1 April 2027 · Syro-Malabar Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malankara Rite · Latin Rite · മലയാളം
“Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.” Matthew 10:8
Five days after Easter the Church hears a song addressed to a woman who has no children. “Sing, O barren one who did not bear; burst into song and shout, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate woman will be more than the children of her that is married, says the LORD.” Isaiah was speaking to Jerusalem in exile, a city that looked finished, a mother with an empty house. And God tells her to start building extensions: “Enlarge the site of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.” Children are coming whom she never expected. Paul reads this song as a word about the Church (Galatians 4:26–27), and the Easter liturgy reads it this week for a reason. On the night of the Resurrection the font gave birth to new sons and daughters; the Church that seemed so small on Good Friday, a handful of women and one disciple at the Cross, now has to widen her tent. The heart of the passage is the tenderness of God: “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you.” And he binds himself with the oath he swore to Noah: “For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the LORD, who has compassion on you.” Whatever moment of abandonment we have passed through, Easter says it was a brief moment. The steadfast love remains.
The tent grows, and growth brings trouble. In Acts the community in Jerusalem has become large and mixed: Greek-speaking believers and Aramaic-speaking believers, all of them Jews who believe in Jesus. “The Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food.” The apostles do not deny the problem or tell the complainers to be quiet. They gather the whole community and make a decision that will shape the Church for ever. “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.” The seven are chosen, all with Greek names, from the very group that felt neglected; the apostles pray and lay hands on them. The Church has always seen here the beginning of the diaconate. And the result? “The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.” Care for widows and the preaching of the word are not rivals; when the poor are served, the word runs faster. Paul tells the Colossians where this new life comes from: “when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.” God has cancelled our debt, “erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross.” On the Cross Christ “disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.” The newly baptised do not have to fight their old masters in their own strength. The battle has already been won.
The Gospel takes us back to the beginning of the mission. “Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.” Matthew lists them by name, and among them, in the pair “Thomas and Matthew the tax collector”, is the apostle whom the Christians of Kerala call their father in faith. Jesus gives them a message and a manner. The message: “As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’” The manner: “You received without payment; give without payment.” They are to travel without gold, without a bag, without a spare tunic, depending on the welcome of those who receive them. They bring peace into houses: “As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it.” Read in Easter week, this Gospel reminds us that the mission did not begin after the Resurrection; it was rehearsed in Galilee, and the Risen Lord now gives it its full meaning. What the apostles received without payment was, in the end, life from the dead. Every Christian has received the same: forgiveness, Baptism, the Body and Blood of the Lord, none of it earned. So everything we give, our time to a lonely widow, our money to the poor, our word of faith to a doubting friend, is only the overflow of what was given to us without payment. A Church that charges for grace has forgotten Easter; a Church that gives freely is preaching the Resurrection without saying a word.
Theme: “You received without payment; give without payment.”
The barren one who sings, the seven who serve, the record nailed to the Cross, and the Twelve sent out with empty bags.
“For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the LORD, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38–39
Apply: Name one dark time you have come through, and thank God that his love did not move.
“I will take some of the spirit that is on you and put it on them; and they shall bear the burden of the people along with you so that you will not bear it all by yourself.” Numbers 11:17
“Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task.” Acts 6:3
Apply: Find out who in your parish is being overlooked, and go and see them.
“I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people.” Ezekiel 37:12
“when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.” Colossians 2:12
Apply: Bring to the Sacrament of Reconciliation the guilt you still carry, and leave it at the Cross.
“Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, “Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.”” Deuteronomy 15:11
“You received without payment; give without payment.” Matthew 10:8
Apply: Do one act of service this week for which you will receive nothing back.
The Risen Lord widens the tent of his Church, erases our debt and sends us out with empty bags and full hands.
What we received without payment we give without payment, and the word of God spreads.
Take-home resolution: This week, visit one widow or widower, pray for the deacons and seminarians of your eparchy, and do one hidden service without payment.
Dear friends, Isaiah sings to a woman with an empty house: “Sing, O barren one… Enlarge the site of your tent.” This week the Church is that woman. On Good Friday she was a few women and one disciple at the Cross. On Easter night the font gave her new children. Now God says: make room, there are more coming.
And God adds a promise: “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you… my steadfast love shall not depart from you.” If you have been through a dark time, hear this: it was a brief moment. His love has not moved.
But a bigger family brings bigger problems. In Acts the Greek-speaking widows are being forgotten at the daily meal. The apostles listen. They do not say, ‘Stop complaining.’ They ask the community to choose seven men full of the Spirit and of wisdom, and they lay hands on them. These are the first deacons. And the word of God spreads even faster.
Paul tells us where the strength comes from. In Baptism we were buried with Christ and raised with him. God erased the record that stood against us, “nailing it to the cross.” The powers that held us are disarmed. We do not serve out of fear. We serve as children of God, no longer slaves.
Then Jesus sends the Twelve, Thomas among them, with nothing in their bags. “You received without payment; give without payment.” Everything we have from God is a gift: our life, our faith, the Holy Qurbana we receive every Sunday. Nobody paid for it.
So this week let us give something without payment. Visit one widow. Do one job with no thanks. Pray for our deacons and seminarians. A Church that gives freely is the best sermon on the Resurrection. Christ is risen! Alleluia! Amen.
Children, Jesus told his friends: ‘You got it as a gift, so give it as a gift!’ God gives us so many presents: our family, our food, his love.
This week, give a present of kindness: help someone without being asked, and do not ask for anything back.
Lord Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, you widen the tent of your Church and give her children she never expected. Thank you for the grace we received without payment: our Baptism, your forgiveness, your Body and Blood. Make us generous with what we have received. Bless the deacons of your Church and all who serve at the tables of the poor; let no widow be neglected among us. Send us, as you sent the Twelve, to bring your peace into every house we enter. Glory to you, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, for ever. Amen. Alleluia!