place, anyone who fears
God and does what is right has been acceptable to him (cf. Acts 10:35). He
has, however, willed to make men holy and save them, not as individuals
without any bond or link between them, but rather to make them into a people
who might acknowledge him and serve him in holiness. He therefore chose the
Israelite race to be his own people and established a covenant with it. He
gradually instructed this people--in its history manifesting both himself
and the decree of his will--and made it holy unto himself. All these,
things, however happened as a preparation that new and perfect covenant was
to be ratified in Christ, and of the fuller revelation which was to be given
through the Word of God made flesh" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 9).
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.