24 December 2026 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malabar Rite · Latin Rite · മലയാളം
“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
On the eve of Yaldo the prologue reaches its summit: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory.” The Greek says he “pitched his tent” among us, like the tabernacle in the desert filled with God's glory. From his fullness we have all received “grace upon grace”. The law came through Moses; grace and truth through Jesus Christ. “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.”
Paul's words to the Romans are sobering: God's eternal power and divine nature have been visible in creation from the beginning, yet human beings exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal things. Christmas is God's answer to our idolatry: no longer an image made by human hands, but the true Image of God, born of a woman, lying in a manger. Tonight the whole Church kneels before him.
Theme: “The Word became flesh.”
The vigil of Yaldo.
“Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” Exodus 40:34
“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
Apply: Come to the Yaldo Qurbono with a prepared heart.
“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,” Exodus 34:6
“From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:16–17
Apply: Thank God for three graces received this year.
“The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.” Psalm 19:1
“Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made.” Romans 1:20
Apply: Keep Christ, not things, at the centre of Christmas.
God has pitched his tent among us.
Let us kneel before him tonight.
Take-home resolution: Spend time before the crib each day of the Christmas season.
Dear friends, on the Eve of Yaldo St Paul speaks frankly about the human condition: the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature have been understood and seen through the things he has made (Romans 1:18, 20).
Paul says that humanity knew God through creation but did not honour him: they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images (Romans 1:21–23). This is why the world needed a Saviour.
The Gospel gives God's answer: the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known (John 1:14–18).
Humanity exchanged God's glory for images. Tonight, God gives us the true image of himself: a Child in a manger. Humanity's darkened mind is enlightened by the Word made flesh.
Tonight our parishes will celebrate the service of Yaldo with joy. The fast ends. Stars shine on our homes. But let us not lose the heart of the feast: God has come close. The invisible God has become visible.
Before the celebrations begin, let us find a quiet moment to kneel before the crib and say: Lord, you came for me. Thank you. Let us receive tonight grace upon grace. A blessed Yaldo to all. Amen.
Children, tonight Jesus, the Son of God, is born as a little baby! Welcome Him with joy and tell Him you love Him.
Word made flesh, you pitched your tent among us and showed us the Father's glory. As we keep the vigil of your birth, fill us with grace upon grace, and make our hearts a fitting dwelling for you. Amen.
On the eve of Yaldo the Church reads two passages about seeing God. Paul says that God's power has been visible in creation from the beginning, yet human beings exchanged his glory for images of mortal things. John answers with the words the whole season has been waiting for: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory”. People made images of God that could not save them; now God himself gives us the true Image, in a child.
Setting.
Paul writes to the Christians of Rome, a church he had not yet visited, probably from Corinth around AD 57. He has just announced his theme: the gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith” (1:16). Before explaining the remedy, he describes the sickness. In 1:18–32 he looks at the Gentile world, and in chapter 2 he turns to those who have the Law, in order to conclude that all have sinned and all need Christ (3:22–23). His language echoes the Book of Wisdom on people who could have known the Creator from his works (Wisdom 13:1–9).
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made.” (1:20)
This is the great biblical text on what the human mind can know of God from creation. It does not mean that everyone has an easy or complete knowledge of God, only that creation really does speak of him.
“for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened.” (1:21)
Notice where it begins: with a failure to give thanks. For Paul, ingratitude is the root. Christians call their chief act of worship Eucharist, thanksgiving, and the Holy Qurbono is the opposite of this verse.
“and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.” (1:23)
The list goes downward, from man to reptile. People become like what they worship. Tonight the order is turned upside down: the glory of the immortal God takes a mortal human body.
How the Church reads it.
The First Vatican Council taught, on the basis of this passage, that God can be known with certainty from created things by the natural light of human reason (Dei Filius, ch. 2; CCC 36). The Catechism adds that in our present condition we need God's revelation to know these truths easily and without error (CCC 37–38). St John of Damascus draws the line that leads to tonight: before, God who has no body could not be pictured; now that he has made himself visible in the flesh, I can make an image of what I have seen of God (in substance; CCC 1159). The image Paul condemns is one that replaces God; the image the Church honours points to the God who took a face.
Setting.
These verses are the summit of the prologue. Until now the Word has been spoken of in terms of creation and light. Now comes the sentence on which all Christian faith turns. Behind it stands the story of Exodus: God's glory filling the tent in the desert (Exodus 40:34), and Moses asking to see that glory and being told that no one can see God's face (Exodus 33:18–20). John has this story in mind when he names Moses in v. 17 and says in v. 18 that no one has ever seen God.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (1:14)
“Full of grace and truth” probably echoes the words God proclaims of himself to Moses, “abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6). The God who showed Moses his back now shows his glory in a human face. “We have seen”: the Gospel speaks here as an eyewitness community.
“The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (1:17)
John does not set Moses against Jesus as bad against good: the Law was God's gift. There is no “but” in the Greek. The verse shows the gift and its fullness side by side.
“No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” (1:18)
A note on the text. Some of the oldest Greek manuscripts (P66, P75, Sinaiticus, Vaticanus) read “God the only Son”, which the NRSV and POC follow. Many others, and the Latin Vulgate, read “the only Son”. The prologue ends as it began, with the Word who is God (1:1). The phrase “close to the Father’s heart” is literally “in the bosom of the Father”, the place of closest love. Compare the beloved disciple at the Supper (13:23).
How the Church reads it.
From v. 14 the Church takes the word Incarnation (CCC 461). The great Councils guard this verse: the Word truly became flesh, one Person, true God and true man (CCC 464–469). In faithfulness to the same mystery, the Syriac Fathers sing of it in wonder. St Ephrem in his Hymns on the Nativity marvels that the Lord of all lies in the arms of Mary, the Ancient of Days a little child (in substance). The Catholic Church and the Syriac Orthodox Church, with which the Malankara tradition shares its roots, have together confessed one Christ, perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity (common declarations of Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II with Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs, 1971 and 1984).
Paul says people are “without excuse”. Does this mean that those who never heard of Christ are lost?
Paul is making an argument about sin, not giving a verdict on each person's soul. He wants to show that everyone needs Christ. The Church teaches that those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel, yet seek God with a sincere heart and try to do his will as their conscience shows it, can attain salvation, moved by grace (Lumen Gentium 16; CCC 847). Christians are still sent to proclaim Christ to all (CCC 848–851), because he is the light they are seeking.