Sirach 25:1-16: a reflection

1I enjoy three things, and they are beautiful before the Lord and men: the agreement of kindred, the friendship of neighbors, and a woman and her husband who walk together in agreement. 2But my soul hates three sorts of people, and I am greatly offended at their life: a poor man who is arrogant, a rich man who is a liar, and an old fool who is an adulterer. 3If you gathered nothing in your youth, how could you find anything in your old age? 4How beautiful a thing is judgment in the gray-haired, and for elders to know good counsel! 5How beautiful is the wisdom of old men, and understanding and counsel to men who are in honor! 6Much experience is the crown of the aged. Their glory is the fear of the Lord. 7There are nine things that I have thought of, and in my heart counted happy, and the tenth I will utter with my tongue: a man who has joy with his children, and a man who lives and sees the fall of his enemies. 8Happy is he who dwells with a wife of understanding, he who has not slipped with his tongue, and he who has not served a man who is unworthy of him. 9Happy is he who has found prudence, and he who speaks in the ears of those who listen. 10How great is he who has found wisdom! Yet there is none greater than one who fears the Lord. 11The fear of the Lord surpasses all things. To whom shall he who holds it be likened? 13Any wound but a wound of the heart! Any wickedness but the wickedness of a woman! 14Any calamity but a calamity from those who hate me! Any vengeance but the vengeance of enemies! 15There is no venom worse than a snake’s venom. There is no wrath worse than an enemy’s wrath. 16I would rather dwell with a lion and a dragon than keep house with a wicked woman.

Sirach opens by naming three things that are beautiful before the Lord and before others, and all three are forms of harmony among people. I enjoy three things, he says, and they are beautiful before the Lord and men: the agreement of kindred, the friendship of neighbors, and a wife and husband who walk together in agreement. What he finds beautiful is harmony: relatives in agreement, neighbors in friendship, husband and wife walking together. There is a real beauty in people living in harmony and agreement with one another, a beauty pleasing both to God and to those who see it. Harmony among people, agreement and friendship, is a beautiful thing before God. The agreement of kindred and friendship of neighbors are beautiful. Harmony among people is a beauty pleasing to God. There is real beauty in people living in agreement and friendship.

Notice what Sirach counts beautiful: not wealth or achievement or power, but harmony among people. The agreement of relatives, the friendship of neighbors, the shared life of husband and wife walking together in agreement, these he finds beautiful before the Lord and before others. There is something genuinely lovely about people who live in harmony, who agree and are at peace with one another, who are friends. It is a beauty that pleases God and gladdens all who see it. This is worth valuing, for harmony among people is a real good, a thing of beauty, and not to be taken lightly. We can undervalue harmony, treat peace and agreement among people as unimportant next to other goods, or sow discord carelessly; but Sirach saw harmony as one of the truly beautiful things in life. To live in harmony and friendship with others, to seek agreement and peace rather than discord, is to pursue something beautiful before God. Harmony among people is a beauty worth valuing and seeking. To live at peace and in agreement with others is a lovely thing. Peace and friendship among people please God and gladden all who see.

That is worth taking to heart, for harmony among people is a beautiful thing before God, and we do well to value and seek it. We can treat peace and agreement among people as unimportant, undervalue harmony next to other goods, or sow discord carelessly; but Sirach counted the agreement of kindred, the friendship of neighbors, and the shared life of husband and wife as truly beautiful before the Lord and before others. Harmony among people is a real good, a thing of beauty. Seek to live in harmony and friendship with others, valuing peace and agreement, as Sirach found these beautiful before God. Value and seek harmony among people, which is beautiful before God, as Sirach named the agreement of kindred, the friendship of neighbors, and a wife and husband who walk together in agreement as three things beautiful before the Lord and before others; for we can undervalue harmony, treating peace and agreement among people as unimportant next to other goods, or sow discord carelessly, but there is a genuine beauty in people living in harmony and friendship, a beauty that pleases God and gladdens all who see it, so that we do well to seek agreement and peace with others rather than discord, pursuing the lovely thing that harmony among people is.

Lord, Sirach opens by naming three things that are beautiful before you and before others, and all three are forms of harmony among people. I enjoy three things, he says, and they are beautiful before the Lord and men: the agreement of kindred, the friendship of neighbors, and a wife and husband who walk together in agreement. What he finds beautiful is harmony: relatives in agreement, neighbors in friendship, husband and wife walking together. There is a real beauty in people living in harmony and agreement with one another, a beauty pleasing both to you and to those who see it. Show me what Sirach counts beautiful: not wealth or achievement or power, but harmony among people. The agreement of relatives, the friendship of neighbors, the shared life of husband and wife walking together, these he finds beautiful before you and before others. There is something genuinely lovely about people who live in harmony, who agree and are at peace with one another, who are friends. It is a beauty that pleases you and gladdens all who see it. This is worth valuing, for harmony among people is a real good, a thing of beauty. I can undervalue harmony, treat peace and agreement among people as unimportant next to other goods, or sow discord carelessly; but Sirach saw harmony as one of the truly beautiful things in life. Take that to my heart, for harmony among people is a beautiful thing before you, and I do well to value and seek it. Keep me from undervaluing harmony or sowing discord carelessly; help me seek to live in harmony and friendship with others, Lord, valuing peace and agreement rather than discord, pursuing the lovely thing that harmony among people is, a beauty that pleases you and gladdens all who see it.