15 April 2027 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Latin Rite · Syro-Malabar Rite · മലയാളം
“One who has become a priest, not through a legal requirement concerning physical descent, but through the power of an indestructible life.” Hebrews 7:16
Christ is risen! In these weeks of Qyomtho our Church reads the Letter to the Hebrews almost every weekday, and today it asks a bold question. Israel had a priesthood given by God himself: the sons of Aaron, from the tribe of Levi, served at the altar, and “the people received the law under this priesthood.” Why, then, did the Scriptures speak of “another priest arising according to the order of Melchizedek”? Jesus was not a Levite; “it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah.” His priesthood does not rest on a family tree. He became a priest “not through a legal requirement concerning physical descent, but through the power of an indestructible life.” This is an Easter sentence. The life that the Cross could not end and the tomb could not hold is the very foundation of his priesthood. The Letter does not despise the priesthood of Aaron; that priesthood was God's gift and a preparation, and the Church sees in it a figure of what Christ fulfils (Catechism 1539–1545). St John Chrysostom, preaching on this chapter, observes that a priest who dies needs a successor, but the priest who lives for ever needs none (in substance).
The Gospel finds Jesus on the road, “teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.” Someone asks, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” Jesus does not give a number. He turns the question from curiosity to decision: “Strive to enter through the narrow door.” A day comes when the owner of the house has shut the door, and some will knock and say, “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.” Having been near him is not yet the same as having entered by him. The warning is not for one people; it is for every believer who thinks that knowing the Lord's name or sitting at his table is a guarantee without a changed life, and so it speaks first to us who receive the Holy Qurbono. Christian writers have said that the door is narrow only for the proud; for the humble it is wide enough. Then comes the great hope of the passage: “people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God.” We are among those who came from the east. The faith reached our shores through the preaching of the apostle Mar Thoma, as our tradition holds, and now we too are called to the banquet.
How do we live this today? The priest who lives for ever is the priest of every Holy Qurbono. When the celebrant stands at the altar of our church, it is Christ, risen and alive, who offers and who gives himself; “he always lives to make intercession” for us (Hebrews 7:25). The “better hope, through which we approach God” is not an idea but a person. So come to the Holy Qurbono this Easter season with the readiness of one who enters a door, not only of one who watches from the street. Pray today for the priests of our eparchy and for those preparing for the priesthood, that they may serve as men who belong to the eternal priest. And choose the narrow door in small things: one honest word, one act of forgiveness, one confession made before the coming Sunday. The door is narrow because it is the shape of Christ himself, and through him the way is open to all.
Theme: “Through the power of an indestructible life.”
On this Easter weekday: the priest who cannot die, the narrow door, and the banquet that gathers east and west.
“And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High.” Genesis 14:18
“Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25
Apply: At the Holy Qurbono this week, entrust one person you love to the intercession of Christ the High Priest.
“This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it.” Psalm 118:20
“I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” John 10:9
Apply: Do one humble act today that your pride has been resisting: an apology, a request for help, a confession.
“For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering.” Malachi 1:11
“I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 8:11
Apply: Invite one person who has stopped coming to church to the Holy Qurbono with you this Sunday.
Our high priest is the risen Christ, who lives for ever and brings us to God.
The door is narrow because it is Christ himself; through him the way is open to all who come humbly.
Take-home resolution: This week, enter by the narrow door in one concrete choice, and pray daily for priests.
Dear friends, Christ is risen! Today the Letter to the Hebrews tells us that Jesus is not a priest because of the family he was born into. He became a priest through the power of an indestructible life (Hebrews 7:16).
That is the Easter mystery. The life that death could not destroy is the root of his priesthood. A priest who dies needs someone to take his place; our high priest lives for ever and always intercedes for us.
In the Gospel someone asks, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” Jesus answers: strive to enter through the narrow door (Luke 13:24). Some will say, “We ate and drank with you,” and still stand outside. Being near the Lord is not yet the same as entering by him. The door is narrow for the proud and wide for the humble.
And yet the promise is wide: people will come from east and west and eat in the kingdom of God. We have come from the east. Let us enter by the door who is Christ: in humble confession, in faithful coming to the Holy Qurbono, in daily love. Amen.
Children, Jesus is alive, and he is our priest for ever! Someone asked him how many people would go to heaven. Jesus said: try hard to go in through the narrow door. To pass through a low, narrow door you have to bend down. That is what humble people do. Can you do one humble thing today, like saying sorry first or letting someone else go first?
Lord Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, you became our high priest through the power of an indestructible life. You live for ever to make intercession for us. Bring us through the narrow door of humility, that we may not only eat and drink in your presence but truly belong to you. Gather your children from east and west, from north and south, to the table of your kingdom, and keep our priests faithful to you. You live and reign for ever. Amen.