13 January 2027 · Syro-Malabar Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malankara Rite · Latin Rite · മലയാളം
“For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.” Ephesians 2:14
Paul asks the Gentile Christians of Ephesus to remember where they came from: “without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” That was the condition of our own ancestors before the Gospel reached these shores. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall.” In the Temple of Jerusalem a stone barrier kept Gentiles out of the inner courts. On the Cross Christ tore down every such wall, in order to “create in himself one new humanity in place of the two”. And so Paul concludes: “you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God”.
Who will care for this one household? In the Gospel the risen Lord, by the lake, asks Simon Peter three times: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Only after each answer of love does he give the charge: feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep. The flock never becomes Peter's property; Jesus still calls them my sheep. And the first qualification for caring for them is not talent or position but love for Christ. This touches each of us: parents who feed their children in the faith, teachers and catechists, priests and bishops, and the Successor of Peter. Then Jesus adds the hardest word: “Follow me.” Love for the Shepherd leads to laying down one's life for the sheep, as Peter himself would do in Rome.
Theme: “For he is our peace.”
Christ gathers the far and the near into one household and entrusts it to shepherds who love him.
“Peace, peace, to the far and the near, says the LORD; and I will heal them.” Isaiah 57:19
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13
Apply: Thank God this week for the gift of faith that reached our land.
“For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
“For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.” Ephesians 2:14
Apply: Take down one wall: speak to someone you have kept at a distance.
“I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD.” Ezekiel 34:15
“A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.”” John 21:16
Apply: Pray daily for the Pope, our Major Archbishop and your parish priest.
In Christ no one is a stranger.
Love for the Shepherd becomes care for the flock.
Take-home resolution: This week welcome one newcomer, and pray every day for our shepherds.
Dear friends, St Paul asks us to remember: once we were far off, strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12). According to our tradition, our ancestors in Kerala received the Gospel from the apostle Thomas. Christ came looking for us.
But now, says Paul, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; he has broken down the dividing wall (Ephesians 2:13–14). In Christ no one is a foreigner. We are citizens with the saints and members of the household of God (Ephesians 2:19).
Who cares for this household? The risen Jesus asks Peter three times: do you love me? And each time he adds: feed my sheep (John 21:15–17). Before he gives Peter a task, he asks for his love.
Each of us has sheep to feed: our children, our students, the sick, the new family in the parish. Let us serve them out of love for Christ, and break down the walls that still divide us. Amen.
Children, Jesus asked Peter: do you love me? Then take care of my sheep. You can take care of Jesus' sheep too: be a friend to the new child in your class!
Lord Jesus, you are our peace. By your blood you brought near those who were far off and broke down the walls that divide us. Make me a member of your household who welcomes others, and give me a love for you that shows itself in caring for your sheep. Amen.
Both readings are about those who have been far away being brought near. In Ephesians, Gentiles who were strangers to the promises are brought close by the blood of Christ, and a wall comes down. By the lake, the Risen Lord brings back a friend who had denied him, asking three times the only question that matters. Denha shows a God who does not stay on his side of the wall.
Setting.
The letter's great theme is the unity of Jews and Gentiles in Christ. (On authorship: many scholars think that a close disciple wrote in Paul's name; others hold it is by Paul himself.) The writer addresses Gentile believers and asks them to remember how far off they once were: not to shame them, but so that they may be grateful. Israel is described here with honour: it has the covenants, the promise, hope and God.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (2:13)
“But now” is the hinge. The words “far” and “near” come from Isaiah 57:19, which v. 17 echoes.
“For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.” (2:14)
The wall that falls is hostility. No people is being erased: Jews and Gentiles alike are reconciled in Christ.
“He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace,” (2:15)
This does not mean that God's moral law has ended (compare Matthew 5:17; Romans 7:12). It speaks of the Law as a barrier separating Jews from Gentiles. The Greek for “humanity” is anthrōpos: a new human being, Christ with us in him.
“for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.” (2:18)
Father, Son, Spirit: the whole Trinity in one short verse. Prayer itself is an act of peace.
How the Church reads it.
The Second Vatican Council quotes these verses in speaking of the Jewish people: by his cross Christ our Peace reconciled Jews and Gentiles, making both one in himself (Nostra Aetate 4). The same document says that the Church is nourished from the root of that good olive tree, and that the Jews remain dear to God. The Catechism teaches that earthly peace is the image and fruit of the peace of Christ, “our peace” (CCC 2305). So the Church may never treat any neighbour as beyond the wall.
Setting.
John 20 closes with what sounds like an ending (20:30–31). Many scholars therefore think chapter 21 was added soon after, by the evangelist or his circle. The scene is the Sea of Galilee after the Resurrection. The disciples have gone back to fishing, and Jesus has fed them breakfast on the shore, over a charcoal fire. Such a fire appears in only one other place in the New Testament: the fire where Peter stood warming himself when he denied the Lord (18:18).
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” (21:15)
He does not use the name Peter, “rock”, but his birth name. Peter once promised to lay down his life (13:37). Now he makes no boast and appeals only to what Jesus knows.
“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” (21:17)
Peter's hurt is the beginning of healing. He no longer trusts his own record; he trusts the knowledge of the one he failed. (The POC has lambs and sheep in another order from the NRSV: the meaning is the same.)
“But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” (21:18)
Tertullian already reads this as Peter's crucifixion, which tradition places at Rome under Nero (in substance). The next verse says Peter's death will glorify God.
“After this he said to him, “Follow me.”” (21:19)
The first call (Mark 1:17) is given again, after failure. There is no probation, only the same invitation.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism sees in these words the pastoral office given to Peter, which is continued in his successors (CCC 553; 881); St Augustine says that the threefold confession answers the threefold denial, and that feeding the Lord's flock is the office of love (in substance). All authority in the Church is measured by this question. It is put to a man who has failed, and the office follows his answer of love.
Do “agape” and “philia” mean a higher and lower love here?
That reading is well known and is often preached, and some Fathers noted the change. But many scholars doubt it, since John uses both verbs for the Father's love for the Son (3:35; 5:20) and for other loves too. It is safest to say the point lies in the three questions and in Peter's humility.