24 April 2027 · Syro-Malabar Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Latin Rite · Syro-Malankara Rite · മലയാളം
“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
Few saints are loved across so many Churches and nations as St George. In the Syriac tradition he is Mar Geevarghese Sahada, George the Martyr; Sahada means witness, the one who bears testimony with his blood. Kerala is full of his churches and his name: in Christian families of every tradition, boys are called Geevarghese, Varghese, Varkey and George, and great pilgrim churches such as Aruvithura and Edathua draw crowds who come to him with their fears and their vows. What do we know of him? The early Church honoured his tomb at Lydda, the town in Palestine where Peter once healed Aeneas, and pilgrims were visiting it by the sixth century. The tradition remembers him as a soldier in the Roman army who refused to deny Christ in the great persecution under the emperor Diocletian, at the beginning of the fourth century, and who was tortured and beheaded. An ancient list of writings, attributed to Pope Gelasius at the end of the fifth century but probably compiled somewhat later, named him among those saints whose names are rightly honoured but whose deeds are known only to God. The famous story of the dragon came much later, in the Middle Ages, and is a legend, not history; the Church reads it as a picture of the truth, that the martyr's faith overcomes the ancient serpent. The history is short, but it is enough: a man under orders, with everything to lose, who chose Christ above his career and his life.
The readings chosen for the feast gather around that choice. Daniel, a Jewish exile serving the king of the Medes and Persians, keeps praying to his God three times a day although a royal decree has made it a crime. His enemies report him, and the king, who loves Daniel, cannot revoke his own law. Daniel is thrown to the lions and a stone is sealed over the mouth of the den. At dawn the king runs to the den and calls out: “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?” And Daniel answers: “My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me.” He comes up unharmed, “because he had trusted in his God.” The scene speaks of Easter: a stone sealed, a long night, a hurried dawn visit, and the servant of God alive. The reading ends grimly with the punishment of the accusers, as the law of that ancient kingdom demanded; Christ has taught us instead to pray for those who persecute us, and the martyrs, St George among them, died forgiving.
The Acts of the Apostles takes us to the first martyrdom among the twelve. “About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword.” Seeing that this won him favour with some, he arrested Peter too, during the days of Unleavened Bread, intending to bring him out after the Passover. Herod, Agrippa I, was a ruler anxious to please, and Luke shows a politician's calculation; the Church does not read this as blame on the Jewish people, from whom the apostles themselves came. Then comes the verse that has carried the Church through every persecution: “While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him.” James gave his life; Peter was released by an angel; both were held in the Church's prayer. In his letter to the Corinthians Paul reveals the secret of such courage. He had been caught up in visions, yet God left him “a thorn… in the flesh” and would not remove it. Three times he begged the Lord, and the answer came: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So Paul concludes: “whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” Martyrs are not people without fear. They are weak people who have let the power of the Risen Christ dwell in them.
The Gospel states the cost plainly: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me… and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” These are hard words in a culture like ours, where family is everything. Jesus does not ask us to love our families less; he asks to be loved first, so that our love for them may be pure and strong. Then he gives the law of Easter: “Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” George lost his rank, his safety and his life, and found them all again in the Risen Lord; seventeen centuries later we still keep his day. Most of us will not be asked to die for Christ. But we are asked every day to lose a little life for him: to refuse a dishonest deal, to keep Sunday holy when work demands it, to stand by the faith in an office or a college where it is mocked. The Gospel ends with a tender promise: even “a cup of cold water” given to one of Christ's little ones will not lose its reward. On this feast we pray for Cardinal Mar George Alencherry, Major Archbishop emeritus, for all bishops, priests and faithful who bear the name of St George, and for Christians who are persecuted today, that they may be strong in weakness, as he was.
Theme: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”
On the feast of Mar Geevarghese Sahada: the God who shut the lions' mouths, the Church that prayed for Peter, power made perfect in weakness, and life found by losing it for Christ.
“My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.” Daniel 6:22
“who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,” Hebrews 11:33
Apply: Keep three short moments of prayer today, whatever happens.
“The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.” Psalm 34:7
“While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him.” Acts 12:5
Apply: Pray a decade of the rosary for persecuted Christians.
“He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.” Isaiah 40:29
“but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
Apply: Offer one weakness to Christ today and ask his power to dwell there.
“But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them.” Wisdom 3:1
“Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:39
Apply: Do one hidden kindness today for someone who cannot repay you.
St George chose Christ above everything and found his life in the Risen Lord.
Let us ask his prayers to be strong in weakness and faithful in small things.
Take-home resolution: This week, pray daily for persecuted Christians, offer your weaknesses to Christ, and lose a little of your life for him in hidden service.
Dear friends, today we keep the feast of Mar Geevarghese Sahada, St George the Martyr, whose name is carried by so many of our families and churches.
History tells us little, but enough: George was a soldier who refused to deny Christ in the persecution under Diocletian, and he was put to death, probably at the beginning of the fourth century. His tomb at Lydda was honoured by pilgrims. The dragon story came later; it is a legend that shows the victory of faith over evil.
Daniel too chose God above the king's law. Thrown to the lions, he was found alive at dawn, “because he had trusted in his God.” A sealed stone, a long night, a dawn visit, and the servant of God alive: it sounds like Easter.
In Acts, Herod kills James and imprisons Peter, and “the church prayed fervently to God for him.” The Church has always carried its martyrs and prisoners in prayer. Let us do the same today for Christians who suffer for their faith.
Paul reveals the secret of courage. He begged God to take away his thorn, and heard: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” Martyrs are not people without fear; they are weak people in whom the power of Christ lives.
Jesus says: “those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” Most of us will not be asked to die, but we are asked every day to lose a little life for him. Let us ask St George to make us brave, and pray for all who bear his name. Alleluia! Amen.
Children, St George was a brave soldier who loved Jesus more than anything. He would not give up Jesus, even when he was threatened.
You can be brave like St George: say your prayers, tell the truth, and be kind even when it is hard!
Lord Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, you gave St George the courage to choose you above his rank, his safety and his life. By his prayers, strengthen all who suffer for your name. As you shut the lions' mouths for Daniel and answered the prayer of the Church for Peter, protect your Church today. Let your power be made perfect in our weakness, so that we may love you first, take up our cross and find our life in you. Bless Cardinal Mar George Alencherry and all who bear the name of St George. Glory to you, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, for ever. Amen. Alleluia!