Truth is often bitter: it forces us to face reality even when that reality is unpalatable and difficult to accept. The same is true of divine wisdom, which is a very special expression of truth. Thus, the Gospels contain many "hard sayings" of Jesus. When Jesus spoke of the mystery of the Eucharist, some of His disciples left Him saying: "This is a hard saying and who can accept it" (Jn 6:60). If such a consoling doctrine as the Eucharist can appear to be a hard saying, how much harder will it be to accept the more challenging "hard sayings" of Jesus, such as we find in today's passage from Mark's Gospel! In very dramatic language He urges us to cut off the hand, the foot, the eye, if it proves a barrier between us and God.

Sirach teaches that misplaced hope is such a barrier. We sin against hope by misplaced or misguided hope - "over-confidence", as Sirach calls it. He points to the danger of this overconfidence, especially when its basis is our own wealth and power, our own strength and the mere desires of our hearts. As a wisdom writer he knows and teaches that the safest form of human wisdom is conversion to the Lord without delay.