16 January 2027 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malabar Rite · Latin Rite · മലയാളം
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8
Hebrews asks us to “Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” Today we remember two such leaders: St Peter, whose chains in prison (Acts 12) the Church honours, and Bishop Geevarghese Mar Divannasios, a shepherd of our own Church who died in 2018. Leaders pass; the one they served remains: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Jesus asks: “Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives.” Every Christian is a steward of something: family, work, talents, a parish ministry. Hebrews adds the worship that pleases God: a “sacrifice of praise… the fruit of lips that confess his name”, and doing good and sharing what we have.
Theme: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Remembering our leaders, trusting the unchanging Lord, serving faithfully.
“Remember the days of old, consider the years long past; ask your father, and he will inform you; your elders, and they will tell you.” Deuteronomy 32:7
“Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” Hebrews 13:7
Apply: Pray for a departed priest or teacher who formed you.
“So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him; he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had.” Genesis 39:4
““Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives.” Matthew 24:45–46
Apply: Do your daily duties well, as for the Lord.
“Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High.” Psalm 50:14
“Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” Hebrews 13:15–16
Apply: Share something with someone in need this week.
Leaders pass; Christ remains.
Let him find us faithful at our work.
Take-home resolution: Pray this week for all our bishops and priests, living and departed.
Dear friends, Hebrews says: remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith (Hebrews 13:7). Today we remember St Peter in chains, and Bishop Geevarghese Mar Divannasios, who served our Church and went home to God in 2018.
Leaders come and go. But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). The faith they handed on is anchored in him.
Jesus asks: who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives (Matthew 24:45–46).
Each of us has been put in charge of something: a family, a job, a ministry. Let us be faithful in it, offer God the sacrifice of praise, and share what we have. Amen.
Children, Jesus told about a servant who did his job well even when nobody was watching. Do your homework and chores well, for Jesus!
Lord Jesus, the same yesterday, today and forever, we thank you for the leaders who spoke your word to us. Give rest to Bishop Geevarghese Mar Divannasios, strengthen our shepherds as you freed Peter from his chains, and make us faithful stewards found at work when you come. Amen.
Today the calendar recalls the chains of St Peter and a shepherd of our own Church, Bishop Geevarghese Mar Divannasios (2018). Hebrews tells us to remember our leaders and to imitate their faith, and then points past them to the One who does not change. In the Gospel Jesus asks what kind of servant a leader is when the master seems to be away. The key words are remember, outside the camp and faithful.
Setting.
This is the closing chapter of the sermon we call the Letter to the Hebrews, written for Christians who were tired and tempted to drift back. The author, who is not named, has argued that Christ's sacrifice fulfils the worship of the old covenant. Now he draws practical conclusions. Chapter 13 gives short commands about love, marriage, money and leaders.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” (13:7)
The verb “spoke” is in the past tense, and many think these leaders had already died. The Church's memorial days do what this verse asks.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (13:8)
Leaders pass away. This is why the verse comes straight after the one about them. Christ, who taught them, is the one who stays.
“Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the city gate in order to sanctify the people by his own blood.” (13:12)
On the Day of Atonement the bodies of the sacrificed animals were burned outside the camp (Leviticus 16:27). The author sees in this a sign of Calvary, which lay outside the walls.
“For here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.” (13:14)
Christians are at home among people, but they are always on a journey.
How the Church reads it.
“We have an altar” (v. 10) has been read in two ways. Many scholars see the Cross here; some Catholic interpreters also hear the Eucharist, and the two are not far apart, since the Eucharist makes present the one sacrifice of the Cross (CCC 1366–1367). The verses are about Christian worship and not a judgement on the Jewish people, whose covenant God has not revoked (CCC 121). Verse 16 keeps worship and charity together: praise on the lips and sharing with the poor are both called sacrifices.
Setting.
Jesus is giving his last great discourse, on the end of the age, on the Mount of Olives (Matthew 24–25). He has just said that the Son of Man will come at an unexpected hour (24:44). This parable applies that warning to people who are in charge of others. Luke has the same parable, and there Peter asks whether it is meant for everyone (Luke 12:41–46).
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
““Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their allowance of food at the proper time?” (24:45)
The job is plain: feed the others on time. Authority in the Church exists for this.
“Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives.” (24:46)
What matters is that he is found doing his ordinary duty.
“But if that wicked slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’” (24:48)
The trouble starts in a thought. When a leader stops expecting to give an account, the fellow slaves soon suffer for it.
“He will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (24:51)
The Greek is as harsh as the English, and the POC softens it to “punish”. It is a parable's strong way of saying how seriously God takes the abuse of those in our care.
How the Church reads it.
St Augustine preached on the day of his own ordination anniversary with such service in mind: for you I am a bishop, with you I am a Christian (Sermon 340, in substance). The Catechism reminds us that the Lord's coming is always near, though we are not told the time (CCC 673). The parable speaks first to bishops and priests, and then to every parent, teacher and employer, to all who have others in their charge.
The chains of St Peter recall the night when an angel led him out of Herod's prison (Acts 12:1–11), while “the church prayed fervently to God for him” (12:5). Peter's chains remind us that a leader in the Church may be bound, but the word is not. Today we also remember Bishop Geevarghese Mar Divannasios, who served our Church, and we follow Hebrews 13:7 by giving thanks for him.