Thursday, November 6, 2014
Sirach 44:1-15 (pasted below)
“Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna!” cries this passage. “Let us praise God for having given wisdom to the people.” This is the legacy of God: having given wisdom to the people and guiding them to use it for good. Sirach’s words resonate with me, and remind me of the great teachers I have encountered. They are the ones who also share their wisdom with me.
There is no greater gift than a person who loves what they do. Who wishes only to pass on this joy to the next. Who challenges you beyond your comfort zones, and welcomes you into the process of learning. Who may have all the answers, but does not always share them, because they know you must walk your own path. Sirach praises the diversity of people, who are wise in many ways, but who all seem to live in the vision of something greater, something good.
Hosanna in the highest! Blessed are the teachers who shape our lives forever! Amen.
- Josh Zentner-Barrett
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Sirach 44 New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)
Hymn in Honour of Our Ancestors[a]
44 Let us now sing the praises of famous men,
our ancestors in their generations.
2 The Lord apportioned to them[b] great glory,
his majesty from the beginning.
3 There were those who ruled in their kingdoms,
and made a name for themselves by their valour;
those who gave counsel because they were intelligent;
those who spoke in prophetic oracles;
4 those who led the people by their counsels
and by their knowledge of the people’s lore;
they were wise in their words of instruction;
5 those who composed musical tunes,
or put verses in writing;
6 rich men endowed with resources,
living peacefully in their homes—
7 all these were honoured in their generations,
and were the pride of their times.
8 Some of them have left behind a name,
so that others declare their praise.
9 But of others there is no memory;
they have perished as though they had never existed;
they have become as though they had never been born,
they and their children after them.
10 But these also were godly men,
whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten;
11 their wealth will remain with their descendants,
and their inheritance with their children’s children.[c]
12 Their descendants stand by the covenants;
their children also, for their sake.
13 Their offspring will continue for ever,
and their glory will never be blotted out.
14 Their bodies are buried in peace,
but their name lives on generation after generation.
15 The assembly declares[d] their wisdom,
and the congregation proclaims their praise.
our ancestors in their generations.
2 The Lord apportioned to them[b] great glory,
his majesty from the beginning.
3 There were those who ruled in their kingdoms,
and made a name for themselves by their valour;
those who gave counsel because they were intelligent;
those who spoke in prophetic oracles;
4 those who led the people by their counsels
and by their knowledge of the people’s lore;
they were wise in their words of instruction;
5 those who composed musical tunes,
or put verses in writing;
6 rich men endowed with resources,
living peacefully in their homes—
7 all these were honoured in their generations,
and were the pride of their times.
8 Some of them have left behind a name,
so that others declare their praise.
9 But of others there is no memory;
they have perished as though they had never existed;
they have become as though they had never been born,
they and their children after them.
10 But these also were godly men,
whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten;
11 their wealth will remain with their descendants,
and their inheritance with their children’s children.[c]
12 Their descendants stand by the covenants;
their children also, for their sake.
13 Their offspring will continue for ever,
and their glory will never be blotted out.
14 Their bodies are buried in peace,
but their name lives on generation after generation.
15 The assembly declares[d] their wisdom,
and the congregation proclaims their praise.
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