29 December 2026 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malabar Rite · Latin Rite · മലയാളം
“For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.” Romans 11:32
Paul unveils a mystery: a hardening has come upon part of Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, “and so all Israel will be saved.” God has not rejected his first people: “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” In the end everything is mercy: “God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.” The child born in Bethlehem is the Messiah of Israel and the Saviour of the nations; no one is outside the reach of that mercy.
The Pharisees accuse Jesus' disciples of breaking the tradition of the elders by not washing their hands. Jesus answers that they themselves break God's commandment for the sake of their tradition, for example by using a religious vow to avoid supporting their parents. He quotes Isaiah: “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” In the joy of Christmas, God asks for our hearts, not only our customs.
Theme: “Merciful to all.”
Irrevocable calling, mercy for all, hearts not only lips.
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” Jeremiah 31:3
“for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Romans 11:29
Apply: Pray for the Jewish people and for Christian unity.
“The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” Psalm 103:8
“For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.” Romans 11:32
Apply: Forgive one person this Christmas.
“The Lord said: Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me,” Isaiah 29:13
“This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.” Matthew 15:8–9
Apply: Slow down and mean each word at your next prayer.
God's mercy reaches everyone.
Let our hearts be near him.
Take-home resolution: Do one concrete act of care for your parents or elders this week.
Dear friends, St Paul speaks of a mystery: a hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:25–26, 29).
God's gifts are irrevocable. God does not take back his promises. Israel remains beloved. And all of us, Jews and Gentiles, have received mercy: God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all (Romans 11:32).
In the Gospel some Pharisees complain that Jesus' disciples do not wash their hands according to the tradition of the elders. Jesus answers: why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? He quotes Isaiah: this people honours me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me (Matthew 15:2–3, 8).
Traditions are precious. Our Church has a beautiful liturgical and spiritual tradition. But tradition must serve love of God and neighbour. When customs become a reason to neglect parents, the poor or justice, they betray God's commandment.
Jesus' example was about children who avoided supporting their parents by declaring their money an offering to God (Matthew 15:5). Religion was used as an excuse not to love. That danger is still with us.
In this Yaldo season, let us check: do I honour God only with my lips, or with my heart? Let us show our faith in caring for our parents, the elderly and the poor. God's gifts to us are irrevocable; let our love be faithful too. Amen.
Children, God loves to forgive. When you say sorry to God, He forgives you completely!
Merciful Father, your gifts and your call are irrevocable, and your mercy embraces all. Turn our hearts, not only our lips, to you, and let our Christmas customs express true love for you and for our neighbours. Amen.
Today's two readings ask whether we can trust God's mercy and whether we honour him with the heart. Paul looks at God's plan for Israel and the nations and ends in mercy for all. In Matthew, Jesus takes up a question about washing hands and turns it into a question about caring for one's parents and the state of one's heart. The first reading warns against pride, and the second warns against empty religion.
Setting.
Romans 9–11 is Paul's long reflection, in sorrow and in hope, on why most of his own people had not accepted Jesus as Messiah. He is a Jew who loves his people (9:1–5). In 11:17–24 he has told Gentile Christians that they are wild olive branches grafted onto Israel's tree, and that they must not boast. Today's passage is the conclusion of the argument. It is also one of the key texts for the Church's teaching about the Jewish people.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“And so all Israel will be saved; as it is written, “Out of Zion will come the Deliverer; he will banish ungodliness from Jacob.”” (11:26)
The quotation joins Isaiah 59:20–21 and 27:9. Paul does not say when or how, and he does not explain it further. He leaves it in God's hands and ends in praise (11:33–36).
“As regards the gospel they are enemies of God for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved, for the sake of their ancestors; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (11:28–29)
In the Greek, “of God” is added by the translators, and it is not a word for Christians to use as an insult. Paul's point is the second half: they are beloved. The Second Vatican Council quotes these verses in teaching that the Jews remain very dear to God (Nostra Aetate 4; Lumen Gentium 16).
“For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.” (11:32)
Everyone stands on the same ground. Nobody earns mercy, and nobody is outside its reach.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism quotes this chapter when it speaks of the Church's relationship with the Jewish people, “the first to hear the Word of God” (CCC 839). Elsewhere it states that the Old Covenant has never been revoked (CCC 121). It reads “all Israel” in connection with the coming of Christ in glory (CCC 674). It takes v. 32 as a summary of the mystery of sin and grace (CCC 1870). A Vatican document of 2015 on Catholic-Jewish relations takes its title from v. 29, The Gifts and the Calling of God Are Irrevocable.
Setting.
A group of Pharisees and scribes comes from Jerusalem to Galilee to question Jesus. The Pharisees were a respected lay movement within Judaism, who wanted all Israel to live in holiness in daily life. So they extended to ordinary meals some of the washing the Law asked of priests. This is not a question of hygiene, but of ritual purity. Jesus is disputing here as a Jew among Jews, and strong language was usual in such arguments. Matthew's words are not about the Jewish people as a whole (Nostra Aetate 4).
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?” (15:3)
Jesus does not attack the Law. He defends it, and he defends one of the Ten Commandments in particular.
“So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word of God.” (15:6)
Any believer, of any time, can do this: use religious duty as an escape from plain love.
“This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me;” (15:8)
Isaiah 29:13, in the form close to the Greek Old Testament. Isaiah spoke it as a prophet within Israel to his own people. It is addressed to us each time we pray.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism says that Jesus confronted certain human traditions of the Pharisees that were making God's word void (CCC 581), and it recalls this very passage in teaching the duty of grown children to support their parents in old age (CCC 2218). It also says, “If our heart is far from God, the words of prayer are in vain” (CCC 2562).
Is Jesus rejecting all tradition? Doesn't the Church value Tradition?
Jesus rejects a human custom that cancels God's command. The Church distinguishes the apostolic Tradition, which hands on the faith received from Christ, from the many customs and practices that grow up in the Church and can be changed or dropped if they no longer serve (CCC 83). The test Jesus gives holds for all our customs: do they help us love God and neighbour, or do they give us a way around it?