5 January 2027 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malabar Rite · Latin Rite · മലയാളം
“Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.” Luke 12:27
Paul says that the ascended Christ gave gifts to his Church, “some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” The goal is maturity: “speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” Each member has a part; when each works properly, the body grows in love.
In the Gospel Jesus tells his disciples not to worry about food or clothing: look at the ravens, consider the lilies. God feeds and clothes them; how much more will he care for you, “you of little faith”. Today we remember the erection of our Eparchy in the USA and Canada in 2016: thousands of our families live far from Kerala, often under great pressure of work and money. The word of Jesus is for them too: your Father knows what you need. On the eve of Denho, let us lay our worries before the Father who will speak tomorrow at the Jordan: “This is my beloved Son.”
Theme: “Consider the lilies.”
Gifts for the body, growth into Christ, freedom from worry.
“The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.” Isaiah 11:2
“The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,” Ephesians 4:11–12
Apply: Offer one gift to serve your parish this month.
“The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” Psalm 92:12
“But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,” Ephesians 4:15
Apply: Speak one needed truth this week, gently.
“Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22
“He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.” Luke 12:22
Apply: Entrust one worry to God tonight.
The Father who clothes the lilies speaks tomorrow at the Jordan.
Come to Denho free of worry, ready to grow.
Take-home resolution: Pray tonight for families in the diaspora.
Dear friends, St Paul tells the Ephesians that the risen Christ gave gifts to his Church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11–12). Every gift is for others.
The goal is maturity: speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ (Ephesians 4:15). Not truth without love, and not love without truth.
In the Gospel Jesus says: do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. Consider the ravens; consider the lilies. They neither toil nor spin, yet even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these (Luke 12:22, 27).
Today we remember the erection of our Eparchy of St Mary, Queen of Peace, in the USA and Canada. Many of our families live far from home under heavy pressure. Jesus says to them and to us: your Father knows what you need.
Tonight is the eve of Denho. Tomorrow the Father will speak at the Jordan: this is my beloved Son. Let us lay down our worries tonight and come tomorrow as children who trust their Father. Amen.
Children, Jesus said: look at the flowers! God makes them so beautiful. If God takes care of flowers, he will surely take care of you. Don't be afraid!
Heavenly Father, you clothe the lilies and feed the ravens. Free us from anxious worry, help us grow into Christ by speaking the truth in love, and protect our families in every land, especially the faithful of our Eparchy in the USA and Canada. Amen.
On the eve of Denho the readings speak of growing and of being cared for. Paul describes the ascended Christ giving gifts so that the whole Body may reach maturity. Jesus tells the disciples to look at ravens and lilies. A person who has stopped being anxious about food and clothing is able to give attention to the Body; a Church built up in love is one in which the anxious are carried.
Setting.
The letter comes to us under Paul's name from prison (on authorship, many modern scholars think of a close disciple, others defend Paul himself). Just before this reading he has listed what unites Christians: “one body and one Spirit… one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (4:4–5). Now he turns from what all share to what each receives, and shows that the differences are for the sake of the unity.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“Therefore it is said, “When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.”” (4:8)
Psalm 68:18 in the Hebrew and Greek says that God received gifts. Here it says “gave”. An Aramaic Jewish paraphrase of the psalm also reads “gave”, and the Conqueror who receives tribute now shares it out.
“The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,” (4:11)
The gifts are persons. Greek grammar joins “pastors and teachers” closely, perhaps as one ministry.
“But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,” (4:15)
The reading's central image. The Christian life is not standing still, and its direction is Christ himself.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism teaches that Christ provides in his Body, the Church, the gifts and helps by which we support one another on the way of salvation (CCC 794), and it uses vv. 9–10 of the descent of Christ among the dead (CCC 631). The Second Vatican Council places all ministries inside the one people of God, for the service of the whole Body (Lumen Gentium 7, 32). St John Chrysostom, preaching on this letter, warns that nothing divides the Church as much as the love of power (Homilies on Ephesians 11, in substance).
Setting.
“Therefore” connects these words to the parable just before: the rich man who built bigger barns and died that night (12:16–21). The rich man's sin was greed; the disciple's danger may be the same fear in a poorer form. Matthew has a parallel in the Sermon on the Mount (6:25–33).
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them.” (12:24)
“Barn” echoes the rich fool. He built bigger barns and lost his life; the raven has none and is fed. The word “consider” asks for careful, patient looking.
“Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.” (12:27)
The flower cannot be identified with certainty; it may be any wild bloom of the Galilean spring. Solomon's splendour (1 Kings 10) is the highest human measure, and a weed outdoes it.
“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you” (12:28)
Dry grass served as fuel for the clay oven. “How much more” is the logic of the kingdom, from God's care for little things to his care for you.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism says that Jesus asks for childlike abandonment to the providence of the Father, who takes care of his children's smallest needs (CCC 305). On the petition “give us this day our daily bread” it explains that he is not inviting us to idleness, but wants to relieve us of nagging worry (CCC 2830). St Paul's own hard work shows that trust and labour go together (1 Thessalonians 2:9). God often feeds those who have little through those who have more.
Is it wrong to plan, save, or insure one's family?
No. Jesus speaks against anxiety and greed, not against prudence; he himself speaks of counting the cost (14:28). The test is what we do with the fear: whether it drives us to trust God and care for others, or to build barns.
Our Eparchy of St Mary, Queen of Peace, in the USA and Canada was erected on 4 January 2016. Many of our families live far from Kerala under heavy pressure of work and money, and the words on the ravens are spoken for them too. Tomorrow is Denho: this evening is a good time to recall the day and place of one's own Baptism.