Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11 ~ Wondrous

 

Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11

In those days,

like a fire 

there appeared the prophet Elijah

whose Words 

were as a flaming furnace.

Their staff of bread he shattered,

in his zeal 

he reduced them to straits;

By the 

Lord's Word 

he shut up the heavens

and 

three times brought down fire.

How awesome are you, 

Elijah, 

in your 

Wondrous Deeds!

Whose Glory 

is equal to yours?

Cloud by Day

Fire by Night

You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire,

in a chariot 

with fiery horses.

You were destined, 

it is written, 

in time to come

to 

put an end to wrath 

before 

The Day of the LORD

To turn back the hearts of fathers 

toward their sons,

and 

to re-establish the Tribes of Jacob.

Blessed is he who shall have seen you

and 

who falls asleep 

in 

Your Friendship.

Sirach is part of the Holy Scriptures.  

Jerome, in the 4th Century, decided Sirach was a Proverb or Ecclesiastical book rather than divine.  

We could debate Greek and Hebrew and the Apocrypha, but this wouldn't be the situation. (Hebrew check, check. Same, same.) Sirach was around during the time of Jesus and read in the Temple. Yes, the Second Temple was reading Sirach as divine. 

And considering Who understands God, 

would give us reason to read Sirach with interest. Jesus would have understood man learns, grows and regresses to progress. Sirach does give us a window on the world of the culture during the time of Jesus. It has flaws and, yet, was read as divine.

Sirach was much discussed.

St. Augustine of Hippo (c. 397), 

Pope Innocent I (405),

the Council of Rome (382 AD),

the Synod of Hippo (in 393),

followed by the Council of Carthage (397), 

the Council of Carthage (419)

Quinisext Council (692), 

and the Council of Florence (1442)

All regarded it as a canonical book. 

Sirach

Found in:

Cairo, 2/3rds of Sirach, copied in the 11th and 12th centuries, were found in the Cairo Geniza (a synagogue storage room for damaged manuscripts). These findings support the assertion that the book was originally written in Hebrew.

 

Masada

The largest scroll, Mas1H (MasSir), was discovered in casemate room 1109 at Masada, the Jewish fortress destroyed by the Romans in 73 AD.

The other two scroll fragments were found at Qumran. 

Three fragments of parchment scrolls of the Book of Sirach written in Hebrew were discovered near the Dead Sea.

One of these, the Great Psalms Scroll (11Q5 or 11QPsa), contains Sirach chapter 51 (verses 13-20, and 30). The other fragment, 2Q18 (2QSir), contains Sirach 6:14–15, 20–31. These early Hebrew texts are in substantial agreement with the Hebrew texts discovered in Cairo, although there are numerous minor textual variants. With these findings, scholars are now more confident that the Cairo texts 

are reliable witnesses to the Hebrew original.

What does Sirach have to do with today's 2025 

Christmas season?

Many Christmases have been accomplished with joy, love, honor, warm memories for a lifetime. 

And these

Christmases

Have 

The Love

seen in the last

Tomb

of 

Lazarus

The note

found in the altar in Spain

was found 

and said,

Abba, Father,

Jesus spoke Your Word telling us always to Pray and Have Hope.

We lift up to You, Father God, 

our most pressing prayer request, 

knowing You have heard and answer.

Thank You, Father God, 

and 

Blessed be the Name of Jesus the Lord. 

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yes, The Lord Fulfills His Purpose

Thank You, Jesus