12 November 2026 · Syro-Malabar Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Latin Rite · Syro-Malankara Rite · മലയാളം
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30
Paul feels “a divine jealousy” for the Corinthians: “I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” The apostle is like the friend who brings the bride to the bridegroom; he fears that she will be led astray to “another Jesus”.
John the Baptist says the same about himself: “He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom… rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice.” Every true minister in the Church points away from himself to Christ. Holiness is this: he must increase, I must decrease.
Theme: “The friend of the Bridegroom.”
Paul and John the Baptist both bring the bride to Christ and step aside with joy.
“I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.” Jeremiah 2:2
“He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice.” John 3:29
Apply: Renew your first love for Christ in prayer.
“I will take you for my wife in faithfulness; and you shall know the LORD.” Hosea 2:20
“For this reason my joy has been fulfilled.” John 3:29
Apply: Hold fast to the faith of the Church.
“Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory.” Psalm 115:1
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30
Apply: Let someone else have the credit today.
The Church belongs to Christ alone.
Let us rejoice to hear the Bridegroom's voice.
Take-home resolution: Pray each morning this week: “Lord, you must increase.”
Dear friends, Paul says he feels a divine jealousy for the Corinthians: I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2). The apostle is like the friend who brings the bride to the bridegroom.
John the Baptist describes himself in the same way: he who has the bride is the bridegroom; the friend of the bridegroom rejoices greatly at his voice. He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:29–30).
This is the motto of every Christian and every minister: he must increase, I must decrease. In the parish and in the family, let attention turn not to me but to Jesus. Today do one good deed that no one knows about, and give the glory to Jesus. Amen.
Children, John the Baptist said: Jesus must become greater, I must become less. Today do one good thing that nobody sees, just for Jesus!
Lord Jesus, Bridegroom of the Church, keep us faithful to you alone. Let me rejoice to hear your voice; you must increase and I must decrease. Amen.
Both readings speak the language of a wedding, and of the friend who brings the bride to the bridegroom. Paul has betrothed the Corinthians to Christ and fears that they will be led astray. John the Baptist rejoices to hear the bridegroom's voice and steps aside: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Every minister of the Church is only the bridegroom's friend.
Setting.
In chapters 10–13 Paul defends his ministry against rival preachers whom he calls, with irony, “super-apostles” (11:5). They were impressive speakers who boasted of their credentials and looked down on Paul. Paul asks the Corinthians to bear with his “foolishness”: he will boast, not to praise himself but to win them back.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” (11:2)
The betrothal took place when they believed and were baptized; the presentation will be at Christ's coming. The time between is the time of faithfulness.
“But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by its cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” (11:3)
The danger is not open hostility but clever deception, as in Eden.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism teaches that the theme of Christ as Bridegroom of the Church was prepared by the prophets and announced by John the Baptist, and that the Apostle speaks of the whole Church and of each believer as a bride “betrothed” to Christ (CCC 796). It also calls virginity for the sake of the Kingdom a powerful sign of the supremacy of the bond with Christ and of the ardent awaiting of his return (CCC 1619).
Setting.
After the conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus and his disciples baptize in Judea, while John is still baptizing at Aenon near Salim. The exact place is uncertain; it was probably in the Jordan valley or in Samaria. John's disciples are troubled that “all are going to him”. John's answer is his last testimony in this Gospel. (John 4:2 adds that it was not Jesus himself but his disciples who baptized.)
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven.” (3:27)
John sees his own mission, and Jesus' success, as gifts. There is no room for rivalry.
“He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice.” (3:29)
The friend's joy is to hear the bridegroom's voice, not his own. That is the joy of every true minister.
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” (3:30)
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism presents John the Baptist as the one who announced Christ the Bridegroom (CCC 796) and as the Lord's immediate forerunner, sent to prepare his way (CCC 523). St Augustine observes that the Church celebrates John's birth in June, when the days begin to shorten, and Christ's birth in December, when the days begin to lengthen, as a sign of these words: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (in substance).
Who is “a Jew” in verse 25?
Simply an unnamed Jewish man who debated with John's disciples about purification, perhaps comparing John's baptism with Jewish rites of washing or with Jesus' baptism. John and his disciples were Jews too; the verse does not set “the Jews” against the Gospel.