20 November 2026 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malabar Rite · Latin Rite · മലയാളം
“For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”” Romans 10:13
Salvation is not far away, Paul says, as if we had to climb to heaven or descend to the abyss to fetch Christ. “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart.” If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. There is no distinction between Jew and Greek: the same Lord is generous to all who call on him.
Jesus tells of a sower who throws seed everywhere: on the path, on rocky ground, among thorns, and on good soil. The sower is not stingy; the seed is the same; the difference is the soil. Some hearts are hard as a path, some shallow, some choked with worries. But the good soil yields thirty, sixty, a hundredfold. Each day we choose what kind of soil we will be.
Theme: “The word is near you.”
Confess, call, and be good soil.
“No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.” Deuteronomy 30:14
“because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
Apply: Say “Jesus is Lord” aloud in your morning prayer.
“Then everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved;” Joel 2:32
“For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”” Romans 10:13
Apply: Pray the Jesus Prayer during the day.
“Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns.” Jeremiah 4:3
“Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!” Matthew 13:8–9
Apply: Remove one distraction that chokes your prayer.
God sows generously.
Let our hearts be good soil.
Take-home resolution: Read the Gospel of the day every morning this week.
Dear friends, Paul says salvation is not far away, as if we had to climb to heaven or descend to the abyss to fetch Christ. The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart. If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:8–9). Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
In the parable of the sower the same seed falls on the path, on rocky ground, among thorns and on good soil; what fell on good soil brought forth grain, a hundredfold, sixtyfold, thirtyfold. Let anyone with ears listen (Matthew 13:3–9).
The word is near; the question is how open our heart is. This week let us call on the name of Jesus in our heart throughout the day: Lord Jesus, have mercy on me. That short prayer turns the heart into good soil. Amen.
Children, Jesus saves everyone who calls on his name. Today say many times in your heart: Jesus, I love you.
Lord Jesus, your word is near us. Make our hearts good soil, clear away the thorns of worry, and let us call on your name and be saved. Amen.
Today's readings are about the word that comes near. Paul says the word of faith is already on our lips and in our hearts. Jesus tells of a sower who throws that word everywhere, and of the different soils that receive it. The seed is the same; the soil makes the difference.
Setting.
In Romans 9–11 Paul asks why many in Israel have not believed in Christ. In chapter 10 he contrasts two ways: righteousness sought through the Law and righteousness received through faith. He uses Moses' own words in Deuteronomy 30:12–14, where God says his commandment is not far away, and reads them in the light of Christ.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
““The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);” (10:8)
Christ does not have to be fetched from heaven or from the dead; he has come down and has risen. He comes near in the word preached.
“because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (10:9)
“Jesus is Lord” is one of the oldest Christian creeds. Lips and heart belong together: inner faith and public confession.
“For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”” (10:13)
Joel 2:32. The word “everyone” is repeated: no one is excluded.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism explains that by giving Jesus the divine title “Lord”, the first confessions of faith declared that the honour and glory due to God the Father are due also to Jesus (CCC 446–451). From the beginning the Church expressed her faith in short formulas such as this (CCC 186).
Setting.
Matthew 13 is the third of the five great discourses of Jesus in Matthew, the discourse in parables. Jesus sits in a boat, using the water as his pulpit, while the crowd stands on the shore. The explanation of this parable comes later (13:18–23).
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow.” (13:3)
The sower seems careless: he sows on the path and the rock too. God's word is offered to everyone, without calculation.
“Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” (13:8)
Three quarters of the seed seem lost, but the harvest outweighs all the losses. The parable is an encouragement to sowers.
“Let anyone with ears listen!” (13:9)
Perhaps an echo of the great prayer of Israel, “Hear, O Israel” (Deuteronomy 6:4). The parable puts the question to the hearer: what kind of soil am I?
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism teaches that Jesus' invitation to the Kingdom comes in the form of parables, and that the parables are like mirrors: will the hearer be hard soil or good earth (CCC 546)? Our response to the word decides what fruit it bears.