2 December 2026 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malabar Rite · Latin Rite · മലയാളം
“And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”” Romans 10:15
Paul builds a chain: people cannot call on one they have not believed in, cannot believe in one they have not heard of, cannot hear without a preacher, and there are no preachers unless they are sent. So the Church sends, and the feet of those who bring good news are beautiful. In this season before Christmas, every Christian is sent to announce that the Saviour comes.
Jesus asks for a simple, truthful tongue. Do not swear by heaven or earth or Jerusalem or your own head. “Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.” The messenger of the Word made flesh must be a person whose word can be trusted. Our fasting purifies the tongue as well as the stomach.
Theme: “How beautiful are the feet.”
Sent messengers with truthful tongues.
“But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you.” Jeremiah 1:7
“But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?” Romans 10:14
Apply: Share one sentence of faith with someone this week.
“When a man makes a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.” Numbers 30:2
“Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.” Matthew 5:37
Apply: Keep one promise exactly today.
“Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight.” Proverbs 12:22
“But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,” Matthew 5:34
Apply: Speak only the truth today.
Messengers of the Word must be truthful.
Let the fast purify our tongues.
Take-home resolution: Fast from lies and harsh words for the whole fast.
Dear friends, St Paul asks a chain of questions: how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? How are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And he answers with Isaiah: how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news (Romans 10:14–15).
Faith comes through proclamation. Someone told us about Jesus: a mother, a catechist, a priest, a friend. Now it is our turn. The Lord wants beautiful feet that carry good news to others.
In the Gospel Jesus speaks about honesty: do not swear at all. Let your word be yes, yes or no, no; anything more than this comes from the evil one (Matthew 5:34, 37). A disciple does not need oaths, because his ordinary word can be trusted.
These two readings go together. The best proclamation of the Gospel is a truthful life. If our words at work, at home and on social media are not trustworthy, our words about Jesus will not be believed either.
In Kerala we sometimes swear casually: on God, on our mother, on the Bible. Jesus asks for something simpler and harder: be honest always, so that your yes is enough.
During this fast, let us examine our speech. Do I exaggerate, deceive, make promises I do not keep? Let us fast from lies and half-truths, and let our feet carry good news to someone who has not heard it. Amen.
Children, Jesus wants us to tell the truth always. When you say yes, mean it; when you promise, keep it!
Lord Jesus, you send us to bring good news. Purify our tongues, make our yes and no truthful, and make our feet beautiful on the mountains of this world. Amen.
Today's readings are about the mouth. Paul asks how anyone can believe without a preacher, and calls beautiful the feet of those who bring the good news. Jesus asks that the same mouth be simply truthful, with no need of oaths. The one who carries the word of God must be someone whose own word can be trusted.
Setting.
In chapters 9–11 Paul wrestles with the question of why most of his own people have not yet come to believe in Jesus. He has just quoted the prophet Joel: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (10:13). That promise raises the question these verses answer: how does anyone come to call on him?
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?” (10:14)
Faith reaches people through people. God could act otherwise, but this is the way he has chosen: a human voice.
“And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”” (10:15)
Nobody looks at the feet of a traveller and calls them beautiful: they are dusty and cracked. Isaiah sees them that way because of the good news they carry.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism quotes these verses when it teaches about the sacred ministry: no one can give himself the mandate and mission to proclaim the Gospel; it must be received from Christ through the Church (CCC 875). At the same time every baptized person shares in this mission by word and life (CCC 900).
Setting.
This is the fourth of the six sayings in the Sermon on the Mount that begin “You have heard… But I say to you” (5:21–48). The Law forbade false oaths and required vows to be kept (Leviticus 19:12; Numbers 30:2; Deuteronomy 23:21). People used oaths to make their word stronger, and could also swear by something other than God's name in the hope of avoiding God's judgment. Jesus goes to the root.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,” (5:34)
Heaven as God's throne and earth as his footstool come from Isaiah 66:1. You cannot swear by anything and leave God out of it, because all of it is his.
“And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.” (5:36)
Even your own head is not under your control. We cannot guarantee our promises from our own resources. Hence the humility of a plain word.
“Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.” (5:37)
If I need a special oath to be believed, my ordinary speech has lost its value. Jesus wants the whole of life to be truthful, not only the solemn moments. Compare James 5:12.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism sets this teaching under the second commandment (CCC 2153). It adds that, following St Paul, who himself calls God to witness (2 Corinthians 1:23; Galatians 1:20), the tradition of the Church has understood Jesus' words as not excluding oaths made for grave and right reasons, for example in court (CCC 2154).
So is it wrong to take an oath in court, or vows at ordination or in religious life?
No. The Church has understood Jesus to forbid the casual and false use of oaths, and the need for them that comes from a lying heart. An oath for a grave and right reason remains lawful (CCC 2154). The aim of Jesus' teaching is that every word we say should be as true as if it were sworn.