25 February 2027 · Syro-Malabar Rite
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“Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women, knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord, whether we are slaves or free.” Ephesians 6:7–8
Paul's letter to the Ephesians walks into the ordinary household of his time: parents and children, masters and slaves. To children he says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right”, and he recalls the commandment, “Honor your father and mother.” To fathers he gives a warning that every parent needs: “do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” To slaves and masters he speaks in a world where slavery was taken for granted, and he plants a seed that would one day break it open: “you know that both of you have the same Master in heaven, and with him there is no partiality.” The key to the whole passage is one phrase: work done “as to the Lord.” Every service, in the kitchen, the office, the field or the hospital ward, can be offered to Christ, “knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord.” In the Gospel Jesus shows the opposite. He has just reminded the crowd that David himself calls the Messiah “Lord”, and the people listen “with delight”. Then he warns them: “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers.” Religion can be used for honour and profit. Even a fast can be kept for appearance. Jesus asks for service that seeks no seat of honour and that protects the widow instead of devouring her house.
Today the Syro-Malabar Church keeps the memory of Blessed Rani Maria, who lived exactly that kind of service. Mariam Vattalil was born in 1954 at Pulluvazhy near Perumbavoor, joined the Franciscan Clarist Congregation and received the name Rani Maria. She served in mission stations in North India, and from 1992 at Udainagar in the diocese of Indore. There she worked among poor tribal families: she helped them to learn, to save, to form groups, to know their rights and to free themselves from moneylenders who held them in debt. This angered those who profited from their poverty. On 25 February 1995, as she travelled by bus towards Indore, a man hired by them attacked her with a knife, and she died of her wounds by the roadside. She was forty-one. Her readings today speak of her: “See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves”, and “we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.” What followed is a Gospel in itself. Her killer, Samundar Singh, was sentenced to prison, and there he came to repentance. Her sister, Sr Selmy, also a Clarist sister, visited him and tied a rakhi on his wrist, accepting him as her brother, and her parents received him in their home as a son. On 4 November 2017 Rani Maria was beatified at Indore, the first woman martyr from India to be declared Blessed. Like the mother in the book of Maccabees, her family showed that the love of God is stronger than death and stronger than hatred.
Theme: “Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord.”
Service offered to Christ, the warning against religion for show, and Blessed Rani Maria, a treasure in a clay jar.
“Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12
“Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women,” Ephesians 6:7
Apply: Offer your work to Christ each morning this week before you begin it.
“learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” Isaiah 1:17
“They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” Mark 12:40
Apply: Support one effort that frees the poor from debt or exploitation.
“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones.” Psalm 116:15
“But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7
Apply: Forgive one person this week, and pray for them as Rani Maria's family prayed.
Service offered to the Lord needs no long robes and no best seats.
Blessed Rani Maria served the poor to the end, and her family's forgiveness showed the power of God in clay jars.
Take-home resolution: Do one hidden service for the poor this week, through the prayers of Blessed Rani Maria.
Dear friends, Paul speaks to parents and children, masters and servants. His key word is this: render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women (Ephesians 6:7). Every honest work can be offered to Christ.
Jesus warns us about religion for show: those who like long robes and the best seats, who devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers (Mark 12:38–40). Even our fasting can become a show. Jesus wants service that protects the poor.
Today we remember Blessed Rani Maria, a Clarist sister from Pulluvazhy. At Udainagar near Indore she helped poor tribal families to learn, to save and to free themselves from moneylenders. On 25 February 1995 she was killed on a bus by a man hired by those she had angered. She was a sheep sent among wolves (Matthew 10:16).
Her killer repented in prison. Her sister tied a rakhi on his wrist and called him brother, and her parents welcomed him as a son. We carry the treasure of Christ in clay jars (2 Corinthians 4:7), but his power can make even a broken jar shine. Let us serve like Rani Maria, and forgive like her family. Amen.
Children, Sister Rani Maria from Kerala went far away to help poor families learn to read and to be free. Some bad people killed her, but her family forgave the man who did it. Jesus' love is stronger than hate!
Lord Jesus Christ, you came not to be served but to serve, and you protected the widow and the poor. Teach us to work as to you, without seeking honour, and to stand with the poor against those who devour their homes. Through the prayers of Blessed Rani Maria, who served the poor and gave her life for you, give us courage among wolves and a forgiveness stronger than hatred. Amen.
Both readings ask who is served by what we do. The Letter to the Ephesians enters an ancient household, with its children and fathers, slaves and masters, and tells each of them to act “as to the Lord”. In Mark, Jesus asks who the Messiah really is, and then warns against religious men who use their office for honour and profit, even at the cost of widows. On the day of Blessed Rani Maria, a sister who spent her life among the poor, the contrast is easy to see.
Setting.
This passage is the end of a “household code” that began at 5:21 with the words “Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ”. Similar lists are found in Colossians 3:18–4:1 and 1 Peter 2:18–3:7, and ancient moral writers discussed the household in much the same way. What is new is the Lord in the midst of it, and the fact that duties run in both directions. Children and slaves are addressed directly, as members of the Church.
The letter is received in the Church as from Paul, writing from prison (3:1; 4:1). Many scholars think that a disciple wrote it in his name, while others defend Paul’s authorship. In either case the Church reads it as inspired Scripture.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” (6:1)
“In the Lord” sets both the ground of this obedience and its limit. The next verse quotes the commandment on honouring father and mother (Exodus 20:12).
“And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” (6:4)
A single verse for the father’s whole task: not to crush, and to form. Children often learn who God is from how their parents treat them.
“Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women,” (6:7)
This phrase has given dignity to all sorts of hidden work. It does not bless the condition of slavery; it says that no human being finally owns another person’s service.
“for you know that both of you have the same Master in heaven, and with him there is no partiality.” (6:9)
In the ancient world this was a startling thing to say to a slave owner, and it carried a force that later generations would at last draw out.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism sets out the duties of children (CCC 2214–2220) and of parents (CCC 2221–2231): by obeying the Father themselves, parents teach their children to keep God’s law, and they are the first educators of their children (CCC 2222–2223). St John Chrysostom, preaching on this chapter, urges parents to raise their child as an athlete for Christ (Homilies on Ephesians 21; in substance).
Setting.
The questions have ended (12:34), and now Jesus asks one himself, in the Temple. Many of his people expected a Messiah from David’s line, according to God’s promise (2 Samuel 7:12–16). Jesus does not deny this. He asks whether “son of David” says enough. He uses Psalm 110, which was attributed to David, as the people of his time read it. Then he speaks to the crowd about their teachers. Right after this reading comes the poor widow who gives all she has (12:41–44).
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?” (12:37)
Jesus leaves the riddle open. A Christian knows the answer: son of David according to the flesh, and Son of God raised in power (Romans 1:3–4).
“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes,” (12:38)
Mark has just shown a scribe who is not far from the kingdom (12:34), so this is no blanket judgement on a whole group. The warning goes to every holder of religious office in any age, and it applies first of all to our own clergy, catechists and parish leaders.
“They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers.” (12:40)
Prayer used as a screen is, for Jesus, among the worst of abuses. Even a fast can be kept for appearance (Matthew 6:16).
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism notes that Jesus claims the title of Lord in a veiled way when he raises Psalm 110 here (CCC 447). The verse “Sit at my right hand” became one of the texts most often quoted in the New Testament, and the Creed echoes it in every Holy Qurbana. Pastors are reminded that authority in the Church is service (CCC 876).
Does Ephesians approve of slavery?
The letter speaks inside a world where slavery was taken for granted, and tiny communities had no power to change the law. It does not attack the institution. It does plant what would one day undo it: one Master over both, no partiality, and in another letter a slave received as “a beloved brother” (Philemon 16). St Gregory of Nyssa was already condemning the owning of human beings in the fourth century (Homilies on Ecclesiastes 4; in substance). The Church now teaches plainly that enslaving human beings is gravely wrong (Gaudium et Spes 27; CCC 2414). This text must never be used to defend it.
Today the Syro-Malabar Church remembers Blessed Rani Maria Vattalil, a Franciscan Clarist sister from Pulluvazhy, who worked among poor tribal families around Udainagar in the diocese of Indore. She helped them to learn, to save, and to stand up to the debts that held them down. On 25 February 1995 she was stabbed to death on a journey by bus, killed by a man hired by those who were losing from her work. Today’s Gospel warns against those who devour the houses of the poor; her life defended them. And what followed is a lesson for the Great Fast: her family forgave the man, who had repented in prison. Her sister visited him and received him as a brother, and her parents welcomed him to their home. She was beatified at Indore on 4 November 2017.