Sirach 51:13-22
13 I openly sought wisdom in prayer; 14 before the Temple I asked for her and I will pursue her to the end of my days.
15 While she blossomed like a ripening cluster, my heart was delighted in her; my feet followed the right path, because from my youth I searched for her.
16 As soon as I began listening to her she was given to me, and with her, much instruction.15 While she blossomed like a ripening cluster, my heart was delighted in her; my feet followed the right path, because from my youth I searched for her.
17 With her help I made progress and I will glorify him who gives me wisdom, 18 for I decided to put it into practice and ardently seek what is good. I shall not regret it.
19 My soul has struggled to possess her. I have been attentive to observe the Law, and after my faults I have stretched out my hands to heaven and lamented my ignorance of her.
20 My love of her increased and I found her in repentance. It was through her from the beginning that I learned to possess my heart. She will not forsake me.
21 With my whole being I sought her; that is why I won what is best.
22 In return for this, the Lord has given me words to praise him.
I do believe Beloved, that You have prepared my heart from my earliest years and though in my youth I did go astray, You were always at hand and in the end Wisdom prevailed and You brought me home to Yourself.
1Corinthians 5:6-8
6 This is not the time to praise yourselves. Do you not know that a little yeast makes the whole mass of dough rise? 7 Throw out, then, the old yeast and be new dough. If Christ became our Passover, you should be unleavened bread. 8 Let us celebrate, therefore, the Passover, no longer with old yeast, which is sin and perversity; let us have unleavened bread, that is purity and sincerity.
How true Beloved, a little laziness, a little self-indulgence, a little lethargy both physical and spiritual, a little folding of the hands and everything becomes tainted. If I belong to You then I must actively participate in Your saving work in me. I must be wide awake and alert. The time is indeed short and the way I live now will have eternal consequences.
6 On another Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and began teaching. There was a man with a paralyzed right hand 7 and the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees watched him: Would Jesus heal the man on the Sabbath? If he did, they could accuse him.
8 But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to the man, “Get up and stand in the middle.” 9 Then he spoke to them, “I want to ask you: what is allowed by the Law on the Sabbath, to do good or to do harm, to save life or destroy it?” 10 And Jesus looked around at them all.
Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored, becoming as whole as the other. 11 But they were furious and began to discuss with one another how they could deal with Jesus.
My Beloved, we have no excuse to refrain from doing what is good. Often fear holds us back or the desire for human respect and approval. We prefer to be quiet doing nothing rather than stir up a hornet's nest of stinging animosity.
8 But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to the man, “Get up and stand in the middle.” 9 Then he spoke to them, “I want to ask you: what is allowed by the Law on the Sabbath, to do good or to do harm, to save life or destroy it?” 10 And Jesus looked around at them all.
Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored, becoming as whole as the other. 11 But they were furious and began to discuss with one another how they could deal with Jesus.
My Beloved, we have no excuse to refrain from doing what is good. Often fear holds us back or the desire for human respect and approval. We prefer to be quiet doing nothing rather than stir up a hornet's nest of stinging animosity.
What a shining example You give us in today's Gospel. You stood there in the midst of those long-nosed, disapproving, jealous, wicked Pharisees and did what had to be done knowing very well that it would bring You ever closer to the Cross.
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