in the early Church it was a kind of official catechism used in the catechumenate.
The author of the book is Jesus, the son of Eleazar, of the house of Sirach.
Jesus Ben Sirach wrote his book during the first decades of the 2nd century before Christ
During this period the Jewish nation and the Jewish religion were threatened with extinction.
Every Jew was called upon to choose between the old and the new, the spirit of Moses and the Prophets, and the spirit of Hellenistic heathenism.
Be conscious of your limitations and your true position before God as a creature and sinner.
The high and mighty have a greater need to be humble than the lowly and weak.
The assembly of the people of the New Covenant is not on this earth, but in the heavenly sanctuary.
Since they already possess the benefits of Jesus’ sacrifice, he can speak of them as having already arrived.
Gospel - Luke 14:1, 7-14
Jesus uses the occasion of a meal and the attendant social etiquette to teach – not about good manners at table, but about the Kingdom.
God invites those who recognize their lowliness and their need of salvation.
In Luke’s communities people from all different walks of life and from different nations are friends because they have all things in common.
