5 December 2026 · Syro-Malabar Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malankara Rite · Latin Rite · മലയാളം
“Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”” Luke 9:62
Paul asks the Galatians: did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by believing what you heard? “Those who believe are the descendants of Abraham.” Faith is the open hand that receives God's gift.
On the road to Jerusalem three would-be followers meet Jesus. To one he says, “The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head”; to another, “Let the dead bury their own dead”; to the third, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Elisha burned his plough to follow Elijah. Discipleship is wholehearted; the Lord who comes at Christmas asks for an undivided heart.
Theme: “Hand on the plough.”
Faith receives the Spirit; discipleship does not look back.
“And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:6
“Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”” Luke 9:58
Apply: Make an act of faith today.
“He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant.” 1 Kings 19:21
“Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”” Luke 9:62
Apply: Give up one thing that pulls you back.
“Is anything too wonderful for the LORD?” Genesis 18:14
“Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”” Luke 9:23
Apply: Pray the Rosary with Mary today.
The Lord who comes asks for an undivided heart.
Let us follow without looking back.
Take-home resolution: Renew your commitment to Christ at the Qurbana tomorrow.
Dear friends, St Paul asks the Galatians a sharp question: did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? (Galatians 3:2). Some teachers were telling them that faith in Christ was not enough; they also had to keep the whole law of Moses.
Paul answers by pointing to Abraham: he believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness; so those who believe are the descendants of Abraham (Galatians 3:6–7). Salvation is a gift received by faith, not a wage earned by our performance.
This is good news for those who feel they are never good enough. We do not earn God's love by our fasting, our devotions or our donations. These are responses to love already given. The Christmas fast is not a way to buy God's favour; it is a way to open our hands to receive the Gift.
In the Gospel three people want to follow Jesus. To the first he says: foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. To the second, who wants first to bury his father: let the dead bury their own dead. To the third, who wants to say goodbye: no one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:57–62).
These are hard words. Jesus is not against burying our parents or saying goodbye to family. He is warning against delay. Many of us say: I will pray more after the exams, after the wedding, after I retire. Jesus says: now.
A farmer ploughing with oxen must look forward. If he keeps looking back, the furrow becomes crooked. Faith also needs a forward gaze: forgiving the past, not living in regret, trusting God for the future.
What is God asking you to do that you keep postponing? A reconciliation, a confession, a habit of prayer, a generous act? This Nombu, put your hand to the plough and do not look back. Amen.
Children, a farmer who looks back cannot plough a straight line. When Jesus asks you to do something good, do it right away!
Lord Jesus, you had nowhere to lay your head. Give me a faith that follows you without delay and without looking back, like Mary your mother. Amen.
Both readings ask what a beginning is worth if it is not carried through. Paul asks the Galatians, “Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?” In Luke, three people meet Jesus on the road, and each is told what following him will really take. Abraham believed, and the plowman must not look back. Faith is both receiving what God gives and refusing to turn away from it.
Setting.
Paul had preached in Galatia, in central Asia Minor, and founded Churches of Gentile converts. After he left, other teachers told them that to belong fully to God’s people they must be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses. For Paul the question is not about Jewish customs as such, but whether Christ is enough. In Galatians “works of the law” refers above all to observances like circumcision and food laws, taken as the condition for being counted among God’s people. Paul’s tone here is the sharpest in his letters.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” (3:1)
“Foolish” here means failing to think. Paul is not insulting their intelligence but pleading with them to look at what they know.
“Are you so foolish? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?” (3:3)
“Flesh” here carries a play on words, because circumcision is literally in the flesh. Beyond that, it means relying on what human beings can do.
“Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,”” (3:6)
Paul goes to the root of Israel’s story. Last Monday’s reading from this same chapter (3:9–14) continues the argument: the blessing of Abraham comes to all peoples in Christ.
“For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed.” (3:9)
The Gentiles do not replace Abraham’s family. They are brought into it, as God told him: “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism presents Abraham as the model of the obedience of faith (CCC 144–146). It teaches that justification is God’s gift, received through faith, and that it comes before any merit of ours (CCC 1987, 1991, 1996, 2010). Paul himself says that what counts is “faith working through love” (5:6). In 1999 the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation signed a Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, which states their common understanding of this teaching.
Setting.
Luke 9:51 is a turning point: “he set his face to go to Jerusalem”. From here until chapter 19 Jesus is on the road, and much of his teaching on discipleship takes place along it. Today’s three short meetings stand at the start of that journey. Matthew has the first two (8:19–22). The third is found only in Luke, and it recalls the call of Elisha, who was plowing when Elijah threw his cloak over him and who asked, “Let me kiss my father and my mother” (1 Kings 19:19–21).
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (9:58)
This is not a refusal but an honest warning. The village that has just turned Jesus away (9:53) shows what the words mean.
“Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” (9:60)
Burying a father was among the most sacred duties in Jewish life (compare Tobit 4:3–4). That is why the saying shocks, and it is meant to shock. Many interpreters read “the dead” as those who have not yet found the life of the Kingdom. The word stresses urgency: nothing, even the holiest family duty, may be placed above the call.
“No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (9:62)
Anyone who has plowed with oxen knows this: if you look back, the furrow goes crooked. Elijah allowed Elisha to go home, but here one greater than Elijah is passing by, and the moment does not wait.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism teaches that family ties are important but not absolute: the first vocation of a Christian is to follow Jesus (CCC 2232), and the bond with Christ takes precedence over all other bonds, familial or social (CCC 1618). Jesus’ words are not a rejection of the commandment to honour parents, which he defends elsewhere (Mark 7:9–13). They are a measure of who is calling.
Is Paul against good works? Does Saint James contradict him?
No. In Galatians Paul is speaking of “works of the law” as a condition for belonging to God’s people, and he insists that the Spirit comes as a gift. He goes on at once to say what that faith does: it works through love (5:6). James insists that faith without works is dead (James 2:26). Together they say what the Church teaches: grace comes first, and it bears fruit. Paul also holds that “the law is holy” (Romans 7:12); he is not speaking against Israel’s Law as such.