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From: Sirach 1:1-10

All Wisdom Comes from the Lord

[1] All wisdom comes from the Lord and is with him forever. [2] The sand of the
sea, the drops of rain, and the days of eternity — who can count them? [3] The
height of heaven, the breadth of the earth, the abyss, and wisdom — who can
search them out? [4] Wisdom was created before all things, and prudent under-
standing from eternity. [6] The root of wisdom — to whom has it been revealed?
Her clever devices — who knows them? [8] There is One who is wise, greatly to
be feared, sitting upon his throne.

God Imbues All His Work with Wisdom

[9] The Lord himself created wisdom; he saw her and apportioned her, he poured
her out upon all his works. [10] She dwells with all flesh according to his gift, and
he supplied her to those who love him.

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Commentary:

1:1-16:23 Just as the Torah is made up of the five books of the Pentateuch, we
could say that the book of Ben Sirach also consists of five parts, over the course
of which the teacher distills his teaching. The first of these covers almost sixteen
chapters. It begins with kind, of doctrinal introduction dealing with the divine ori-
gin of Wisdom (1:1-2:18). Then (3:1-16:23) there follows a series of practical tea-
chings about a whole range of things to do with ordinary life—duties to parents
(3:1-16), solidarity with others (4:1-10), human virtues (3:l7-29; 4:25-6:1). As a
kind of refrain, every now and then we get exhortations about the need to be pru-
dent and to acquire true wisdom.

1:1-2:21. In the. doctrinal instruction to the first part of the.book, Ben Sirach
zones in on the main ideas he means to explore over the course of the book. It
has to do with the Lord as the source of wisdom, and with the attitude a person
needs to have to become wise. In the Greek translation, as in the Septuagint’s
translation of other Old Testament works, the term “the Lord” used where the
Hebrew text uses the proper name of God, “Yhwh”.

The first question posed is: Where does wisdom come from? And the answer is
quite, definite from the very start “All wisdom comes from God and is with him
forever” (1:1). There is no source .of wisdom but the one true God: “There is [on-
ly] One who is wise” (1:8). He created all things and “he poured (wisdom) out
upon all his works” (1:9). Therefore the study, of nature and of man (God’s works)
is the way to discover wisdom. More will be said about this in the introduction to
the second part of the book (16:24-18:14).
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Every created thing is designed in a particular way and the Lord’s wisdom can be
seen from the order that exists in creation and from the laws governing the nature
and activity of man. In the case of human beings, a person will attain happiness
and wisdom if he or she adheres to these rules laid by God. This leads Ben Si-
rach to say this is the main contribution his book makes), “If you desire wisdom,
the commandments” (1:26). A person who approaches God in all simplicity, rea-
dy to listen to his precepts and puts them into practice will discover the meaning
of the things and events of the world around him, which he so greatly desires. In
the introduction to the part of the book these ideas are developed further (24: 1-
34).

It follows that a person who wants to be wise should logically show grateful res-
pect to the Creator by acting in line with the “instructions” wisely imprinted on
created things (man included). This is what in the tradition of Israel called “fear
of the Lord”, which is therefore “wisdom and instruction” (1:27). The expression
“fear of the Lord” does not, then, in any sense mean being afraid of God. On the
contrary, it is a reverent way of referring to the religious attitude of man towards
Him who looks after him with great solicitude.

When the fourth part of the book goes into the motivation that, should inspire
one’s everyday conduct, it stresses the need for fear of the Lord in order to be
wise (32:14-33:17).

A person beginning to set out on the path of wisdom need to be determined to
keep true to the Lord, for he is bound to meet with difficulties. But he has every
reason to trust in God. One good reason is the lessons of history: “Consider the
ancient generations and see: who ever trusted in the Lord and was put to shame?”
(2:10). The fifth and last part of the book, provide a running commentary on the
example set by figures in the past (44:1-50:21).

The ideas contained in these chapters prepare the way for the full revelation of
the Wisdom of God—the incarnation of the Word (cf. the prologue to St John’s
Gospel: Jn 1:1-18). That passage of the New Testament helps one to understand
the full implications of things said here. “All wisdom comes from God and is with
him for ever” (1:1), for “the Word was with God and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1);
nd the Lord “supplied her [Wisdom] to those who love him” (Sir 1:10b), for “to all
who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children
of God” (Jn 1:12-13). The Law promulgated by God in the Old Testament pre-
pared the way for the full revelation of God himself’ in whom all Wisdom dwells:
“The ‘Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Christ” (Jn
1 17). The Letter to the Hebrews, in line with the call in Sirach 2:10, invites us
to consider the example set by the great Israelite leaders of the past (cf. Heb 11:
1-40).

The earliest Christian commentators did not fail to find in Sirach references to the
fullness of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ: “The divine Teacher, Jesus Christ, me-
rits our full confidence because he possesses the three most beautiful qualities —
wisdom, benevolence, and openheartedness. Wisdom, for he is wisdom of the
Father: “All wisdom comes from the Lord, and is with him forever” (Sir 1:1); open-
heartedness, for he is God and Creator: “Everything that is was made by him,
and without him nothing was made” (Jn 1:9) and benevolence, for he offered him-
self as the one victim for us all” (Clement of Alexandria, “Paedagogus”, 1, 97:3).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Mark 9:14-29

The Curing of an Epileptic Boy

[14] And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd about them,
and scribes arguing with them. [15] And immediately all the crowd when they
saw Him (Jesus), were greatly amazed, and ran up to Him and greeting Him.
[16] And He asked them, “What are you discussing with them?” [17] And one
of the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a
dumb spirit; [18] and wherever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams
and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked Your disciples to cast it
out, and they were not able.” [19] And He answered them, “Oh faithless gene-
ration, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring
him to Me.”

[20] And they brought the boy to Him; and when the spirit saw Him, immediately
it convulsed the body, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the
mouth. [21] And Jesus asked his father, “How long has he had this?” And he
said, “From childhood. [22] And it has often cash him into the fire and into the
water, to destroy him; but if You can do anything, have pity on us and help us.”
[23] And Jesus said to him, “If you can! All things are possible to him who be-
lieves.” [24] Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help
my unbelief!” [25] And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, He
rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You dumb and deaf spirit, I command
you, come out of him, and never enter him again.” [26] After crying out and con-
vulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse; so that most of
them said, “He is dead.” [27] But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up,
and he arose. [28] And when He had entered the house, His disciples asked Him
privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” [29] And He said to them, “This kind
cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.”

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Commentary:

17. The demon who possessed this boy is described as a “dumb spirit” because
dumbness was the main feature of the possession. On diabolic possession cf.
note on Matthew 12:22-24.

19-24. As on other occasions, Jesus requires submission of faith before He
works the miracle. The exclamation of Jesus refers to the request of the boy’s fa-
ther (verse 22), which seemed to suggest some doubt about God’s omnipotence.
The Lord corrects this way of asking and requires him to have firm faith. In verse
24 we can see that the father has quite changed; then Jesus does the miracle.
The man’s strengthened faith made him all-powerful, for someone with faith relies
not on himself but on Jesus Christ. Through faith, then, we become sharers in
God’s omnipotence. But faith is a gift of God, which man, especially at times
when he is wavering, should ask humbly and tenaciously, like the father of this
boy: “I believe, help my unbelief,” and like the Apostles: “Increase our faith!”
(Luke 17:5).

28-29. “In teaching the Apostles how to expel a spirit as evil as this He is tea-
ching all of us how we should live, and telling us that prayer is the resource we
should use to overcome even the severest temptations, whether they come from
unclean spirits or from men. Prayer does not consist only in the words we use
to invoke God’s clemency but also in everything we do, out of faith, as homage
to God. The Apostle bears witness to this when he says: `Pray constantly’ (1
Thessalonians 5:7)” (St. Bede, “In Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.”).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.