Thursday 27 February 2025 - The Path of Life

Thursday 27 February 2025

Today is Thursday the 27th of February in the 7th week of Ordinary Time. The community of Taizé sing Behüte mich, Gott: “Keep me God, for I trust in you. You show me the path of life. With you there is fulness of joy.” Today’s reading is from the Book of Ecclesiasticus. Ecclesiasticus 5:1-8 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. Many of our societies, at least in the Western world, place a high value on self-reliance. If you have health, strength, and money, you can steer your own way through life without needing anyone’s help. The writer of Ecclesiasticus sees things very differently. What is your first response to his words? The second part of the passage moves beyond a picture of a typical “self-made woman or man”. It focuses on someone aware of their own sinfulness. Here, this person seems to be over-confident on God’s forgiveness, perhaps forgetting God’s justice. Do you find yourself more inclined to fear God’s judgement, or to take his mercy for granted? How do you go about balancing making best use of your own gifts and talents, and relying wholly on God? As the passage is read again, notice the different ways in which the writer thinks that your relationship with God can be disrupted by the ways in which you respond to God. Ecclesiasticus 5:1-8 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. Speak, finally, to the merciful God who doesn’t want his mercy taken for granted. What is it that you want to say to him now? Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.