13 April 2027 · Syro-Malabar Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malankara Rite · Latin Rite · മലയാളം
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18
The First Letter to the Thessalonians is probably the oldest Christian writing we possess, written only about twenty years after the Resurrection to a community that was a few months old. Paul had been forced to leave the city quickly, and he writes like a father who could not finish teaching his children. At the end of the letter he gathers his advice into a string of short commands, almost like a rule of life for a new parish. He begins with those who serve: “But we appeal to you, brothers and sisters, to respect those who labor among you, and have charge of you in the Lord and admonish you; esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.” A parish lives by the labour of many people: the priest, the sisters, the catechism teachers who come every Sunday morning, the sacristan who opens the church before dawn, the choir, the family units. Paul asks that they be held in love, not because they are perfect but “because of their work.” Then he turns to the care of the weak: “admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.” Each kind of person needs a different kind of love: a word of correction for one, a word of courage for another, a hand for a third, and patience for everyone.
Then come three short lines that sum up the Easter life: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Paul is not asking us to feel cheerful all the time. He wrote these words to a persecuted church. Christian joy rests not on our circumstances but on the fact that Christ is risen, and that fact does not change when the day goes badly. Prayer without ceasing is not endless words but a heart turned toward God all day, returning to him again and again, the way a mother's heart keeps returning to a sick child. Thanksgiving in all circumstances is the language of the Holy Qurbana, whose very name in Greek, Eucharist, means thanksgiving. Then Paul looks toward the gift of Pentecost: “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.” The Spirit is like a fire that can be smothered by neglect or by fear. A Christian is open to the Spirit, yet not naive: he tests, he weighs things by the faith of the Church, he holds on to the good and lets the evil go.
In the Gospel Jesus explains the parable of the sower to his disciples. “The sower sows the word.” The seed is always good; the difference lies in the soil. On the path, the word never goes in: “Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.” On rocky ground, the word is welcomed “with joy”, but it has no root, and when trouble comes, “immediately they fall away.” Among thorns, the word grows for a while, but “the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing.” Finally the good soil: “they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” The Easter season is a time of harvest and of testing. Many people came to the Easter Qurbana with joy. Will that joy put down roots, or will it wither with the first difficulty? Will the worries of exams, loans and prices, and the pull of money and pleasure, choke what grew at Easter? The parable is not a sorting of people into fixed groups. Each of us has some path, some rock and some thorns in the heart. The Lord gives us the readings of this day as a farmer's tools: patient prayer breaks up the hard path, perseverance in trial lets roots go down, and thanksgiving pulls out the thorns of anxiety.
Theme: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
The rule of life of a young church, the Easter life in three lines, and the soil of our hearts.
“I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.” Jeremiah 3:15
“esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.” 1 Thessalonians 5:13
Apply: Thank one person who serves your parish, by name, this week.
“I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18
Apply: Each night this week tell the Lord three things you are thankful for.
“so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11
“And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” Mark 4:20
Apply: Name the thorn that chokes your prayer, and hand it to the Lord every morning.
A young church learns to honour its servants, to care for the weak, and to live in joy, prayer and thanksgiving.
The seed of the word is always good; the Risen Lord asks us to become good soil.
Take-home resolution: This week thank one who serves, give thanks each night, and pull out one thorn that chokes the word.
Dear friends, Paul writes to a very young church in Thessalonica, and he begins with those who serve it. Respect those who labour among you, he says, and esteem them very highly in love because of their work (1 Thessalonians 5:12–13). Think of your priest, the sisters, the catechism teachers, the sacristan who opens the church before dawn. Let us thank them.
Then Paul gives us the Easter life in three short lines: rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances. He wrote this to people who were suffering. Our joy does not depend on how the day goes. It depends on the fact that Christ is risen, and that never changes.
And he adds: do not quench the Spirit. The Spirit is a fire. Neglect and fear can smother it. As we move toward Pentecost, let us keep that fire burning by prayer.
In the Gospel Jesus explains the sower. The seed is always good; the soil makes the difference. The hard path, where the word never enters. The rocky ground, where joy has no root. The thorns, where worries and money choke the word. And the good soil, which bears fruit a hundredfold.
Every heart has a little of each. This week, let us break up the hard path with prayer, let our Easter joy put down roots, and pull out the thorns of worry by giving thanks in all things. Alleluia! Amen.
Children, Jesus says your heart is like a garden and his word is a seed. Be good soil: listen to Jesus, pray every day, and you will grow beautiful fruit!
St Paul says: rejoice always, pray always, say thank you always. Tonight, before you sleep, tell Jesus three things you are thankful for.
Lord Jesus Christ, risen Sower of the word, you scatter your seed generously on every heart. Break up the hard paths in us, give our joy deep roots, and pull out the thorns of worry and greed. Teach us to rejoice always, to pray without ceasing and to give thanks in all circumstances. Let us not quench your Spirit, but hold fast to what is good, so that your word may bear fruit in us thirty and sixty and a hundredfold. Amen. Alleluia!