16 January 2027 · Syro-Malabar Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malankara Rite · Latin Rite · മലയാളം
“So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17
In the synagogue of Capernaum the people are “astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” The scribes quoted the teachers before them; Jesus speaks as the one whose word does what it says. A man with an unclean spirit cries out: “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” Jesus rebukes the spirit: “Be silent, and come out of him!” and the man is set free. The crowd asks: “What is this? A new teaching, with authority!” In Denha we see that the word of Jesus is not mere advice but power: it drives out evil and makes people whole.
Paul explains how this word reaches every nation: “For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.” And “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” But no one can call on a Lord of whom they have never heard. Paul asks: “And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent?” and answers with Isaiah: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Then he sums it up: “So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.” Our own faith came by hearing, through apostles, missionaries, parents and catechists who were sent. Now it is our turn: to open our mouths for Christ, to support those who are sent, and to let our feet carry the good news.
Theme: “So faith comes from what is heard.”
The Word who speaks with authority, and the messengers who carry it.
“so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11
“They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Mark 1:22
Apply: Read the Gospel of the day each morning this week.
“The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners;” Isaiah 61:1
“But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.” Mark 1:25–26
Apply: Bring to confession whatever still binds you.
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”” Isaiah 52:7
“And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”” Romans 10:15
Apply: Pray for and support a missionary this month.
Jesus' word has authority to free and to heal.
Faith comes by hearing, and we are sent to speak.
Take-home resolution: Tell one person this week, gently, what Jesus means to you.
Dear friends, in the synagogue at Capernaum the people were astounded: Jesus taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes (Mark 1:22). His word does not only explain; it acts.
A man with an unclean spirit cries out: I know who you are, the Holy One of God. Jesus says: be silent, and come out of him! And the man is freed (Mark 1:24–25). Evil recognises its Master. The people ask: what is this? A new teaching, with authority!
St Paul tells us how this word reaches us: everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how can they call on one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? So faith comes from what is heard (Romans 10:13–14, 17).
Our faith came to us because someone was sent: an apostle, a missionary, a grandmother, a catechist. Now we are the ones sent. Let us believe with the heart, confess with the mouth, and let our feet carry the good news. Amen.
Children, Jesus' words are so strong that even bad spirits obey him! And somebody once told you about Jesus. This week you can tell a friend: Jesus loves you!
Lord Jesus, Holy One of God, you teach with authority and your word drives out every evil. Let your word live in my heart and on my lips; free me from all that binds me, and make my feet beautiful in carrying your good news to others. Amen.
Both readings are about a word that does something. Paul traces the chain by which faith reaches a person: someone is sent, someone proclaims, someone hears, someone believes and calls on the Lord. In Capernaum people hear that word for the first time from the mouth of Jesus, and even an unclean spirit has to obey it. In this season of Denha, the Lord is shown forth by what he says.
Setting.
Romans 9–11 is Paul's long and painful reflection on his own people: how can the Gospel be for all, when many in Israel have not received it? He wrote about their “zeal for God” with love (10:1–2). This reading stands in the middle of that argument. It ends with questions that are carried on into chapter 11, where Paul insists that God has not rejected his people (11:1) and that “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (11:29).
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.” (10:12)
Paul has used the same phrase about sin (3:22–23). The levelling is complete: all need mercy, and it is offered to all.
“And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”” (10:15)
He quotes Isaiah 52:7, the runner bringing news of God's victory to Jerusalem. Feet, usually dusty and overlooked, are here called beautiful because they have made the journey.
“So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.” (10:17)
This is the verse's plain teaching: faith has a history. Somebody told us. Each of us stands at the end of a long chain of people who were sent and who spoke.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism quotes these verses to explain why the Church has an ordained ministry: no one can give himself the mandate to preach the Gospel, for he must be sent (CCC 875). It also teaches that the Church's mission flows from God's will that all be saved (CCC 851), and that God's covenant with the Jewish people has not been revoked (CCC 839).
Setting.
This is the first public act of Jesus in Mark's Gospel, straight after the call of the four fishermen (1:16–20). Capernaum was a fishing town on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee and became his home base (2:1). The synagogue was the place where the community met on the sabbath to hear the Law and the Prophets, and a visiting teacher could be invited to speak.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” (1:22)
Mark does not yet tell us what he taught. The first thing we learn about the word of Jesus is its effect.
“and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”” (1:24)
The “us” is telling. Evil recognizes what this Teacher's coming means. The first to name Jesus in public in this Gospel is his enemy.
“But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!”” (1:25)
There is no ritual here and no long formula. Only a word. The man himself is not condemned; he is set loose.
“He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” (1:27)
The crowd joins teaching and exorcism: the word that instructs is the same word that releases people. The question “What is this?” will drive the rest of Mark's Gospel.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism notes that the people were struck by Jesus teaching not as their scribes did (CCC 581), and that his expulsions of demons announce the coming of the Kingdom, the defeat of “the ruler of this world” (CCC 550). The Church continues this work, in the name of Jesus and by his authority, in the prayers of baptism (CCC 1673).
Does “not as the scribes” mean that Jesus looked down on the teachers of Israel?
No. Mark is contrasting two ways of teaching, not judging a whole class of people. Jesus praises a scribe in Mark 12:34 and Matthew speaks of scribes trained for the Kingdom (13:52). The difference lies in who is speaking: the one whose own word has authority.