28 November 2026 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Latin Rite · Syro-Malabar Rite · മലയാളം
“It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” Mark 4:31–32
Paul writes as a father, not a schoolmaster: “though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Indeed, in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.” He sends Timothy to remind them of his ways, and warns those who are puffed up: “the kingdom of God depends not on talk but on power.” Spiritual fatherhood and motherhood are a great gift in the Church: parents, godparents, priests and catechists who give birth to faith in others.
The kingdom, Jesus says, is like a mustard seed, the smallest of seeds, which becomes a great shrub where birds nest in its shade. Ezekiel had seen God plant a tender shoot that became a noble cedar. The Church began with twelve men and a few women; in India it began with one apostle on the coast of Kerala. On the last Saturday before the new liturgical season of fasting, we trust that small beginnings in God's hands bear great fruit.
Theme: “Like a mustard seed.”
Small beginnings and spiritual fatherhood.
“On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it, in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar. Under it every kind of bird will live; in the shade of its branches will nest winged creatures of every kind.” Ezekiel 17:23
“It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs,” Mark 4:31–32
Apply: Do one small act of faith today.
“As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you;” Isaiah 66:13
“For though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Indeed, in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.” 1 Corinthians 4:15
Apply: Thank or pray for your godparents.
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD of hosts.” Zechariah 4:6
“For the kingdom of God depends not on talk but on power.” 1 Corinthians 4:20
Apply: Pray to the Holy Spirit before any important task.
God's kingdom grows from small seeds.
Let us sow and trust.
Take-home resolution: Do one hidden good deed every day this week.
Dear friends, Paul writes as a father, not a schoolmaster: though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Indeed, in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. I appeal to you, then, be imitators of me (1 Corinthians 4:15–16). The kingdom of God depends not on talk but on power.
In the Gospel Jesus compares the Kingdom to a mustard seed: when sown upon the ground it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows up and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade (Mark 4:30–32).
Today the Malankara Church remembers St Catherine. Our Church too began like a mustard seed, and after the reunion of 1930 it grew to give shade to many. Let us thank the spiritual fathers and mothers who handed on the faith to us, and let us become a father or mother in faith to someone. Amen.
Children, a tiny mustard seed becomes a big tree. Jesus will make your little faith grow big too!
Lord of the harvest, your kingdom grows from the smallest seed. Make us spiritual fathers and mothers who give birth to faith, and let your power, not our talk, build your Church. Amen.
Today's readings are about small beginnings and patient growth. Paul reminds the Corinthians that he became their father in Christ through the Gospel, and that the Kingdom depends “not on talk but on power”. Jesus compares the Kingdom to a mustard seed, the smallest of seeds, which becomes a shelter for the birds. The Church honours St Catherine of Alexandria, remembered as a young martyr whose wisdom and courage bore fruit far beyond her short life.
Setting.
The church at Corinth was divided into groups, each attached to a favourite teacher: “I belong to Paul”, “I belong to Apollos” (1:12). In chapters 1–4 Paul shows that the preachers are only servants, and that the wisdom of the Cross is not the wisdom of the world. He ends this section with a personal appeal, as a father to his children.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“For though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Indeed, in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.” (4:15)
“Ten thousand” is a deliberate exaggeration. Teachers can be many; the one through whom you came to faith has a unique bond with you.
“For the kingdom of God depends not on talk but on power.” (4:20)
Words alone, however clever, do not make the Kingdom present. The power of God shows itself in changed lives.
“What would you prefer? Am I to come to you with a stick, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?” (4:21)
A father can correct firmly, but he would rather come in gentleness. The choice is left to the children.
How the Church reads it.
The Church has always seen in this verse the root of spiritual fatherhood: bishops and priests are fathers because they give life in Christ through the word and the sacraments. This is why Christians in Kerala call their priest “Achen”, father. Such fatherhood is a service and a share in the fatherhood of God, “from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name” (Ephesians 3:15).
Setting.
Mark 4 gathers the parables of seeds: the sower (4:1–20), the seed growing secretly (4:26–29) and the mustard seed. They speak to disciples who may be discouraged: Jesus' ministry seems small, and many reject it. The parables promise that what God has sown will grow.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth;” (4:31)
“yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”” (4:32)
Ezekiel's great tree is a noble cedar (Ezekiel 17:23); Jesus chooses a garden shrub. The Kingdom grows great, but it never loses its humble beginning.
“With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it;” (4:33)
Jesus adapts his teaching to his hearers' capacity. Good catechesis does the same.
How the Church reads it.
The Second Vatican Council teaches that the Church is on earth the seed and the beginning of the Kingdom (Lumen Gentium 5; CCC 764). The parable gives hope to small communities and to every humble beginning made in faith. St Catherine of Alexandria, a young woman of the fourth century, is a fitting example: tradition remembers her as a wise defender of the faith whose witness grew into one of the most loved cults of East and West.
Jesus said, “call no one your father on earth” (Matthew 23:9). Why do we call priests “father”?
Jesus forbids putting anyone in God's place, or seeking titles for pride. He does not forbid the word itself: Paul calls himself the Corinthians' father in Christ (4:15). Spiritual fathers are true fathers only when they lead people to the one Father in heaven.