11 November 2026 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malabar Rite · Latin Rite · മലയാളം
“For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.” Ephesians 2:14
The temple in Jerusalem had a wall that kept Gentiles out of the inner courts. Paul says that on the Cross Christ has broken down every such wall: Jews and Gentiles are reconciled “in one body”, no longer strangers and aliens but “members of the household of God”, built on the apostles and prophets with Christ as cornerstone. The Church is a living temple, still under construction, where God dwells in the Spirit.
In the Gospel John's disciples ask why Jesus' disciples do not fast. While the bridegroom is with them they cannot mourn; the days will come when he is taken away, and then they will fast. Jesus brings something new that cannot be squeezed into old forms: new wine needs fresh wineskins. At the start of a new liturgical year we ask him to renew the wineskins of our hearts.
Theme: “He is our peace.”
Walls broken, a temple built, hearts renewed.
“and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
“For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.” Ephesians 2:14
Apply: Greet someone you usually avoid.
“See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation:” Isaiah 28:16
“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: Pray for a parish group you seldom think of.
“I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” Isaiah 43:19
“Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.” Matthew 9:17
Apply: Choose one new spiritual habit for this liturgical year.
Christ breaks walls and builds a home.
Let him renew us this year.
Take-home resolution: Keep one small fast this week.
Dear friends, the temple in Jerusalem had a wall that kept Gentiles out of the inner courts. Paul says that on the Cross Christ broke down every such wall: he is our peace; he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, reconciling both to God in one body (Ephesians 2:14–16).
In the Gospel Jesus speaks of newness: no one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, nor is new wine put into old wineskins; new wine is put into fresh wineskins (Matthew 9:16–17). The new life Jesus brings does not fit inside old habits; it makes the heart new.
Is there still a wall standing in our heart: of caste, of Church group, of an old wound? We are one house, built on Christ the cornerstone. This week let us take one step of friendship towards someone who stands apart from us. Amen.
Children, Jesus broke down all the walls and made everyone one family. Today make friends with a child from another group!
Lord Jesus, you are our peace and the cornerstone of your Church. Break down the walls between us, build us into your temple, and pour your new wine into renewed hearts. Amen.
On a Wednesday, a traditional fasting day in the Syriac Churches, the Gospel speaks of fasting and of the bridegroom. Ephesians shows what the bridegroom has done: he has broken down the dividing wall and built one household of God. The new wine of the Gospel needs a new people, joined together into a holy temple.
Setting.
Ephesians 2 tells the story of salvation twice: from death to life (vv. 1–10), and from division to unity (vv. 11–22). The Gentile readers were once “far off”, strangers to the covenants of promise and without hope (2:12). Now in Christ they have been brought near.
In the Temple at Jerusalem a stone barrier separated the Court of the Gentiles from the inner courts, with inscriptions warning foreigners not to pass, on pain of death. Two of these stones, inscribed in Greek, have been found. Many interpreters think Paul has this wall in mind.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.” (2:14)
Paul does not only say that Christ brings peace, but that he is our peace. Peace is a person.
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God,” (2:19)
“In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord;” (2:21)
The temple grows: it is alive. The renewal of the Church is growth, not only repair.
How the Church reads it.
The Second Vatican Council recalls this passage when it speaks of the Church's bond with the Jewish people: by his cross Christ our Peace reconciled Jews and Gentiles, making both one in himself (Nostra Aetate 4). The Catechism describes the Church as God's building, with Christ as the cornerstone and the faithful as living stones (CCC 756).
Setting.
The disciples of John the Baptist, who fasted often, ask why Jesus' disciples do not. Devout Jews of the time fasted beyond what the Law required; the Pharisee in Luke's parable says, “I fast twice a week” (Luke 18:12). Jesus answers with three images: a wedding, a patch and wineskins.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” (9:15)
An early hint of the Passion. Jesus does not abolish fasting; he changes its meaning. Christian fasting is longing for the bridegroom.
“but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.” (9:17)
Matthew adds “and so both are preserved”, which Mark does not have. The new does not destroy what is good in the old; it needs a fitting vessel.
How the Church reads it.
The Didache, a Christian instruction from about the end of the first century, tells believers to fast on Wednesday and Friday (Didache 8). The Catechism names fasting, prayer and almsgiving as the chief forms of penance (CCC 1434).
The Syriac tradition has long kept Wednesday and Friday as days of fasting, a custom already found in the Didache. Today's Gospel gives the reason: we fast because we long for the bridegroom, and we keep the fast with joy because he is risen.