Step Into Faith

Chapter Reflection

This chapter interiorizes the liturgy of the temple, revealing that the cultivation of a righteous life is itself a sacrifice that perfumes the altar of God. The physical offering of fine flour or fat is not an end in itself but an icon of a heart that requites good turns and flees from wickedness. A tension exists between the external act of giving and the internal 'good eye' of the giver; God rejects the bribe of the unrighteous but finds the cheerful countenance of the merciful irresistible. The text portrays the prayer of the humble and the tears of the widow as forces that physically penetrate the heavens, refusing to depart until they reach the Divine Presence. God appears here not as a distant bureaucrat of the law, but as a Judge whose ears are acutely sensitive to the weight of a tear. The human person is shown as a liturgical being whose very suffering and supplication can bridge the gap between earth and the clouds.

Interior SacrificeThe Piercing PrayerDivine ImpartialityJoyful Almsgiving
← Sirach

Sirach 35

1He that keepeth the law bringeth offerings enough: he that taketh heed to the commandment offereth a peace offering.

2He that requiteth a goodturn offereth fine flour; and he that giveth alms sacrificeth praise.

3To depart from wickedness is a thing pleasing to the Lord; and to forsake unrighteousness is a propitiation.

4Thou shalt not appear empty before the Lord.

5For all these things are to be done because of the commandment.

6The offering of the righteous maketh the altar fat, and the sweet savour thereof is before the most High.

7The sacrifice of a just man is acceptable. and the memorial thereof shall never be forgotten.

8Give the Lord his honour with a good eye, and diminish not the firstfruits of thine hands.

9In all thy gifts shew a cheerful countenance, and dedicate thy tithes with gladness.

10Give unto the most High according as he hath enriched thee; and as thou hast gotten, give with a cheerful eye.

11For the Lord recompenseth, and will give thee seven times as much.

12Do not think to corrupt with gifts; for such he will not receive: and trust not to unrighteous sacrifices; for the Lord is judge, and with him is no respect of persons.

13He will not accept any person against a poor man, but will hear the prayer of the oppressed.

14He will not despise the supplication of the fatherless; nor the widow, when she poureth out her complaint.

15Do not the tears run down the widow’s cheeks? and is not her cry against him that causeth them to fall?

16He that serveth the Lord shall be accepted with favour, and his prayer shall reach unto the clouds.

17The prayer of the humble pierceth the clouds: and till it come nigh, he will not be comforted; and will not depart, till the most High shall behold to judge righteously, and execute judgment.

18For the Lord will not be slack, neither will the Mighty be patient toward them, till he have smitten in sunder the loins of the unmerciful, and repayed vengeance to the heathen; till he have taken away the multitude of the proud, and broken the sceptre of the unrighteous;

19Till he have rendered to every man according to his deeds, and to the works of men according to their devices; till he have judged the cause of his people, and made them to rejoice in his mercy.

20Mercy is seasonable in the time of affliction, as clouds of rain in the time of drought.

Who God is

How does it change your perception of the Almighty to see Him as one who is moved to action by the specific weight of a widow's tear?

The condition of man

If your prayers and your deeds of mercy are the true incense of your life, what kind of fragrance are you currently offering to the heavens?