Today’s first reading, from the book of Sirach, displays an unusual choice of words.  The Scriptural author wrote, “Wrath and anger are hateful things.” (Sr 27:30)  It seems a bit odd to disparage “wrath and anger” by describing them as “hateful.”  How much difference is there between wrath, anger, and hatred? 

The author’s statement isn’t mere tautology; rather, it is a commentary on common human experience.  Everyone has been the recipient of wrath and anger, and no one has ever enjoyed it.  “Wrath and anger” are “hateful” in the sense that everyone would prefer to avoid them. 

The author of Sirach continues by saying that, while no one enjoys the wrath and anger of others, “the sinner hugs them tight.” (Sr 27:30)  Again, this is commentary on common human experience.  Those whose lives are filled with wrath and anger rarely find the freedom to let go, despite the fact that it is in their best interest to do so.  

The Scriptures teach consistently that resentful and vengeful behavior is to be avoided as assiduously as idolatry and blasphemy.  Speaking to Moses, God said, “Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your own people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Lv 19:18)   

As often as we experience the wrath and anger of others, we find it hateful; we find, as well, that the wrathful and angry seem very attached to their hateful behavior.  Furthermore, as much as we disapprove of the wrath and anger of others, we give our full approbation to our own wrath and anger; we hug them tight. 

It might seem like a statement of the obvious, but everyone clings to their sins.  We do what we find hateful in other’s behavior, and we do so with great enthusiasm.  The author of the book of Sirach stated this obvious contradiction about human behavior in order to describe the value of faithful religion. 

There were as many divergent opinions about the nature of religion in the ancient world as there are today.  For some people, religion is an outlet for sentimentality.  In the ancient world, people worshiped their ancestors, thinking that their dead ancestors would look kindly on them; today, people tend to worship themselves, thinking that the whole world should look kindly on them. 

Others see religion as a means to obtain benefits for themselves.  Ancient pagan religions tended to conceive of their gods and goddesses as capricious, untrustworthy, and likely to interfere maliciously in human affairs; their worship was aimed at appeasing their fickle deities.  Our contemporaries tend to think of God as capricious, untrustworthy, but easily coerced to intervene benevolently in human affairs; their worship is shaped by the same motivations that shaped the worship of ancient pagans. 

These above are just two of the countless variations on faithless religion.  The author of Sirach says that, in contrast to the purposes of faithless religious practice, faithful religion exists in order to teach people to discern between good and evil and then, to choose good over evil. 

The interpretation of religion in the Scriptures, including in the book of Sirach, is quite different from the conventional view of religion, but it is the only valid viewpoint on religion.  Faithful religion is a school for goodness; it is a lifelong endeavor to learn to distinguish between good and evil by choosing only the good. 

From the point of view of the Scriptural authors, faithful religion is a necessity in each person’s life because each person needs to learn how to attend to God’s will rather than their own.  The second reading and Gospel in today’s Liturgy of the Word teach two important lessons about how to know and practice goodness. 

Writing to the church at Rome, Paul described the relationship between Jesus’ life and the lives of the baptized.  He wrote, “None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.” (Rm 14:7)  Jesus is the incarnation of God’s providence and mercy granted irrevocably to the world; consequently, those who accept baptism into Jesus’ death are obliged to emulate his selflessness and trustworthiness. 

In the Gospel reading, Jesus responding to Peter’s question about the limits of forgiveness.  He said that we are to forgive one another wholeheartedly, without reserve. (Mt 18:35) 

Living for God and forgiving unreservedly are not choices that we would make on our own, that is, in the absence of the teaching of the Scriptures.  These are choices that lead away from selfishness and self-destructiveness, and toward lasting goodness.  These lessons can be learned only from the practice of religion that is focused on God rather than self.   

It is an obvious element of common human experience that everyone clings to something; God intends us to cling to goodness rather than sin.