A Reflection for Monday of the 8th Week of Ordinary Time. Sirach 35:1–12. “In works of charity one offers fine flour, and when he gives alms he presents his sacrifice of praise.”
Ordinary Time is here, and it can seem like a letdown. Liturgically, we’ve gone through Advent and Christmas before a short Ordinary Time breather. Then come Lent, Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost.
Many of the Church’s significant celebrations and events occur before we come to the long stretch of Ordinary Time, so now it might feel like summer vacation.
But these months are essential for spiritual growth and development. The seeds planted earlier in the liturgical year are now growing. They our attention to nurture and water as we also pull up the weeds. That effort begins in earnest today.
The first reading comes from the deuterocanonical (so-called apocrypha) book of Sirach, and there’s no better place in the corpus of Scripture to find practical advice for spiritual growth.
The prologue of the book says the author is the grandson of the teacher Joshua (Jesus) ben Sirach, and he is handing on the teachings of his wise ancestor. That wisdom includes today’s reading. “In works of charity one offers fine flour, and when he gives alms he presents his sacrifice of praise.” Giving to people with needs constitutes offerings made to God. Not fine vestments, ancient chants, impressive architecture, loud praise songs, or most of what we consider to be worship, piety, or spirituality.
It’s not that participating in beautiful Church services is inherently disordered. I find much of it inspiring too. However, the “usual” acts of worship should be means to an end, not the end itself. They should propel us to performing acts of charity.
The New Testament’s Epistle to the Hebrews alludes to Sirach. “Through him let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have; God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind. (Hebrews 13:15–16)
The tradition of the Church has identified 14 broad categories of charitable deeds to guide us. They’re called the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.
The Corporal Works of Mercy involve ways we tend to the physical needs of our neighbor. Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, bury the dead. Think Matthew 25 and the Good Samaritan.
Because we all have spiritual and emotional needs, the Spiritual Works of Mercy relate to the inner person. Counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish sinners, comfort the afflicted, forgive offenses, bear wrongs patiently, pray for the living and the dead.
The works of mercy pull us out of ourselves and cause us to focus on other people. They makes us less selfish and more thoughtful less greedy and more generous, less judgmental and more compassionate. In performing charitable deeds with a loving heart, we express the divine image in us by recognizing the divine image in others.
While we can’t do everything for everyone, we can nurture a compassionate heart that looks for opportunities to show kindness, love, and generosity to the people God brings into our lives. Collectively, we can insist upon and work toward a compassionate society that seriously addresses the needs and concerns of the most disenfranchised.
Near the end of today’s reading, Sirach says, “Give to the Most High as he has given to you, generously, according to your means. For the Lord is one who always repays, and he will give back to you sevenfold. But offer no bribes, these he does not accept! Trust not in sacrifice of the fruits of extortion.”
The reading says that compassionately giving to people is tantamount to giving to God. Now, we find that God repays in ways that go beyond our comprehension. But beware. God does not take bribes. Our actions emerge from the depths of our hearts, and this is why we have Ordinary Time: to cultivate the compassionate goodness that the liturgical year has already planted in our innermost self.
