Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18
Chapter 35
12
The Lord is the judge and shows no partiality. He will not disadvantage the poor, he who hears the prayer of the oppressed.
13
…
14
The Cries of the Poor
The just person does not scorn the plea of the orphan, nor the complaint of the widow.
16
Those who serve God wholeheartedly will be heard; their prayers will reach the skies.
17
The prayer of a humble person reaches the clouds, and he is not comforted until he is heard.
18
His prayer will not stop until the Most High looks down and justice is done for the righteous.
Commentaries
The Cries of the Poor.
The most beautiful images, and certainly those that come closest to the true image of God, are those in which he appears moved and willing to intervene on behalf of the poor. The real God, the one who revealed himself to Moses and the Hebrew slaves, the one proclaimed by the prophets, and the one who, ultimately, was shown to us by Jesus of Nazareth, is the same and does not change and will not change. Therefore, he will not have one hand stretched out to the impoverished and another to the oppressor and the unjust; both hands are ready to welcome the humble, the marginalized, and the ignored of this world. It is up to us to fight every day for greater justice so that no one, not even the unjust if they turn around, is excluded from God’s welcoming hands.