11 April 2027 · Syro-Malabar Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Latin Rite · Syro-Malankara Rite · മലയാളം
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”” John 14:6
On this third Sunday of the Resurrection the Church opens with a prophecy about who belongs in God's house. Isaiah speaks to two kinds of people who expected to be shut out. The foreigner thought, “The LORD will surely separate me from his people”; the eunuch, who could have no children to carry on his name, said, “I am just a dry tree.” God answers both with a promise beyond their hopes. To the eunuchs who keep his covenant he says, “I will give, in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.” And to the foreigners who love his name he says, “these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer… for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Jesus quoted this verse when he cleansed the temple (Mark 11:17). After Easter the promise comes true in a way no one could have imagined: in the Acts of the Apostles one of the very first to be baptised from beyond Israel is an Ethiopian eunuch, who was reading Isaiah in his chariot when Philip found him (Acts 8:26–39). The Risen Lord gathers the outcasts. In his Church no one is a dry tree, and no nation is a stranger. We Indians, whom the Gospel reached through the Apostle Thomas, are ourselves the foreigners whom God brought to his holy mountain.
The second reading takes us into the council in Jerusalem, where the apostles have been arrested again for preaching the name of Jesus. Some want to put them to death. Then a remarkable man stands up: “a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people.” He was the teacher at whose feet Saul of Tarsus had studied (Acts 22:3). Gamaliel reminds the council of other movements that rose and vanished, and gives advice of real wisdom: “keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.” The Church remembers Gamaliel with honour: a devout Jewish teacher whose fear of God made him just. His words have been proved by two thousand years of history: empires that tried to destroy the Church have fallen, and the Church remains, not because of her own strength but because her work is of God. The apostles are flogged and released, and Luke records their response: “As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. And every day in the temple and at home they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah.” In the temple and at home: the faith was handed on in public worship and around family tables, as it has been in Kerala for centuries.
Paul's letter to the Ephesians begins with one long hymn of blessing, in the form of the great Jewish prayers of praise: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” In one breathless sentence Paul unfolds the whole plan of God. We were chosen in Christ “before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.” We were destined “for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ.” “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us.” God's purpose is “to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” And then Paul speaks to us directly: “In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance.” The seal is the mark of ownership; the pledge is the first instalment, the advance that guarantees the full payment. The Holy Spirit given in Baptism and Chrismation is heaven already begun in us. The great prayer of thanksgiving in the Holy Qurbana, the Anaphora of Mar Addai and Mar Mari, one of the most ancient Eucharistic prayers in the world, sings this same blessing: praise to the Father who has done all this for us through his Son and in the Holy Spirit.
The Gospel brings us to the Last Supper, where Jesus speaks to frightened disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places… I go to prepare a place for you.” Then Saint Thomas asks the question that every honest disciple has asked: “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” We Saint Thomas Christians should love this question. Our father in faith did not pretend to understand; he asked. And because he asked, we received one of the greatest sentences in the Gospel: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus does not give Thomas a map; he gives himself. The way to the Father is not a road we must find but a Person we must follow. The same Thomas who said ‘we do not know the way’ would one day kneel before the Risen Lord and say, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28), and would walk the way to India and lay down his life there. Then Philip asks, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied,” and Jesus answers, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” In the face of Jesus, the human face of God, we see who the Father is. And he promises that those who believe will do “greater works than these,” and that whatever we ask in his name he will do. Every Holy Qurbana ends with that promise: we have been fed by the Way, taught by the Truth, filled with the Life; now we go out on the road, asking in his name.
Theme: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
A house of prayer for all peoples, the wisdom of Gamaliel and the joy of the apostles, every spiritual blessing in Christ, and the answer to Thomas's question.
“these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Isaiah 56:7
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God,” Ephesians 2:19
Apply: Welcome one newcomer or lonely person at church this week.
“Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” Psalm 127:1
“because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them” Acts 5:38–39
Apply: Hand one fear about the Church or your family over to God in prayer.
“I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” Genesis 12:2
“In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit;” Ephesians 1:13
Apply: Begin each day this week by blessing the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”” John 14:6
Apply: Bring one honest question about your faith to Jesus in prayer this week.
The Risen Lord gathers all peoples into his Father's house, seals them with his Spirit, and is himself the way home.
Our father Saint Thomas asked the way and followed it to India; let us follow it too.
Take-home resolution: This week, welcome a stranger at church, bless the Father each morning, and pray daily in the name of Jesus for one intention.
Dear friends, today's readings ask: who belongs in God's house? Isaiah speaks to the foreigner who feared he would be shut out, and to the eunuch who called himself a dry tree. God says: I will give them an everlasting name, and my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
After Easter this came true: one of the very first baptised from beyond Israel was an Ethiopian eunuch reading Isaiah. And we Indians, who received the Gospel through Saint Thomas, are the foreigners God brought to his holy mountain. In the Church no one is a stranger.
In Jerusalem the apostles are on trial. Gamaliel, a respected Pharisee and teacher of the law, gives wise counsel: if this is of human origin it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow it. Two thousand years have proved him right. The apostles are flogged, and they go out rejoicing, and every day, in the temple and at home, they proclaim Jesus as the Messiah.
Paul blesses God for every spiritual blessing: we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, adopted as children, redeemed by his blood, and sealed with the Holy Spirit, the pledge of our inheritance. Our Qurbana, with the ancient Anaphora of Mar Addai and Mar Mari, sings this same blessing.
In the Gospel our own father in faith, Saint Thomas, asks: Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way? Jesus answers: I am the way, and the truth, and the life. He gives Thomas not a map but himself. And whoever has seen Jesus has seen the Father.
Thomas followed that Way all the way to India. This week, let us follow it too: welcome the stranger, trust God's work, bless the Father each morning, and bring our honest questions to Jesus. He is the way home. Alleluia! Amen.
Children, Saint Thomas once said to Jesus, ‘We don't know the way!’ And Jesus said, ‘I am the way!’ If we follow Jesus, we will always get home to God.
Saint Thomas came all the way to India to tell our ancestors about Jesus. Let us thank God for him today!
Blessed are you, God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who have blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing. You chose us before the foundation of the world, adopted us as your children, redeemed us through the blood of your Son, and sealed us with the promised Holy Spirit. Make your Church a house of prayer for all peoples, where no one is a stranger. Give us the wisdom of Gamaliel to recognise your work and the joy of the apostles to suffer for the name of Jesus. Lord Jesus, our Way, our Truth and our Life, as you answered the question of our father Saint Thomas, lead us to the Father, and bring us to the place you have prepared for us. With the Father and the Holy Spirit, to you be glory for ever. Amen. Alleluia!