Jesus Christ, the true Solomon
Manage episode 428683249 series 3562678
On Saturday of the Fourteenth week in Ordinary Time, our church invites us to reflect on passages from the book of Sirach (47:12–25) entitled “The history of the fathers from Solomon to Jeroboam”. Our treasure is from a discourse on the psalms by Saint Augustine, bishop.
The Wisdom of Ben Sira derives its title from the author, “Yeshua [Jesus], son of Eleazar, son of Sira” (50:27). This seems to be the earliest title of the book. The designation “Liber Ecclesiasticus,” meaning “Church Book”, is perhaps due to the extensive use the church made of this book in presenting moral teaching to catechumens and to the faithful. The title “Sirach” comes from the Greek form of the author’s name.
The author, a sage who lived in Jerusalem, was thoroughly imbued with love for the wisdom tradition, and also for the law, priesthood, Temple, and divine worship. As a wise and experienced observer of life he addressed himself to his contemporaries with the motive of helping them to maintain religious faith and integrity through study of the books sacred to the Jewish tradition.
The book contains numerous well-crafted maxims, grouped by affinity, and dealing with a variety of subjects such as the individual, the family, and the community in their relations with one another and with God. It treats of friendship, education, poverty and wealth, laws, religious worship, and many other matters that reflect the religious and social customs of the time.
Saint Augustine was a late fourth century, theologian and philosopher, and Bishop of Hippo, Roman North Africa. He is also a preeminent Catholic Doctor of the Church. His writings influenced the development of western philosophy and western Christianity, and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers of the Latin Church in the Patristic Period.
The Psalms are a collection of 150 ancient Hebrew poems, songs, and prayers that make up the third and final section of the biblical canon, known as the Writings. They were written by many different authors over time, including King David, Solomon, Moses, and other worship leaders. The psalms are often set to music, but not always, and express the emotions of the individual poet to or about God.
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