15 February 2026

We need to take a moment and ponder this week, for a number of reasons. The readings are all over a very “let’s think seriously and intentionally about the faith” mode. Our first reading is from Sirach, also known as The Wisdom of Ben Sira, depending on your Bible translation. Ben Sira was a wise and respected Jewish man, held in high honor; this book is a compilation of his thoughts and advice to an oppressed people.

You see, what you probably don’t know is that the Jews are currently under intense persecution from the Greeks. As in… Your sacred temples are used for pagan ceremonies. Your scrolls are burned. Your rabbis killed. Found with a sacred scroll? Death to you and your family. Has your newborn son been circumcised according to the rule of Moses? The child will be killed and hung around his mother’s neck during her public execution… along with her family and the rabbi who did the bris (1 Maccabees 1). The Jews have a choice: turn pagan or die.

Ben Sira advises his people to trust in the Lord and keep the Jewish precepts and laws. For the Lord is watching and the choice is yours. Fire, earthly death, and evil is one choice… water, eternal life, and goodness are the other. You have free will. Choose wisely. While the circumstances are vastly different here in Hastings – baptized children aren’t killed then hung around their mother’s necks in the public-killing-square – the underlying truth is still present:

We have the free-will choice to follow the cultural noise or Jesus’ voice.

Being an intentional apprentice to Jesus will have you looking different than your neighbors and go against the cultural rules-de-jour. Virtuous actions. Gentleness of speech. Caring for the immigrant, homeless, and hungry. Modest dress. Protecting the unborn. Defending the dignity of the elderly. Being truthful and honest. Keeping Sundays holy.

And if you think the Lord wants you to commit violence, lie, cheat, steal, because of your circumstances or the injustices of your world, Sirach says, think again. That’s a big no. Even in the face of absolute derision, abject pain, and suffering – and think about Jesus being unfairly condemned, beaten, walking bloodied through the streets of Jerusalem then nailed to a cross – gentleness and kindness are still the way to go.

Paul reminds us that the rulers of this age – and their purported wisdom - will pass away, but eternal wisdom? That’s where our man Jesus, the Word, comes in, and what’s his eternal wisdom this week…?

Tend to familial relationships by renouncing all anger and letting grudge-holding fall by the wayside. Honor your created-in-the-image-and-likeness-of-God dignity by refusing to participate in the lust-filled objectification of men, women, and children. Remember the resolute sacramentality of your marriage – through good times and in bad.

Lastly, and most interestingly, remember your soul tattoos… those sacraments that permanently bind you to Jesus. You shouldn’t be one person in the workplace, another at home, and yet another on Sunday morning. That would make you a hypocrite. Jesus wants you to decide and declare: “Yes-I-will-model-Jesus” or “No-I-will-not.” And there’s the rub. You do get to choose between the world’s wisdom and Jesus’ wisdom. #apprenticetoJesus