In his preaching, Jesus seldom directly quoted the Old Testament. He quoted only the Hebrew Bible and so did not quote any passage from Sirach. Yet, on reading today's passage, we cannot help but hear Sirach's words of wisdom echoed in some of Jesus' parables.

Sirach says: "Do not rely on your wealth; do not say: 'I have the power'; do not rely on your strength in following the desires of your heart." Jesus teaches us the same wisdom in the Parable of the Rich Fool (Lk 12:16-21): we should not rely on our wealth and strength but should trust in God and divine providence so as not to worry about the future. We should be like the lilies of the field or the birds of the air.

That is not to say that we should be careless about things, for being carefree and being careless are two different things. Thus Sirach goes on to warn us not to be careless about our faults and failings or sins. We should not take God's forgiveness for granted, or think that we are not in need of forgiveness. Similarly Jesus told the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican and their different approaches to God in prayer (Lk. 18:9-14).