Praised be Jesus and Mary, now and forever.
Today we started reading from the book of Sirach. This book has been called by different names over the centuries. Near the end, the author says that he is, in Jesus, or in Hebrew, Yeshua, son of Eleazar, son of Sirach. So the book was called "The Wisdom of Jesus, Son of Sirach," or "The Wisdom of Sirach." And people like short names, one-word names, so they also called it "Wisdom." But that's confusing because there's also another book of wisdom. So Sirach is what it's commonly called today. In Latin, it's called Ecclesiasticus, the Church's book. It seems to have gotten this name because it was used in the early Church to teach catechumens.
It contains a large number of proverbs, which are used in the Bible. They're useful for teaching catechumens virtues and practical wisdom. It also has summary descriptions of key figures from the Old Testament. There are, in addition, passages that deal with deeper topics. And today's reading is one of these.
But before we get to that, I want to say something about the various versions of the book. It was written around 190 BC, give or take a decade. The author's grandson translated it into Greek late in that same century, several decades later. But the Hebrew text was valued in antiquity. It was read and it was revised. Some copies of the Greek translation were then updated with elements of the revised Hebrew text. And it was this longer Greek text that was translated into Latin. Modern English Bibles usually translate the shorter Greek text that is based on the original Hebrew. They also take into consideration fragments of the Hebrew texts that have survived. On the other hand, the Roman Rite uses in its liturgy the longer text based on the Latin, which has additional verses. Our U.S. Lectionary is not always consistent. Sometimes it makes an effort to follow the Latin, like it does today, and sometimes it doesn't. Today's reading and tomorrow's are close to the Latin, but today we're missing one sentence. The missing sentence reads, "The wisdom of God that precedes all things. Who can search it out?" This adds emphasis to what the text already says.
Today's reading is the beginning of the book, which introduces the topic of wisdom. All wisdom comes from the Lord, and so we must seek it from Him. Even the natural world is so extensive that we cannot learn all its mysteries by our own ability. Who can count the sand of the seashore, the drops of rain, or the days of eternity? Yet God knows the number of all these, and He sustains every grain of sand and every raindrop in existence. He knows them all individually and in every detail. So if we want wisdom, we must seek it from Him, who has it.
But wisdom is not only a quality, it is also a person. This is clearer in the center of the book, in chapter 24, where wisdom is presented with personal qualities. Of course, that could be just a personification used as a literary device. But in the light of the New Testament, we know that it is something more. For Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, as St. Paul says. Already at the beginning of the book, the author hints at this. Before all things else, wisdom was created. What is this that was created before all things? Some Church Fathers understand it as the Son, eternally generated of the Father. He was created before all things, because all things were made through Him, and without Him was made nothing that was made. Since all things were made through Him, He was begotten, not made, as we confess in the Creed.
Can we say that He was created? Well, not in the proper sense. He is not a creature. But sometimes, that word is used in a broader sense, like when we say that someone has created a cardinal. But as man, Christ was created in the proper sense. And so, St. Vincent of Lerins and others understand this verse of the Incarnation. He was created before all things, if the Incarnation was at the beginning of God's plan, even though the Word became flesh in the fullness of time. The Lord created wisdom through the Holy Spirit. And for this reason, the angel said to Mary, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you" to effect the Incarnation.
"To whom has wisdom's root been revealed?" Our author asks. If we speak of eternal wisdom, its root is the Father, from whom the Son proceeds. "No one knows the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him," our Lord taught. If we speak of created wisdom, its root is the Son. "The Word of God on high is the fountain of wisdom." He is eternally the wisdom of God, being the eternal Word, which is the infinite expression of God's wisdom. Therefore, all created wisdom flows from Him as from a fountain.
God has poured wisdom forth upon all His works, upon every living thing according to His bounty. All God's works express His wisdom by their beauty and order. He has also poured forth wisdom in another sense upon every living thing according to His beauty. Here, it is better to translate more literally, "upon all flesh." For flesh, here means not every creature that has flesh, every living being, but every human being who is not only an expression of wisdom, but can also himself be wise, or herself. God has poured forth wisdom upon all flesh in varying measure according to His bounty. Yet not all will receive the wisdom He offers. Not all want to receive it. Many hear wise counsel, or many hear the Gospel in particular, but choose some other path that they will think that they think will make them happier. But God has lavished her, has lavished wisdom upon His friends. Those who are friends of God have received the most because they are the most willing to receive it. Furthermore, it is precisely by putting wisdom into practice that they have become friends of God.
Feminine pronouns are used for wisdom because the word is feminine in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. But wisdom is also a lady because Our Lady is the seat of wisdom and the Virgin most prudent. When God put the Incarnation at the beginning of His plan, He also put Mary at the beginning of His plan, together with Christ. For she gave wisdom flesh, and thus wisdom was poured forth upon flesh in a new way.
In today's Gospel, wisdom in person walks the earth and teaches. He comes down from the mountain of the Transfiguration with Saints Peter, James, and John, who have spent a night with Him and they will never forget. They left the other disciples at the foot of the mountain, and they returned to find them struggling to cast out a demon. Jesus immediately sees the problem, which is a lack of faith, especially of the person asking for this deliverance. So He exclaims, "O faithless generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you?" He asks the possessed boy's father to explain, and the father ends by saying, "If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." And so Jesus replies, "If you can, everything is possible to one who has faith." And the father does well to respond, "I do believe, help my unbelief." He has faith, but not enough faith, and so he asks for more from the one who is able to grant it. Jesus then easily casts out the demon.
When the disciples are alone with Jesus in the house where they're staying, they ask why they couldn't cast out the demon. And Jesus explains, "This kind can only come out through prayer." This demon had a stronger hold than those others that the disciples, the apostles, had cast out when Jesus sent them to preach the kingdom and cast out demons. To cast it out, they need to pray. By prayer, they can both seek faith for the father who lacks it and deliverance for the child. Later, what Jesus said was expanded from prayer to prayer and fasting. This is the experience of the Church. Prayer becomes more effective when it is joined to sacrifice.
This, then, is our lesson for the day from Eternal Wisdom, who became flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary.
Praised be Jesus and Mary, now and forever.