Lent with the Wisdom Literature (Day 5)
March 09, 2025
Sirach Ch 5 (First Sunday of Lent)
Do not rely on your wealth, or say, ‘I have enough.’
Do not follow your inclination and strength in pursuing the desires of your heart.
Do not say, ‘Who can have power over me?’ for the Lord will surely punish you.
Do not say, ‘I sinned, yet what has happened to me?’ for the Lord is slow to anger.
Do not be so confident of forgiveness that you add sin to sin.
Do not say, ‘His mercy is great, he will forgive the multitude of my sins’,
for both mercy and wrath are with him, and his anger will rest on sinners.
Do not delay to turn back to the Lord, and do not postpone it from day to day;
for suddenly the wrath of the Lord will come upon you, and at the time of punishment you will perish.
Do not depend on dishonest wealth, for it will not benefit you on the day of calamity.
Do not winnow in every wind, or follow every path.
Stand firm for what you know, and let your speech be consistent.
Be quick to hear, but deliberate in answering.
If you know what to say, answer your neighbour; but if not, put your hand over your mouth.
Honour and dishonour come from speaking, and the tongue of mortals may be their downfall.
Do not be called double-tongued and do not lay traps with your tongue;
for shame comes to the thief, and severe condemnation to the double-tongued.
In great and small matters cause no harm.
Commentary
Two motives may be suggested capable of impelling not merely a religious, but even a lay person, to a love of poverty. The first is the irreproachable example of our Divine Lord. The second is the priceless divine promise.
Let us take the first motive. The love and the example of our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ, ought to excite in you a love of poverty. Christ was born poor, lived poor, and died poor. Realise and bear in mind that Christ gave you this wonderful example of poverty in order to induce you to become a friend of poverty. It was meditation on this poverty of Christ that roused the heart of St Paul and caused him to exclaim: You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that being rich he became poor for our sakes, that through his poverty we might be rich. St Bernard, speaking of this same poverty, says: ‘An eternal and copious abundance of riches existed in heaven. Poverty, however, was not to be found there. It abounded and was superabundant on earth. Alas! human beings did not know its worth. The Son of God, though, loved poverty, and desired it, and came down from heaven and took it as his own possession in order to make it precious in our eyes.’ All his life long, Jesus Christ our Lord was an example of poverty. Let me tell you how poor the Son of God and King of Angels was while he lived in this world. He was so poor that oftentimes he did not know which way to turn for a lodging. St Matthew writes: The foxes have holes and the birds of the air nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.
O blessed servant of God, recall the poverty of our Lord Jesus Christ, poor for our sake! Cleave to poverty and practice it zealously and courageously. Keep your heart free from love of honours, temporal things, and riches. The advantage, the security, the delight of life and the act of perfect virtue is neither to possess riches nor to have any fondness for riches. Therefore, our Lord’s example and counsel ought to prompt and excite every Christian to love poverty. O blessed poverty, which makes those who love it beloved of God and secure even in this world! ‘For those who have nothing in the world on which their heart is set, there exists nothing of the world to fear,’ St Gregory says.
The second motive to inspire a love of poverty is the promise, the priceless promise of Christ. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven, O my Lord Jesus Christ, is nothing else than you yourself, who are ‘the King of kings and Lord of lords’. As reward, as the price of their labour, as a complete and perfect joy, you will give to your voluntary poor even the possession of yourself. They will rejoice in possessing you. They will find delight in you. They will, at last, find complete satiety in you. For the poor shall eat and shall be filled; and they shall praise the Lord that seek him; their hearts shall live forever and ever. Amen. (St. Bonaventure)
Musical Selection
From Heaven's throne, He stepped down in grace, Left all His riches to take our place. For our sake, He chose the lowly way, That we might share His wealth one day.
He became poor, so we could be free, Exchanging His crown for humility. The riches of love poured out on the cross, Through His sacrifice, gain from our loss.
In His poverty, the treasure was revealed, A love so deep, a grace that heals. He bore our burdens, our sin, and our shame, Through His great gift, we praise His name.
Now we inherit the life He designed, His eternal riches forever defined. No longer bound by the weight of despair, Through Him, we rise in the joy we share.
What kind of King would humble His throne, To gather the lost and make them His own? The wealth of the world could never compare, To the gift of His grace beyond all repair.
He became poor, the Savior divine, Redeeming our souls through love so fine. Forever we sing, with hearts set aflame, The riches of glory in Jesus' name.
Collect
Lord our God,
you alone do we worship,
only your word gives life.
Sustain your Church on its Lenten journey.
When we walk through the desert of temptation,
strengthen us to renounce the power of evil.
When our faith is tested by doubt,
illumine our hearts with Easter’s bright promise.
We ask this through Christ, our deliverance and hope,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
holy and mighty God for ever and ever. Amen.