Three things strike me from today's chapter. The first is the power of friendship. I have been blessed with many friends throughout my life. Some of my friends I have known almost all my life. Others have come in recent years. But each and every one is a blessing, a sturdy shelter (verse 14). Thank you to all my friends.
The second thing that strikes me is the agrarian image for "cultivating" wisdom. I think of all the farmland in our parish boundaries and all the farmers who do much to prepare the soil for a crop. As Ben Sira says, wisdom doesn't happen without preparation "as though plowing and sowing, draw close to her." (v. 19) The words he uses in the second half of today's chapter are action words: plowing, sowing, bending...It is work, it seems, to gain wisdom.
Finally, he ends by reminding us to frequent the company of our elders. There is great wisdom in the life experience of those who have "been there/done that"!
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