December 8, 2010 – Sirach 17

V 22-23 – What does it mean to be alive.  Here we see the dead cannot praise God than those that have never lived.  The way I took this is that until you are praising God, you are not truly alive.  So, what does it mean to be alive in that sense.  To live your life praising God.  Making it known to everyone that sees you that you are a child of God, that you belong to God.  How many of us can say we do that.  How many of us shy away from making it public knowledge that we live our life for God.  How many have that divide between our heart and our head that stops us from living our life for God.  Until we break down that barrier, until we make that connection, until our everyday life is able to be directed by the Will of God, are we really even alive.  There are a lot of zombie movies out and even TV shows.  I guess all the vampire books and movies fall into this category.  The world is obsessed with the walking dead.  Is that merely a coincidence that God is being so minimalized in our culture.  When looking at verse 23 the question becomes not only are we alive, but have we ever lived.