17 February 2027 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Latin Rite · Syro-Malabar Rite · മലയാളം
“But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”” Matthew 8:22
Twice in five verses Genesis repeats the same words: “that very day.” Abraham “circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him… That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised.” He was ninety-nine years old. He did not form a committee or wait for a more convenient season. God spoke, and Abraham obeyed the same day, beginning with himself and then with all his household. Delay is one of the quiet enemies of the Fast. We mean to pray more, to make our confession, to be reconciled, to give alms; and the days slip by. The Psalmist prays the opposite: “I hurry and do not delay to keep your commandments.”
In the Gospel two men approach Jesus. The first is eager: “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus tells him the cost: “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” The second wants to follow, but later: “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus answers: “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” St John Chrysostom explains that the Lord was not teaching contempt for parents; he was teaching that nothing, not even the most honourable duty, may be placed before following him (in substance). Why is he worth it? Paul gives the answer: in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Paul struggles in prayer so that the hearts of the Colossians may be “encouraged and united in love,” and he rejoices to see “the firmness of your faith in Christ.” The one who has no place to lay his head is himself the treasure.
Theme: “Follow me.”
Abraham's prompt obedience, the treasure hidden in Christ, and the call that will not wait.
“I hurry and do not delay to keep your commandments.” Psalm 119:60
“Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” Matthew 4:20
Apply: Carry out this week the Lenten resolution you have postponed longest.
“For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;” Proverbs 2:6
“but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:24
Apply: Read one chapter of a Gospel every day until Easter.
“Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.” Psalm 84:3
“Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”” Luke 9:62
Apply: Name the one thing you place before Christ and offer it to him at the next Holy Qurbono.
God's word is best obeyed on the day it is heard.
The one who had nowhere to lay his head is the treasure worth everything.
Take-home resolution: Each day of this week, do at once the first good thing God puts in your heart.
Dear friends, Genesis says it twice: that very day. Abraham, ninety-nine years old, obeyed God's command that very day, beginning with himself and his household (Genesis 17:23, 26).
Delay is a quiet enemy of the Fast. We mean to pray, to confess, to forgive, to give; and the days slip by. The Psalmist says: I hurry and do not delay to keep your commandments (Psalm 119:60).
In the Gospel one man promises: I will follow you wherever you go. Another says: first let me go and bury my father. Jesus answers: the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head... Follow me (Matthew 8:19–22). Nothing may come before him, not even good things.
Why is he worth it? Because in him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3). Let us not wait for a better season. Today is the day to follow. Amen.
Children, when God asked Abraham to do something, he did it that very day! When Jesus says follow me, let us not say later, later. Is there something good your mum or dad asked you to do? Do it today, with a smile.
Lord Jesus, you had nowhere to lay your head, yet in you are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Give us the promptness of Abraham, who obeyed that very day. Free us from excuses and delays, unite our hearts in love, and make our faith firm, so that we may follow you wherever you go. Amen.
Abraham obeys “that very day”, with no delay and no bargaining. Colossians shows where such trust is rooted: in Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”. In the Gospel, two people want to follow Jesus, but on their own terms, and Jesus tells them plainly what it will cost. The readings ask a simple question in these early weeks of the Fast: when God speaks, how long do I make him wait?
Setting.
God has just finished speaking and “went up from Abraham” (17:22). These verses tell what Abraham does next. There is no speech and no vision, only the carrying out of God's word. Abraham's faith was already counted to him as righteousness in 15:6; here the same man acts on what he has heard, in a costly and painful way, at the age of ninety-nine.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him.” (17:23)
The command included everyone in the house, and so does the obedience. The head of the house does not simply believe by himself. His faith shapes the life of all under his roof.
“Abraham was ninety-nine years old” (17:24)
The age is not only a date. A man of ninety-nine has every excuse, and Isaac has not yet been born. He obeys before seeing what was promised.
“That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised;” (17:26)
Ishmael receives the sign, though the covenant line will go through Isaac (17:21). Abraham treats him as his son and God's promise to him stands (17:20).
How the Church reads it.
Paul draws a careful lesson from the order of events: Abraham received the sign as “a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised” (Romans 4:11). Faith comes first, and obedience seals it. The Catechism presents Abraham as the model of the obedience of faith (CCC 144–145), and in its teaching on prayer it says that when God calls him, Abraham goes forth “as the Lord had told him”, with a heart entirely submissive to the Word (CCC 2570).
Setting.
Matthew has placed this short scene among the mighty works of chapters 8–9. Jesus has just healed many at Capernaum (8:14–17), and he now orders a crossing of the lake; the storm follows in 8:23–27. Before the disciples get into the boat, two conversations show what it means to go with him. Luke has a fuller form of the same sayings (Luke 9:57–62).
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
““Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”” (8:19)
It is a fine offer, and nothing suggests it is insincere. Matthew does not tell us what the scribe did next, so the question stays open for the reader.
““Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”” (8:20)
Jesus does not refuse him. He shows him the true price. In the Sermon on the Mount the birds were a reason to trust (6:26); here they have what Jesus himself gave up.
““Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”” (8:21)
To bury a parent was one of the most sacred duties in Jewish life (see Tobit 4:3). The request is good. Its one problem is the word “first”.
““Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”” (8:22)
This is a shocking word, and it is meant to be. When Elisha asked to kiss his parents goodbye, Elijah let him go (1 Kings 19:20). Jesus claims more than any prophet could claim. He is not abolishing the honour due to parents, which he himself defends (Matthew 15:3–6); he is saying that nothing comes before God's call.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism says that family ties are important but not absolute, and that the first vocation of the Christian is to follow Jesus (CCC 2232). It also teaches that burying the dead is a corporal work of mercy (CCC 2300), so this verse cannot be turned into a rule against funerals. St John Chrysostom, preaching on Matthew, explains that Jesus is showing that nothing is more necessary than the things of heaven (in substance). The saying has been a call to those who leave home for God in every age, including those called to monastic life, to priesthood and to mission.
Why does Abraham have to be circumcised, while Christians do not?
The apostles settled this at Jerusalem, deciding not to lay the burden of the Mosaic Law on Gentile believers (Acts 15:28). In Christ, “the only thing that counts is faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6). Baptism is the Christian's entry into the covenant (CCC 527, 1213). For Jews the sign remains a sign of the covenant that God has not revoked, and the Church speaks of it with respect (CCC 839).