13 November 2026 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Latin Rite · Syro-Malabar Rite · മലയാളം
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” Matthew 13:45–46
Paul speaks of a wisdom “not of this age”, hidden and now revealed: if the rulers of this age had understood it, “they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” What no eye has seen God has prepared for those who love him, and “these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” The gospel is not a clever theory but a gift received in the Spirit.
Jesus speaks of a man who finds treasure in a field and “in his joy” sells everything to buy it, and of a merchant who sells all for one pearl. The kingdom is worth everything. St John Chrysostom, the great preacher of Antioch and Constantinople, gave his golden words and finally his freedom for that pearl; he died in exile, and his Liturgy is still prayed across the East.
Theme: “One pearl of great value.”
The kingdom worth everything.
“if you seek it like silver, and search for it as for hidden treasures” Proverbs 2:4
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44
Apply: Give up one thing today that keeps you from God.
“From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him.” Isaiah 64:4
“these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:10
Apply: Pray to the Holy Spirit before reading Scripture.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105
“Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” Matthew 13:52
Apply: Read a page of a Church Father.
Christ is the pearl.
Joy makes every sacrifice small.
Take-home resolution: Read one homily of St John Chrysostom this month.
Dear friends, Paul speaks of a wisdom not of this age, hidden and now revealed: if the rulers of this age had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. What no eye has seen nor ear heard, God has prepared for those who love him, and he has revealed it to us through the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:8–10).
In the Gospel Jesus compares the Kingdom to treasure hidden in a field and to a pearl of great value; whoever finds it sells all he has with joy to buy it. Every scribe trained for the Kingdom is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old (Matthew 13:44–52).
Today the Malankara Church remembers St John Chrysostom, the golden-mouthed, a great Father whom all the Eastern Churches still treasure. He brought out of Scripture what is new and what is old. Let us seek this treasure every day too: ten minutes with the Bible today. Amen.
Children, a man found treasure in a field and gave everything with joy to have it. Jesus is our greatest treasure!
Lord Jesus, you are the treasure hidden in the field and the pearl of great value. Give us joy to choose you above all, and through the prayers of St John Chrysostom, wisdom that comes from your Spirit. Amen.
Paul speaks of God's hidden wisdom, which no eye has seen and which the Spirit reveals. Jesus speaks of a treasure hidden in a field and a pearl of great value, worth everything we have. The Kingdom is hidden and must be found, and once found it changes everything. Today the Church remembers St John Chrysostom, the great preacher of Antioch.
Setting.
Corinth prized eloquence and wisdom, and the church there was split into groups around favourite teachers (1:12). Paul has said that he came proclaiming “Christ crucified” (1:23), not with lofty words. Now he adds that there is a true wisdom, but it is God's, and only the Spirit reveals it.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (2:8)
A startling title: the Crucified is the Lord of glory. The Fathers used this verse to show that the one who suffered is truly God, the Son made man.
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” (2:9)
The words are close to Isaiah 64:4 but are not an exact quotation; Paul may be joining texts. The Catechism uses them of the joy of heaven (CCC 1027).
“these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” (2:10)
How the Church reads it.
The Second Vatican Council teaches that to believe we need the grace of God and the inner help of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and opens the eyes of the mind (Dei Verbum 5). Faith is a gift of God (CCC 153).
Setting.
These are the last three of the seven parables of the Kingdom in Matthew 13, spoken to the disciples in the house (13:36). The treasure and the pearl belong together: both men sell all they have. The net, like the weeds among the wheat, speaks of the end of the age, when the good and the bad will be separated.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (13:44)
“on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (13:46)
The first man stumbles on the treasure; the merchant searches for it. God is found in both ways.
“Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” (13:52)
Many see here a portrait of Matthew himself, and of every good teacher in the Church.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism quotes these parables: to gain the Kingdom one must give everything (CCC 546). On v. 52 the Council recalls St Augustine's rule: the New Testament lies hidden in the Old, and the Old is made plain in the New (Dei Verbum 16).
St John Chrysostom (about 349–407), priest of Antioch and later Archbishop of Constantinople, is one of the greatest preachers of the Church; his name means “golden-mouthed”. Antioch is the mother city of the West Syriac tradition to which the Syro-Malankara Church belongs. In the Malankara tradition he is honoured as Mar Ivanios, a form of the name John. The same name was taken by Archbishop Geevarghese Mar Ivanios, who led the reunion of the Malankara Catholic Church with Rome in 1930.