Reading 1 Wis 1:1-7
Love justice, you who judge the earth;
think of the Lord in goodness,
and seek him in integrity of heart;
Because he is found by those who test him not,
and he manifests himself to those who do not disbelieve him.
For perverse counsels separate a man from God,
and his power, put to the proof, rebukes the foolhardy;
Because into a soul that plots evil, wisdom enters not,
nor dwells she in a body under debt of sin.
For the Holy Spirit of discipline flees deceit
and withdraws from senseless counsels;
and when injustice occurs it is rebuked.
For wisdom is a kindly spirit,
yet she acquits not the blasphemer of his guilty lips;
Because God is the witness of his inmost self
and the sure observer of his heart
and the listener to his tongue.
For the Spirit of the Lord fills the world,
is all-embracing, and knows what man says.
Gospel Lk 17:1-6
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Things that cause sin will inevitably occur,
but woe to the one through whom they occur.
It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck
and he be thrown into the sea
than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.
Be on your guard!
If your brother sins, rebuke him;
and if he repents, forgive him.
And if he wrongs you seven times in one day
and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’
you should forgive him.”
And the Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you would say to this mulberry tree,
‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
The first reading today is from the book of Wisdom. This is one of the seven wisdom literature in the bible.
The book of wisdom was written in Greek around the mid-first century (50BCE) by a member of the Jewish community in Alexandria in Egypt, this explains why the Jews and the Protestants don’t accept it (because it was not written in Hebrew and it was written outside of the land of the Israelites).
Basically, it was written to rulers of the earth to encourage them to seek wisdom, which is a gift of God to righteous souls. It was also written to encourage young Jews who were beginning to be influenced by Egyptian paganism and to encourage faithful Jews persecuted by apostate Jews. The central themes are; the nature and importance of wisdom and the exhortation to pursue wisdom, the suffering of the righteous and their reward, God’s role in the early history of Israel, God’s mercy and folly of idolatry.
Today, let’s reflect on something we have in the first reading “Wisdom will never make its way into a crafty soul, nor stay in a body that is in debt to sin; the holy spirit of instruction shuns deceit…”
What do we make of these? God desires to bless us His children with His wisdom, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, His divine grace to make our lives more meaningful. Sadly, in some cases, we make it impossible for ourselves to receive what God wishes to give.
The gospel of today tells us one some of the ways we do this – careless and scandalous lifestyle, unforgiveness and lack of faith. In fact, to say it as it is, nothing hinders grace, blessings, divine wisdom and the power of God working in our lives more than our unwillingness to forgive. On a positive note, forgiveness opens the door for to grace and blessing to flow.
Today is another opportunity for us to reflect on who and what we need to forgive and to ask God for the grace to forgive daily and truly so that nothing stands between us and God’s gifts to us.
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Okami on November 11, 2019