31 March 2027 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Latin Rite · Syro-Malabar Rite · മലയാളം
“For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” Mark 10:27
On this Easter Wednesday the Gospel tells of a man who “ran up and knelt before” Jesus and asked: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He has kept the commandments since his youth, and Mark adds one of the tenderest lines in the Gospels: “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.” Out of that love comes the call: “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” But “he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.” Clement of Alexandria, in his little book on this passage, taught that what the Lord asks us to leave is above all the grip of wealth on the soul, the passions that make us its slaves, so that riches become a servant of love and not a master (in substance). The disciples are astonished: “Then who can be saved?” And Jesus answers: “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” In Easter week this sentence shines with new light. Four days ago the most impossible thing of all happened: a man who had died on a cross and been laid in a tomb rose bodily from the dead. The God who did that can also loosen the grip of possessions on a human heart.
St Paul's charge to Timothy fits the same road: “I am giving you these instructions, Timothy, my child... so that by following them you may fight the good fight, having faith and a good conscience.” Faith and conscience go together like the two oars of a boat. “By rejecting conscience, certain persons have suffered shipwreck in the faith; among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander.” Paul's severe discipline, handing them over “to Satan,” has a healing purpose: “so that they may learn not to blaspheme.” The Church corrects in order to bring back, never simply to cast out. The Second Vatican Council calls conscience the most secret core and sanctuary of a person, where one is alone with God (Gaudium et Spes 16). The rich man's conscience told him the truth when Jesus spoke; his possessions told him to walk away. Easter gives us the strength to listen to the first voice. The risen Lord, who says “Peace be with you” to his frightened disciples, also gives us his Spirit to keep our consciences clear and our faith afloat.
Hevoro week continues: keep it as Easter. Go to the Holy Qurbono if you can, and keep using the Easter greeting. This week is also a good moment to make an Easter gift of what you have, as the rich man was invited to do: give something you value to someone poor, not only something you would have thrown away. Each night before sleeping, a family can make a short examination of conscience together: where did we follow Jesus today, and where did we walk away? Then entrust everything to the God for whom all things are possible. On Sunday, New Sunday, the Church will hear how the risen Lord came through closed doors to Thomas; prepare to meet him there with your own questions.
Theme: “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
On Wednesday of Hevoro week: the good fight, the look of love, and the God of the impossible.
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7
Apply: Each night this week make a two-minute examination of conscience with your family.
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” Jeremiah 31:3
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21
Apply: Give something you value to someone poor this Easter week.
“Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?” Genesis 18:14
“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.” Romans 8:11
Apply: Write down one thing that seems impossible in your life and give it to God at the Holy Qurbono.
The Lord looks on us with love, and calls us to a freedom we cannot reach alone.
The God who raised Jesus from the dead can do in us what is impossible for us.
Take-home resolution: Keep faith and a good conscience this Easter season, share what you value, and trust the God for whom all things are possible.
Dear friends, Christ is risen! Today a man runs to Jesus, kneels and asks: good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? (Mark 10:17). And Mark tells us: Jesus, looking at him, loved him (Mark 10:21).
Out of that love comes a hard call: go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor... then come, follow me. The man went away grieving, for he had many possessions (Mark 10:21–22). Possessions are good, but they can take hold of the heart.
The disciples ask: then who can be saved? Jesus answers: for mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible (Mark 10:26–27). Four days ago we celebrated the most impossible thing of all: the Lord rose bodily from the dead. The God who did that can set our hearts free.
St Paul tells Timothy to fight the good fight, having faith and a good conscience (1 Timothy 1:18–19). This Easter week, let us give something we value to the poor, examine our conscience each night, and trust the God for whom nothing is impossible. Amen.
Children, Christ is risen! A man asked Jesus how to go to heaven. Jesus looked at him with love and said: share what you have with the poor and follow me. The man went away sad because he did not want to share. But you can be different! Jesus looks at you with love too. What can you share this week with someone who has less?
Lord Jesus Christ, you looked on the rich man and loved him, and you look on us with the same love. Loosen the grip of our possessions on our hearts, and give us courage to follow you. Keep our consciences clear and our faith whole, so that we may fight the good fight to the end. You rose from the dead, for whom all things are possible: do in us what we cannot do alone. You live and reign for ever. Amen.
Today's readings are about keeping going and about what cannot be done alone. Timothy is told to fight the good fight with faith and a good conscience, because some have made a wreck of theirs. A man runs up to Jesus, is looked at with love, and walks away grieving. The disciples ask, “Then who can be saved?” In Easter week the answer has particular force: the God for whom all things are possible has just emptied a tomb.
Setting.
Timothy has been left at Ephesus to deal with false teachers (1:3). The letter comes to us under Paul's name, and the Church has received it as Scripture. Many modern scholars think that it was written by a follower in Paul's name after his death, while others defend Paul's own authorship; either way, the Church receives its teaching as the word of God. These verses gather up the “instruction” mentioned in 1:5 and bring the first chapter to an end.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“in accordance with the prophecies made earlier about you,” (1:18)
These are probably the words spoken when he was set apart for ministry: “which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands” (4:14). What sustains a minister is the gift he has been given.
“having faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have suffered shipwreck in the faith;” (1:19)
The order matters. It is the rejection of conscience that wrecks faith. People who go on living against what they know to be right often end by changing what they believe.
“whom I have turned over to Satan, so that they may learn not to blaspheme.” (1:20)
This is a severe act, like the one in 1 Corinthians 5:5: being put out of the community into the realm outside it. The purpose is still healing. “Learn” is the verb for teaching or disciplining a child. 2 Timothy 2:17–18 names a Hymenaeus who claimed “that the resurrection has already taken place”, which is a striking link for Easter week. We cannot be sure whether the Alexander here is the coppersmith of 2 Timothy 4:14.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism quotes these verses when it teaches that faith is a gift that can be lost, and that we must beg the Lord to increase it and must nourish it with the word of God (CCC 162). It cites 1 Timothy 1:5 to say that a good and pure conscience is enlightened by true faith (CCC 1794). The Church's practice of excommunication is meant to be medicinal, with the hope of return (compare CCC 1463). Ministry in the Church is received by the laying on of hands, as Timothy received it (CCC 1590).
Setting.
Jesus is on the road toward Jerusalem, and in chapters 8–10 he three times tells his disciples what awaits him there. The man's story stands between the blessing of the children (10:13–16) and the third of these announcements (10:32–34). Matthew calls him young (19:20), and Luke calls him a ruler (18:18), while Mark only says that he had many possessions. Only Mark says that he ran and knelt, and only Mark says that Jesus loved him.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” (10:18)
See the question below. Jesus directs the man's attention to God, who alone is the source of good.
“Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”” (10:21)
The last two words are what it all leads to. Selling is the way to clear the road, and the goal is following. This is a personal call, one that the Church has seen as the root of religious poverty, while all are called to detachment of heart (CCC 2544–2545).
“When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.” (10:22)
He is the only person in Mark who is called this way and walks away. Mark does not tell us how his story ended, and we should not decide it for him.
“For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” (10:27)
Salvation is God's gift first of all, and whatever we do toward it is done by his grace. This is said not to the rich alone but to all. The way is open only by grace, and grace can even open a closed hand.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism uses the encounter as its introduction to the Ten Commandments (CCC 2052–2053), and St John Paul II opens his encyclical Veritatis Splendor with it, in Matthew's form. The Catechism also cites the same saying, “for him all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26), in teaching that the Church prays that no one be lost (CCC 1058). Clement of Alexandria wrote a whole sermon on this Gospel, Who Is the Rich Man That Is Saved?, arguing that what the Lord asks above all is to strip the soul of its disordered attachment to wealth, and that possessions used well serve others (in substance). St Athanasius tells how St Antony heard this call read in church, and how he took it as spoken to himself.
Is Jesus denying that he himself is good, or that he is God?
No. Nowhere does Mark doubt the goodness of Jesus. The man has used “Good” rather lightly, as a compliment, and Jesus is asking him to think about what the word means. Since God alone is good, the man is being led toward a question: who then is this? St John Chrysostom explains that the Lord is raising him up by degrees (in substance). The call that follows, “follow me”, is something that only God has the right to ask.