7 January 2027 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malabar Rite · Latin Rite · മലയാളം
“I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” Luke 7:28
On the day after Denho the Syriac tradition praises the one who baptised the Lord. Jesus himself gives John's praise: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind?” No, John was firm. “Someone dressed in soft robes?” No, he lived in poverty. “A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.” He is the messenger foretold to prepare the way. “Among those born of women no one is greater than John.”
And then a surprise: “yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” John stood at the threshold; we, by Baptism, have entered. The grace of the Kingdom is greater than any human greatness. Paul calls himself “the very least of all the saints”, yet a servant of the Gospel “according to the gift of God's grace”. The mystery hidden for ages is now revealed: the Gentiles are fellow heirs in Christ. John prepared the way; we are sent to walk it.
Theme: “Among those born of women no one is greater than John.”
The praise of the Baptist and the grace of the Kingdom.
“The Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame;” Isaiah 50:7
“When John's messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind?” Luke 7:24
Apply: Refuse one compromise with the truth today.
“Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes.” Malachi 4:5
“I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” Luke 7:28
Apply: Thank God for someone who prepared the way of Christ for you.
“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
“Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God's grace that was given me by the working of his power.” Ephesians 3:7
Apply: Share your faith with one person this week.
John was great; grace makes us greater still.
Let us walk the way he prepared.
Take-home resolution: Thank God each night this week for your Baptism.
Dear friends, on the day after Denho the Syriac Churches praise John the Baptist, who baptised the Lord in the Jordan. Jesus himself speaks his praise.
He asks the crowds: what did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? (Luke 7:24). No. John was not shaken by public opinion or by Herod's power. Someone dressed in soft robes? No. John lived in poverty.
A prophet? Yes, says Jesus, and more than a prophet. He is the messenger sent ahead to prepare the way. Among those born of women no one is greater than John (Luke 7:28).
Then a surprise: yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. John stood at the door; by Baptism we have entered. This is not about our merit but about grace. Paul calls himself a servant of the gospel according to the gift of God's grace (Ephesians 3:7).
Let us honour John by being firm in faith, simple in life, and grateful for the Kingdom we have received. Amen.
Children, Jesus said John the Baptist was very great and strong, like a tree in a storm. Let us be strong for Jesus too!
Lord Jesus, you praised John the Baptist, your messenger and the friend who baptised you. Make us firm as he was, simple as he was, and grateful for the grace of the Kingdom we have received in Baptism. Amen.
With Denho just kept, the Church turns to praise the one who baptised the Lord. In the Gospel Jesus himself gives the praise: “more than a prophet”, and no one born of woman greater. In the Epistle Paul, a prisoner, describes the same kind of service: to be a servant of a mystery larger than oneself. Both men are great because of what they point to.
Setting.
The letter speaks in Paul's voice from prison (on authorship, many modern scholars think of a close disciple, others defend Paul himself). Chapter 2 has just said that Gentiles and Jews are made one in Christ. Paul starts a prayer in 3:1, breaks off to explain his own mission (3:2–13), and takes up the prayer again in 3:14. This reading is the first part of that digression.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:” (3:5)
“As it has now been”: the Old Testament had already spoken of the nations coming to God (Isaiah 2:2–3), but not of this, that they would be one body with Israel in the Messiah.
“that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” (3:6)
Three words in the Greek all begin with “together” (syn-): co-heirs, co-bodied, co-sharers. One of them, “of the same body”, may have been coined for this purpose. The Gentiles join in Israel's promises, and they do not replace Israel.
“Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given me by the working of his power.” (3:7)
Paul was a persecutor, and in the very next verse he calls himself “the very least of all the saints”. The call is a gift, and the power is God's.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism sees in Israel the root onto which the Gentiles would be grafted (CCC 60; see Romans 11:17–24), and the Second Vatican Council recalls this same image when it speaks of the Church's bond with the Jewish people (Nostra Aetate 4). The readers of this passage are therefore guests of a promise made first to others, and this should make them grateful. Denho, with its manifestation to all the world, is the natural setting for this reading.
Setting.
John is in prison (3:20) and has sent messengers to ask, “Are you the one who is to come” (7:19)? Jesus answers them by pointing to his works (7:22–23). As soon as they leave, he turns to the crowd and defends John, in case anyone should think less of him for that question.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.” (7:26)
Other prophets spoke of the One to come; John saw him. He is himself foretold as the messenger, and he could point with his finger at the One the others could only announce.
“I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”” (7:28)
This is not a demotion of John. It compares two moments: he stood at the door, and we have been brought in, by no merit of ours. The second half is praise of grace rather than a judgment on John, who is a saint in the Kingdom.
“And all the people who heard this, including the tax collectors, acknowledged the justice of God, because they had been baptized with John’s baptism.” (7:29)
The ones who took John's washing seriously are able to recognise God's work. His baptism prepared hearts, and that was its purpose.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism calls John the Lord's immediate forerunner (CCC 523) and says that he is “more than a prophet”, in whom the Holy Spirit concludes his speaking through the prophets (CCC 719). Here he receives the Lord's own praise. His greatness lies in the plainness of his own words: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
Is John outside the Kingdom?
No. Jesus says elsewhere that all the prophets will be seen in the kingdom of God (Luke 13:28). The verse compares John's place in the history of salvation, before the Cross and Pentecost, with the gift of those who live after them. The Church honours him among the greatest of the saints.
On the day after Denho the Syriac tradition praises the one who baptised the Lord. It is fitting that a man who always stepped aside should receive his feast right after the day of the One he pointed to. Parents, godparents and catechists share John's work: to bring someone to the river and then to let that person go to Christ.