Often people make excuses for their failings and negative behaviour. They blame others - parents, society, heredity, and almost anything else. Sirach rejects this and insists that God lays before us each day the choice between good and evil, death and life - and we are free to choose.

God certainly does not command us to be evil and always expects that we will choose light and life, although sometimes, we do not. Paul speaks of another wisdom we will not find in books or any earthly knowledge.

This is the wisdom of God that is hidden from most people. It is communicated to us through the Spirit, but to receive it, we must live in Christ and be guided by the Spirit. This wisdom may sometimes be at odds with the world because the world is unwilling to receive it.

Jesus did not cancel the Law but fulfilled it. In fact, He ‘raised the bar’ - He expects even more from us than the Pharisees. He wants us to be super-righteous, not self-righteous, especially in mercy, compassion, and justice.