26 January 2027 · Syro-Malabar Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Latin Rite · Syro-Malankara Rite · മലയാളം
““Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”” Hebrews 4:7
Hebrews looks back at Israel in the wilderness, who heard God's promise of rest and did not enter it, “because they were not united by faith with those who listened.” The promise has not expired: “while the promise of entering his rest is still open, let us take care that none of you should seem to have failed to reach it.” And God sets a day for us, the same day every day: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” The Gospel shows what a hardened heart looks like. In the synagogue at Nazareth everyone at first speaks well of Jesus and is amazed at his gracious words; then comes the question, “Is not this Joseph's son?” Familiarity turns to contempt. Jesus answers, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown”, and reminds them that Elijah was sent to a widow in Sidon and Elisha cleansed Naaman the Syrian. God's mercy crosses borders. The townspeople are filled with rage and try to throw him off a cliff, “But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.”
Today India keeps Republic Day, remembering the Constitution that came into force in 1950, promising justice, liberty, equality and fraternity to all and the freedom to profess, practise and propagate religion. The Gospel speaks to such a day. It is easy to love one's own town and harder to hear the prophet who comes from it; easy to think God belongs to us and harder to rejoice that he blesses the widow of Zarephath and the Syrian general. Christians serve their nation best by listening today to God's voice, by refusing contempt for those they know too well, and by welcoming every neighbour of every faith. The Church also honours Sts Timothy and Titus, the young bishops whom Paul trusted with the churches of Ephesus and Crete. To Timothy he wrote: “Fight the good fight of the faith”. We give thanks for our country, pray for all who govern it, and ask for pastors who, like Timothy and Titus, keep the faith among the people.
Theme: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
The rest still open, the prophet rejected at home, and mercy beyond borders on Republic Day.
“For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice!” Psalm 95:7
““Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”” Hebrews 4:7
Apply: Obey one word of today's Gospel before the day ends.
““Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.”” 1 Kings 17:9
“And he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown.” Luke 4:24
Apply: Listen with fresh ears to someone you know well.
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” Proverbs 14:34
“Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12
Apply: Pray for India and its leaders today.
God's today is still open; do not harden your hearts.
Listen to the prophet at home and serve the nation with fraternity.
Take-home resolution: Serve the common good in one concrete way this week.
Dear friends, Hebrews tells us that God's promised rest is still open, and that God sets a day for us: today. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts (Hebrews 4:7).
At Nazareth the people first admire Jesus' gracious words, then ask: is not this Joseph's son? (Luke 4:22). They think they know him too well to listen. Jesus says: no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown (Luke 4:24), and reminds them that God's mercy reached a widow of Sidon and a Syrian general.
Today is Republic Day. Our Constitution promises justice, liberty, equality and fraternity to all. Christians serve this nation by listening to God today, by rejecting contempt, and by welcoming every neighbour of every faith.
We also honour Sts Timothy and Titus, whom Paul told to fight the good fight of the faith (1 Timothy 6:12). Let us thank God for India, pray for those who govern, and keep our hearts soft to his voice. Amen.
Children, the people of Nazareth did not listen to Jesus because they thought he was just Joseph's son. Let us listen to Jesus today, and pray for our country India!
Lord Jesus Christ, in your own hometown you were not accepted, yet you passed through the crowd and went on your way to save us. Soften our hearts to hear your voice today. On this Republic Day bless India with justice, liberty, equality and fraternity, make us good citizens and faithful disciples, and through the prayers of Sts Timothy and Titus give your Church shepherds who fight the good fight of the faith. Amen.
Both readings turn on the word “today”. Hebrews takes it from Psalm 95: the promise of God’s rest is still open, today, to those who listen. At Nazareth, Jesus has just said that “today” the Scripture is fulfilled, and his own townspeople cannot bear where this leads. One reading warns against a hard heart; the other shows us one.
Setting.
Hebrews has just quoted Psalm 95 at length (3:7–11) and recalled the generation of the Exodus, who refused to enter the land at Kadesh after the report of the spies (Numbers 14; Hebrews 3:16–19). They heard God’s word and did not enter. The author now says to his tired Christian listeners: the promise did not end with them.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“while the promise of entering his rest is still open, let us take care that none of you should seem to have failed to reach it.” (4:1)
“but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.” (4:2)
A note on the text. The ancient manuscripts differ in this verse. The NRSV reads “not united by faith with those who listened”; others read that the word was not joined with faith in those who heard, which is close to the Malayalam POC, “they did not believe it”. In both readings hearing without faith does not help.
““Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”” (4:7)
The author says “through David”, because the Greek Bible heads the psalm with his name. His argument is simple: if God was still saying “today” long after Joshua, then the promise is still open now.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism says that when the Church celebrates the mystery of Christ, one word marks her prayer: “Today!” (CCC 1165). The Fathers loved this rest. St Augustine begins his Confessions by telling God that our heart is restless until it rests in him (Confessions 1.1). Each Sunday’s Holy Qurbana is a foretaste of that rest.
Setting.
The scene begins in the synagogue at Nazareth. Jesus has read from Isaiah 61, “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor”, and has said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (4:19, 21). Luke places this visit at the very start of the ministry, like a programme for everything that follows. The people of Nazareth have heard of what was done at Capernaum, though Luke has not yet narrated it (compare 4:31).
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.” (4:26)
See 1 Kings 17:8–16. The widow belonged to the very region of Baal’s worship, the Gentile coast.
“and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” (4:27)
See 2 Kings 5. Jesus says nothing against Israel here. He reminds his hearers from their own Scriptures that God’s mercy has never been limited by a border.
“But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.” (4:30)
Luke does not explain how. The hour of his death will come in Jerusalem (compare 9:51; 13:33), not on a hillside at the hands of neighbours. Nothing stops his road.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism teaches that the Kingdom, first announced to the children of Israel, is meant for people of all nations (CCC 543). Luke will show this at length in Acts. The people of Nazareth stand for no nation; their reaction is the human one, found in any town, when a familiar person speaks God’s word and the word reaches beyond us.
Why did they become so angry so quickly?
The two examples Jesus gives are of outsiders favoured by God while Israel’s own in need waited. Those who felt they had the first claim on him heard that God’s mercy was going elsewhere. Familiarity had already prepared the ground: “Is not this Joseph’s son?” Any parish or family can do the same.
Today India keeps Republic Day, recalling the Constitution that came into force on 26 January 1950. The Gospel offers a word for such a day: to love one’s own place is good, and to think that God’s mercy stops at its border is a mistake. We give thanks for our country, pray for those who govern it, and ask for hearts that do not harden. The calendar also recalls today Sts Timothy and Titus, Paul’s trusted fellow workers.