26 March 2027 · Syro-Malabar Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malankara Rite · Latin Rite · മലയാളം
“When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” John 19:30
The Church begins this day of sorrow with a father and a son climbing a mountain. God says to Abraham, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” Every word tightens the knot: your son, your only son, whom you love. Abraham lays the wood on Isaac's shoulders and carries the fire and the knife himself, “So the two of them walked on together.” Then the boy asks the question that echoes through the whole Bible: “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham answers, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” On Moriah the hand of Abraham is stopped and a ram caught in a thicket dies in Isaac's place. On Calvary no hand is stopped. The Father does not spare his own Son, and the Son carries the wood of his own sacrifice up the hill. The question of Isaac is answered at last by John the Baptist: “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” What Abraham was asked to give and was spared, God gives and does not spare. That is why the Church reads Genesis 22 today: to show that the Cross is not a human tragedy that God turned to good, but the gift of the Father who so loved the world that he gave his only Son.
Isaiah's fourth song of the Servant is read on this day by Christians everywhere, because it reads like an eyewitness account written centuries before. “He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity.” The prophet's community confesses its mistake: they thought he was punished by God for his own sins. Then the truth breaks in: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” And the Servant goes silent to his death: “like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” Paul draws out what this means for us. Christ did not die for the good and the deserving: “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” “But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” The Cross is the proof. Whoever doubts that God loves him should look at the crucifix and read what is written there: you were worth this to me. And Paul goes further: through one man's disobedience sin and death entered; through the one man Jesus Christ the free gift of grace overflows to the many.
The Passion is read today in two parts, woven from the Gospels of Luke, Matthew and John. Jesus is mocked, blindfolded and struck; he is led to the council, to Pilate, to Herod, and back to Pilate. Three times Pilate finds no case against him. Pilate's wife sends a message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.” Pilate washes his hands, and the crowd cries, “His blood be on us and on our children!” The Church reads these words with great care. The Second Vatican Council teaches that what happened in the Passion “cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today” (Nostra Aetate 4), and the Catechism reminds us that sinners, all of us, were the authors of Christ's sufferings (CCC 597–598). Indeed the blood of Christ is on us: not as a curse but as the blood that cleanses, sprinkled on all who are saved. Then come the words from the Cross. To his executioners: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” To the thief who asks to be remembered: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” To his Mother and the beloved disciple: “Woman, here is your son… Here is your mother.” Then, “I am thirsty”, and they lift a sponge of sour wine to his lips. “It is finished.” Darkness covers the land, the curtain of the temple is torn, the earth shakes, and a Roman officer says, “Truly this man was God's Son!” In the second part a soldier pierces his side, “and at once blood and water came out”, and Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus lay him in a new tomb in a garden. The Fathers saw in that blood and water the Holy Qurbana and Baptism, and the Church herself born from the side of the new Adam asleep on the Cross.
How a family can follow the rites of Passion Friday, step by step (the order and names differ a little between dioceses, so follow your parish). First, the fast: on this day the faithful keep fast and abstinence, and many keep silence, switch off the television and take only kanji. Second, the service of the Passion in church, usually in the morning or afternoon: the prayers of the day, the readings from Genesis, Isaiah and Romans, and the long reading of the Passion (Part I), followed by the Passion sermon. There is no Holy Qurbana on this day: the altar stands bare, for the one Sacrifice is contemplated on the Cross itself. Third, the veneration of the Cross (Sliva Vandanam): the crucifix is shown to the people, and one by one they come forward, kneel and kiss the wounds of the Lord. Fourth, the procession with the Cross through the streets or around the church, praying the Way of the Cross; many walk to hills of pilgrimage such as Malayattoor with wooden crosses on their shoulders. Fifth, the second part of the Passion (John 19:31–42) and the burial: the body of the Lord, the crucifix or an image, is laid in a tomb prepared with flowers, and the people pass by in prayer. Sixth, the bitter drink (kaippuneer): at the end each one takes a sip of a bitter drink, recalling the sour wine offered to the thirsty Lord on the Cross, and promising to share his bitterness rather than run from it. At home, many families read or sing the Puthen Pana of Arnos Pathiri, especially the lament of the Mother, and keep the evening in quiet. Nothing in these rites is theatre. Each step is a way of standing with Mary and John at the foot of the Cross, where the world was redeemed.
Theme: “When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ‘It is finished.’ Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
The lamb that God provides, the Servant wounded for us, the words from the Cross, and the Church born from the pierced side.
“Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.” Genesis 22:8
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” John 3:16
Apply: Look at a crucifix for five minutes today and say only: you were given for me.
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5
“But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
Apply: Bring one hidden sin to the Cross today, and plan to confess it in Easter week.
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6
“Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”” Luke 23:34
Apply: Forgive one person by name today, and if possible tell them.
“They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” Psalm 69:21
“Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out.” John 19:34
Apply: Take the kaippuneer today as a promise not to run from your own cross.
What Abraham was spared, God gave; what we deserved, Christ bore; what was torn open on the Cross is the door of the Church.
Kneel, kiss the wounds, forgive, and stand with Mary until the morning comes.
Take-home resolution: Today keep the fast with love, venerate the Cross with your family, forgive one person by name, and keep the evening in silence.
Dear brothers and sisters, today there is no Qurbana. The altar is bare and the tabernacle is empty. The Church stands in silence at the foot of the Cross, where the one Sacrifice was offered once for all.
We began with Abraham and Isaac on the mountain. The boy asked, “Where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” and his father answered, “God himself will provide the lamb.” On Moriah the knife was stopped. On Calvary it was not. The Father gave his only Son, whom he loves, and the Son carried the wood of his own sacrifice.
Isaiah saw him centuries before: “He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities… and by his bruises we are healed.” He did not open his mouth. And Paul tells us why: “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” Not for the good, but for sinners. For you and for me.
Listen to his words from the Cross. “Father, forgive them.” He forgives those who are killing him. “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” He opens heaven to a thief. “Here is your mother.” He gives us Mary. “I am thirsty.” He thirsts for our love. “It is finished.” Not ‘I am finished’, but ‘the work is complete’.
Who killed him? The Church answers honestly: not a people, not a nation, but sin, our sin. That is why today we do not point at anyone. We beat our own breasts, and then we come to kiss the wounds that heal us.
When you take the bitter drink today, remember the thirst of the Lord. Do not run from the bitterness of your own cross. Stand with Mary, forgive someone by name, and keep this evening in silence. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world. Amen.
Children, today Jesus died on the cross. He did it because he loves us so much and wanted to take away all our sins.
On the cross Jesus said sorry for the people who hurt him: ‘Father, forgive them.’ Can you forgive someone today?
When we kiss the cross today, let us say: ‘Thank you, Jesus, for loving me so much!’
Lord Jesus Christ, Lamb of God, you carried the wood of your sacrifice up the hill, and you were wounded for our transgressions. We adore you and we bless you, for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world. Forgive us as you forgave those who crucified you; remember us in your kingdom as you remembered the thief; give us your Mother as you gave her to the beloved disciple. Let the blood and water from your side wash us and feed us, and let us not run from your Cross but stand beside it with Mary, until we see your glory. Glory to you, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, for ever. Amen.
On this day there is no Holy Qurbana, and the Church reads and looks at the Cross. A father climbs a mountain with his only son, and the question is asked: “where is the lamb?” Isaiah sees the Servant led like a lamb to the slaughter and confesses, “by his bruises we are healed.” Paul explains the love behind it: Christ died for us while we were still sinners. The Gospel then tells the Passion in two parts, the first woven from Luke, Matthew and John, the second from John alone, ending in a garden and a new tomb.
The key words of the day are only son, for us and finished.
Setting.
God has promised Abraham descendants through Isaac (21:12), and now he asks for Isaac. The narrator tells us at once what Abraham does not know: “God tested Abraham” (v. 1). Jewish tradition treasures this chapter as the Akedah, the binding of Isaac, and reads it at the New Year. Christians have long read it in the days of the Passion and Resurrection.
Moriah is named here, and 2 Chronicles 3:1 identifies Mount Moriah with the place where Solomon built the Temple. Sacrifice of children was known among Israel’s neighbours, and Israel’s Law and prophets condemned it (Deuteronomy 12:31; Jeremiah 7:31). Many scholars hear in this chapter a refusal of that practice as well: the God of Israel stops the knife.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah,” (22:2)
The same command, lek-lekā, “go”, opens Abraham’s story (12:1). Then he left his past behind, and now he is asked for his future.
“Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac,” (22:6)
Isaac is old enough to carry the wood up a mountain, and he goes with his father. “So the two of them walked on together” is said twice (vv. 6, 8). It is the most tender line in the chapter.
“The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” (22:7)
Isaac’s only words in this story. The whole Old Testament leaves this question open until the Baptist says, “Here is the Lamb of God” (John 1:29).
“God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” (22:8)
Abraham does not know how, and he speaks more truly than he knows. Hebrews says that he trusted God “to raise someone from the dead” (11:19), and in v. 5 he had said that “we” would come back.
“for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” (22:12)
Paul takes up this word for God’s own act: “He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us” (Romans 8:32). On Moriah the hand is stopped; on Calvary it is not.
“Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.” (22:13)
In Christian reading, Isaac is spared and the Lamb is not.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism sees in Abraham’s offering a final purification of his faith and a likeness to the Father who did not spare his own Son (CCC 2572). Origen, preaching on this chapter, sees in Isaac carrying the wood a figure of Christ carrying his Cross (Homilies on Genesis 8, in substance), and St Melito of Sardis draws the same figure. Reading it this way does not mean that Isaac was killed or that Abraham was only acting. It means that what God did not ask in the end of Abraham, he has done himself.
Setting.
This is the fourth of the “Servant Songs” in the Book of Consolation (Isaiah 40–55), addressed to Israel in exile. The song runs to 53:12; today’s reading stops at the Servant’s grave. A startled “we” is speaking, who once looked away from him and now confess what they had not understood.
The prophet does not name the Servant. Jewish readers have often understood him as Israel or its faithful remnant, and the Pontifical Biblical Commission asks Christians to respect that reading (The Jewish People and Their Sacred Scriptures, 2001). The New Testament recognizes its fulfilment in Jesus (Acts 8:32–35; 1 Peter 2:22–25), and the Church reads it so today.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.” (52:13)
The song begins with the end. Before we see his disfigured face, we are told that he will be lifted up. John’s “lifted up” (12:32) stands in this line.
“He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;” (53:3)
Isaiah describes someone from whom people turn their faces. Many in every age have been treated so, and the Lord stands among them.
“Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases;” (53:4)
Matthew quotes this of Jesus’ healings (Matthew 8:17). The first step in understanding is to see that the burden was ours.
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.” (53:5)
The heart of the song. Four times in one verse “he” and “our” stand against each other.
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (53:6)
The verse begins and ends with “all”. No one stands outside it, including the one who is reading it.
“like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” (53:7)
The Ethiopian official was reading this very verse when Philip came to him (Acts 8:32). At his trial before Herod Jesus “gave him no answer” (Luke 23:9), in today’s Gospel.
How the Church reads it.
St Jerome said that Isaiah should be called an evangelist rather than a prophet, so clearly does he speak of Christ (in substance). The Catechism teaches that Jesus’ redemptive death fulfils this prophecy of the Suffering Servant (CCC 601) and that he willingly made it his own, turning his death into the supreme act of obedience and love (CCC 615–616). The song does not glorify suffering for its own sake; it says that love carried what we could not.
Setting.
Paul writes to the Christians in Rome, probably from Corinth, about AD 57. In chapters 1–4 he has shown that all, Jew and Gentile, need the grace of God and receive it through faith. Now he turns to what this means. Today’s reading has two parts: God’s love shown on the Cross, and a contrast between Adam and Christ.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” (5:6)
Christ did not wait for us to improve. It happened in God’s time, and in our weakness.
“But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” (5:8)
Paul says “God proves his love”, not “Christ changes God’s mind”. The Cross comes from the Father’s love. The Catechism builds its teaching on this verse (CCC 604).
“For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.” (5:10)
If this was done for enemies, what will he not do for friends? St John Chrysostom presses this argument on his hearers (in substance). This is hope, and hope is not presumption.
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned” (5:12)
A note on the language: The Greek eph’ hō is usually translated “because”; the Latin has in quo, “in whom”, the form St Augustine knew. The Church’s doctrine of original sin (Council of Trent, Session 5; CCC 402–404) does not rest on one phrase but on Paul’s whole contrast between Adam and Christ.
“But the free gift is not like the trespass.” (5:15)
The two are not equal. Paul repeats “much more”. The first Adam’s harm is real, but Christ’s grace is greater.
How the Church reads it.
Paul’s line about love is the Church’s answer on this day to the question “Why the Cross?” God’s plan is one of benevolent love that comes before any merit of ours (CCC 604). By his obedience, Christ the new Adam makes up for the disobedience of the first (CCC 411, 615). By his loving obedience Christ made satisfaction for our sins to the Father (CCC 615–616). The Cross is no anger appeased by violence; it is God’s love reaching those who had turned away.
Setting.
This Gospel is woven from three Evangelists, following Luke’s order and adding what only Matthew and John tell. Weaving the Gospels together is an old custom in our family of Churches: Tatian’s Diatessaron, a single harmony of the four Gospels, was long used by Syriac-speaking Christians, and St Ephrem wrote a commentary on it.
Crucifixion was a Roman punishment and only the Roman governor could order it. Pontius Pilate governed Judea from about AD 26 to 36, and other ancient writers (Philo and Josephus) show a harsh ruler. The Creed names him. The Gospels name the chief priests, some leaders and a crowd in Jerusalem on that morning; they do not condemn a people. Sin is what crucified the Lord, and the Passion shows its many faces: unbelief, hatred, mockery, cowardice, cruelty, betrayal, denial (CCC 1851).
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”” (Luke 23:34)
A note on the text: Some ancient manuscripts lack this sentence, which is why the NRSV prints it in double brackets. The Church has always received and prayed it. The Catechism sets it at the heart of her teaching on responsibility for the Passion (CCC 597).
“Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”” (Luke 23:42)
It is often noted that no one else in the Gospels calls him simply “Jesus”. This man has read the inscription and heard the mockery, and he sees a King. On Wednesday we heard Joseph ask the same in prison, and be forgotten.
“He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”” (Luke 23:43)
“With me” is the whole of the promise. The Catechism cites this word in its teaching on what follows death (CCC 1021).
“Then the people as a whole answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”” (Matthew 27:25)
Only Matthew has this. See the question below. No Christian may use it against the Jewish people, then or now. Pope Benedict XVI recalled that the blood of Jesus “speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24): it does not cry for vengeance, and it was poured out for many (in substance).
“At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.” (Matthew 27:51)
Torn from above. Hebrews speaks of a new way opened into the sanctuary “through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)” (10:20). The tombs opening in vv. 52–53 is Matthew’s way of saying that this death breaks the power of death; the text itself places the appearances “after his resurrection”.
“Truly this man was God’s Son!” (Matthew 27:54)
The soldiers of Rome say what the disciples had not dared to say in that hour. In Matthew the Gentiles are coming.
“Woman, here is your son.” (John 19:26)
He calls her “Woman”, as at Cana (2:4). Then to the disciple: “Here is your mother.” The Church sees here more than the care of a son. Mary is given as mother to the disciples (Lumen Gentium 58; CCC 964).
“When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (John 19:30)
The wine came on a branch of hyssop (v. 29), the plant used for the blood on the door in Egypt (Exodus 12:22). The Greek for “gave up” is “handed over”, and many commentators see a hint here of the gift of the Spirit.
How the Church reads it.
St Cyprian saw in the seamless tunic the unity of the Church that must not be torn (On the Unity of the Church 7, in substance), a word for all of us. The Catechism reads the Cross as the one sacrifice that completes and surpasses all sacrifices, the source of our salvation (CCC 613–614), and says that it is love to the end that gives it its value (CCC 616). Above all, it teaches that responsibility for the Passion cannot be charged against all the Jews then living, nor against the Jews of today (CCC 597; Nostra Aetate 4), and that sinners were the authors of his sufferings (CCC 598).
Setting.
Jesus has died. John, alone among the Evangelists, stays at the Cross for what follows. It is the day of Preparation, and the Law asks that a body hanged not remain overnight (Deuteronomy 21:23), all the more on so great a sabbath. “The Jews” in v. 31 means the authorities, as elsewhere in John; v. 38 says that Joseph, himself a Jew, feared them. Their request to Pilate rests on their care for the Law.
Soldiers broke the legs of the crucified to hasten death, it is commonly explained, since a man could then no longer lift himself to breathe. It was not needed for Jesus.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out.” (19:34)
The last blow of violence becomes a spring. The heart of Christ, opened by our sins, is the sign of his love for all (CCC 478).
“He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe.” (19:35)
This is the disciple who stood at the Cross. The whole purpose of the Gospel is in this one sentence (compare 20:31): he saw, and he writes so that you may believe.
“None of his bones shall be broken.” (19:36)
Spoken of the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12) and of the just man (Psalm 34:20). On the day of Preparation, Jesus is the true Lamb.
“They will look on the one whom they have pierced.” (19:37)
Zechariah 12:10. In the prophet, those who look mourn as for an only child, and God pours out on them a spirit of compassion. This verse is a promise of grace for all who look on the Crucified.
“Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds.” (19:39)
The Roman pound was about a third of a kilogram, so this is a very great amount, spices fit for a king (compare 2 Chronicles 16:14). Two members of the council who had been afraid (3:2; 7:50; 19:38) come out into the open at the moment when it seems too late. Their love is real. The Lord’s Passion has begun to draw them.
“Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid.” (19:41)
He is laid where no one had been laid, as he came from a womb that had borne no other (St Augustine, in substance). The story of the first Easter begins in this garden.
How the Church reads it.
St John Chrysostom, teaching those about to be baptized, says that the blood and water are signs of the Holy Mysteries and of Baptism, and that the Church was formed from Christ’s side as Eve from the side of Adam (in substance). St Ephrem sings of the same mystery, and it is a treasured image of the Syriac tradition. The Second Vatican Council and the Catechism take this up: the Church is born from the pierced side of Christ (Lumen Gentium 3; CCC 766, 1225). His burial shows that his was a real death; his body did not see corruption (CCC 627).
Does “His blood be on us and on our children” lay guilt on the Jewish people?
No. This cry has been terribly misused, and the Church has rejected that misuse. The Second Vatican Council teaches that what happened in the Passion cannot be charged against all the Jews then living, nor against the Jews of today, and that they should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God (Nostra Aetate 4; CCC 597). Many scholars think Matthew wrote at a time of painful conflict between Church and synagogue, which colours his telling. Sinners, and so all of us, are the authors of the Lord’s sufferings (CCC 598), and the blood of Jesus is poured out for forgiveness.
Did the Father punish Jesus in our place?
Isaiah says “the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all”, and the same song says, “we accounted him stricken, struck down by God”, as a mistake that the speakers later see through. Jesus never ceased to be the beloved Son. The Catechism teaches that he did not experience reprobation as if he himself had sinned, but in the redeeming love that always united him to the Father, he took us up in the state of our sin (CCC 603). The Cross is the act of the Father and the Son together, in love (CCC 604, 606).
Did God really want Abraham to kill his son?
The chapter says from the first line that this is a test, and at the decisive moment God stops the knife (vv. 1, 12). The Law and the prophets condemn child sacrifice (Deuteronomy 12:31; Jeremiah 7:31). What God sought was Abraham’s complete trust, and it pleased him. It is not a pattern for anyone to imitate. It is told so that we may see what God alone will do in giving his own Son.
Passion Friday in the Syro-Malabar Church is a day of bare altars, fasting and abstinence, with the reading of the Passion and the veneration of the Cross, when the faithful come forward to kiss the wood. Many Kerala parishes also keep the way of the Cross and give a sip of the bitter drink, kaippuneer, as a share in the Lord’s thirst. In homes, the Puthen Pana of Arnos Paathiri is read, and its verses have shaped how generations of our people have wept over the Lord’s Passion and with his Mother. Keep the evening quiet and pray for those who suffer in many lands, for those who have wronged them, and for your own enemies, in the words the Lord used: Father, forgive them.