25 November 2026 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Latin Rite · Syro-Malabar Rite · മലയാളം
“But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.” Matthew 13:16
Paul is in chains, and some preachers are using his imprisonment to make themselves look better. His reaction is astonishing: “What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true; and in that I rejoice.” He is free of rivalry because his only concern is that Christ be exalted in his body, “whether by life or by death.”
The disciples ask why Jesus speaks in parables. Parables are an invitation: those who want to understand lean in and ask; those who do not, hear without hearing. Isaiah foresaw a people whose hearts had grown dull. “But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see.” We are among those who now see; what we do with that gift is our responsibility.
Theme: “Blessed are your eyes.”
Joy that Christ is proclaimed; eyes that see.
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation,” Isaiah 52:7
“What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true; and in that I rejoice.” Philippians 1:18
Apply: Praise someone else's good work today.
“I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1
“It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death.” Philippians 1:20
Apply: Offer your body and health to God today.
“Keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep looking, but do not understand.” Isaiah 6:9
“But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.” Matthew 13:16
Apply: Pray over the Sunday Gospel slowly.
Rejoice whenever Christ is proclaimed.
Use the gift of seeing.
Take-home resolution: Read one parable each day this week and ask Jesus its meaning.
Dear friends, Paul is in chains, and some preachers are using his imprisonment to make themselves look better. His reaction is astonishing: what does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, and in that I rejoice. My hope is that Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death (Philippians 1:18–20).
In the Gospel Jesus tells his disciples: blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it (Matthew 13:16–17).
We have been given the blessing the prophets longed for: to know Christ. That is greater than our own reputation. Today let us rejoice whenever Christ is proclaimed, even through others, and give thanks instead of being jealous. Amen.
Children, when someone else does well, be happy instead of jealous. Praise a friend today!
Lord Jesus, free us from rivalry, so that we rejoice whenever you are proclaimed. Open our eyes to see and our ears to hear, and be exalted in our bodies, in life and in death. Amen.
Today's readings are about seeing and proclaiming. Paul, in chains, rejoices that Christ is proclaimed, even by those who preach out of rivalry. Jesus tells his disciples that they are blessed because they see and hear what prophets longed for. The Gospel is a gift to be received with open eyes and handed on with joy, whatever it costs the messenger.
Setting.
Paul writes to the church at Philippi, the first church he founded in Europe and the one closest to his heart. He is in prison, most likely in Rome (or possibly Ephesus), waiting for a verdict that could mean death. Some local preachers have become bolder because of his imprisonment, but some are using it to compete with him.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true; and in that I rejoice.” (1:18)
Paul cares more about Christ being preached than about who gets the credit. He does not approve of rivalry, but he refuses to let it rob him of joy.
“It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death.” (1:20)
“In my body”: Paul glorifies Christ not only with words but with his whole person, chains included.
How the Church reads it.
The next verse, “For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain” (1:21), is quoted by the Catechism in its teaching on Christian death (CCC 1010). The Church sees in Paul the model of the apostle who rejoices in the Gospel's progress more than in his own success, and who makes even prison a pulpit.
Setting.
Matthew 13 gathers seven parables of the Kingdom. After the parable of the sower (13:1–9), the disciples ask why Jesus speaks to the crowds in parables. His answer, before he explains the sower (13:18–23), quotes Isaiah 6:9–10, the words God gave the prophet at his call.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“He answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” (13:11)
“The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’” (13:13)
Mark 4:12 says “in order that” they may not see; Matthew says “because” they do not see. Matthew stresses that the hardness comes first, from the hearers, and that parables meet it with mercy, inviting them to look again.
“But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.” (13:16)
The disciples are not cleverer than the crowds. They are blessed because they stay near Jesus and ask him.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism teaches that Jesus' invitation to the Kingdom comes in parables, which call for a decision: one must give everything, and words are not enough. To those who stay “outside”, everything remains enigmatic (CCC 546). The Church hears verse 16 as a word to every believer who hears the Gospel and receives the sacraments: what prophets and righteous people longed for is given to us.
Does Jesus speak in parables so that people will not understand?
No. In Matthew the reason is that their hearts are already dull (13:15). Parables are a gentle way to draw the listener to come closer and ask, as the disciples did.