NOTES for Sir 27:27-30

Jesus son of Sirach tells us something interesting today: “If anyone does evil, it will roll back upon him, and he will not know where it came from.” The basic principle is clear: every evil deed is a stone thrown upward. Under the force of gravity, it returns—and falls on the head of the one who threw it.

But why is the stone thrower so forgetful? How can someone fail to recognize where the evil came from after throwing the stone himself? Alas, when we do evil, we consider ourselves righteous... Our eyes are closed, and we do not understand what the consequences of our actions will be. Even when we come face to face with them, we sincerely wonder: why is this happening? How did it come to this? Today the Lord calls us to look around and reflect on the fact that we are responsible for the consequences of our actions and reap their fruits.