19 April 2027 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malabar Rite · Latin Rite · മലയാളം
“Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23
Christ is risen! Yesterday we walked with the two disciples to Emmaus and saw them run back to Jerusalem to find the others. Today the Letter to the Hebrews tells us what the risen Lord has opened for us: “we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh).” In the temple at Jerusalem a curtain separated the Holy of Holies, and only the high priest passed through it, once a year. When Jesus died, “the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51). His own flesh, given on the Cross and raised on the third day, has become the doorway into the presence of God. In our churches the curtain of the sanctuary is drawn back as the Holy Qurbono begins, and the faithful see the altar opened before them. We may see in it a sign of what Christ has done: heaven is no longer closed. So the Letter invites us: “let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water,” words that recall our Baptism.
Then come three simple commands. “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.” “Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.” And: do not neglect “to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.” Already in the first generation some Christians were drifting away from the Sunday assembly. The Gospel shows the heart of God for those who drift. Tax collectors and sinners are “coming near to listen” to Jesus, and some Pharisees and scribes grumble: “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” They were devout people, and their grumbling is a temptation that every religious person knows. Jesus answers with a story: a shepherd with a hundred sheep loses one, leaves the ninety-nine, goes “after the one that is lost until he finds it,” lays it on his shoulders, and calls his neighbours to rejoice. St Ambrose saw in the shepherd's shoulders the arms of the Cross, on which Christ carried our sins home (in substance).
Put the two readings together and a task appears. The new and living way is open; the shepherd is searching; and we are asked not to neglect meeting together, but to encourage one another. Who is missing from our Sunday Qurbono? Perhaps a young person who moved to a city for studies, a family hurt by some quarrel in the parish, an elderly person no longer able to walk to church, a neighbour who simply lost the habit. This week, be the shepherd's hands. Call one of them, visit, offer a ride, carry the Holy Qurbono's joy to those who cannot come by asking the priest to bring Holy Communion to the sick. And look into your own heart: if you are the one who has wandered, the Lord is not waiting at a distance to scold you. He is already on the road looking for you, and there is joy in heaven when you are found.
Theme: “He who has promised is faithful.”
On the Monday after Emmaus Sunday: the new and living way, the assembly we must not neglect, and the shepherd who searches.
“Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts” Psalm 24:3–4
“At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.” Matthew 27:51
Apply: When the sanctuary curtain is drawn back at the Holy Qurbono, thank Christ for opening heaven to you.
“How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!” Psalm 133:1
“They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Acts 2:42
Apply: Never miss the Sunday Qurbono this Easter season, and encourage one other person to come.
“I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak” Ezekiel 34:16
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11
Apply: Visit or call one person who has wandered from the parish, and tell them they are missed.
Through the flesh of the risen Christ the way into God's presence is open.
The Shepherd seeks the lost; we are sent to seek them with him and to welcome them home with joy.
Take-home resolution: This week, bring one wanderer one step nearer to the Sunday assembly.
Dear friends, Christ is risen! The Letter to the Hebrews says that Jesus opened for us a new and living way through the curtain, that is, through his flesh (Hebrews 10:20). At his death the curtain of the temple was torn. Heaven is open.
So we are told: let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23). Let us encourage one another, and not neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some.
In the Gospel the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine and goes after the one that is lost until he finds it. He does not scold; he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. St Ambrose saw in those shoulders the arms of the Cross (in substance).
Yesterday we heard how the Emmaus disciples ran back to the community. Today let us look for those who have not come back. Call one of them; visit; bring them with you. And if you are the lost one, know that the Shepherd is already on the road looking for you. Amen.
Children, have you ever lost something you loved and searched everywhere for it? Jesus told a story about a shepherd who lost one sheep. He searched and searched until he found it, then carried it home on his shoulders and had a party! Jesus loves every one of us like that. If a friend stops coming to Sunday school, can you tell them: we miss you?
Lord Jesus Christ, risen Shepherd, you opened for us a new and living way through the curtain of your flesh, and you go after every sheep that is lost until you find it. Give us a true heart and full assurance of faith. Keep us faithful to the confession of our hope, and make us eager to meet together, to provoke one another to love and good deeds, and to go out to those who have wandered. Carry home on your shoulders all who are lost, and fill heaven with joy. You live and reign for ever. Amen.