Word to the Wise
Tuesday, February 21, 2017 - Tuesday in the 7th Week in Ordinary Time
[Sir 2:1-11 and Mark 9:30-37]TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2017 TUESDAY IN THE SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME [Sirach 2:1-11 and Mark 9:30-37] Compassionate and merciful is the Lord; he forgives sins, he saves in time of trouble and he is a protector to all who seek him in truth. [Sirach] Today's first scripture is very worthwhile reading. It is virtually a hymn about trusting God. When I was a campus pastor at the University of Arizona (1977-80), one of the members of the Dominican community was a non-ordained Dominican brother who had come down to Tucson to relieve his arthritis which Chicago weather did not help. He had been many years in the order doing maintenance and domestic labor. I asked him one day what kept him going through many difficult times. HIs reply was simple and profound: "Trust the Almighty." That is what the Book of Sirach offers to us today. The early Christian community found in these wisdom texts a description of Jesus and saw Jesus as the fulfillment of those words. We could do the same. AMEN