21 April 2027 · Syro-Malankara Rite
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“Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward.” Hebrews 10:35
Christ is risen! The Letter to the Hebrews asks its readers to remember: “recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings.” The early Christians often called Baptism “enlightenment.” St Justin Martyr, writing in the second century, explains that the washing of Baptism is called illumination, because those who receive it are enlightened in their understanding (First Apology 61). In the Easter season the Church thinks especially of those baptized at Easter, and of our own Baptism. The first readers of this Letter had paid a price for that light. They had been “publicly exposed to abuse and persecution”; they had stood by others who suffered; they “had compassion for those who were in prison,” and they “cheerfully accepted the plundering” of their possessions, “knowing that you yourselves possessed something better and more lasting.” Now, years later, some were growing tired. So the Letter says: “Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward. For you need endurance.”
The risen Lord is our reason for endurance. “In a very little while, the one who is coming will come and will not delay; but my righteous one will live by faith.” The Letter ends the passage with a sentence of courage: “we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved.” In the Gospel Jesus shows that faith is needed not only under persecution but in the daily life of the community. “Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come!” He speaks with great seriousness about anyone who causes “one of these little ones to stumble,” words that the Church today hears as a solemn call to protect children and the vulnerable in every parish and home. Then he asks for something that seems impossible: “if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive.” The apostles' reply is honest: “Increase our faith!” They understood that only faith can forgive like that.
Jesus answers: “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” The mulberry tree had deep and stubborn roots, like a resentment that has grown in us for years. A small faith in the risen Lord can uproot it. How do we live this today? First, remember your own enlightenment: take out your baptismal certificate, find the date, and thank God for the light you received. Second, look for one person whom you have stopped forgiving, perhaps someone who keeps hurting you in the same way, and ask the Lord for faith enough to forgive once more, while also asking wisely for the change that true repentance requires. Third, be a guardian of the little ones: let no word or example of yours make a child stumble. And when you feel tired in faith, make the apostles' prayer your own, especially before the Holy Qurbono: “Lord, increase our faith.”
Theme: “Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward.”
On this Easter Wednesday: the confidence of the enlightened, the forgiveness that faith makes possible, and the mustard seed.
“Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith.” Habakkuk 2:4
“Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12
Apply: Find the date of your Baptism and thank God for it at the Holy Qurbono this week.
“Forgive your neighbor the wrong he has done, and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray.” Sirach 28:2
“Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.”” Matthew 18:22
Apply: Forgive one person today whom you had stopped forgiving, and tell God so in prayer.
“If you do not stand firm in faith, you shall not stand at all.” Isaiah 7:9
“Immediately the father of the child cried out, “I believe; help my unbelief!”” Mark 9:24
Apply: Before the Holy Qurbono each day this week, pray: “Lord, increase our faith.”
The light of Baptism gives us a confidence that brings a great reward; we must not abandon it.
Faith as small as a mustard seed, rooted in the risen Lord, makes forgiveness possible.
Take-home resolution: This week, remember your Baptism, protect the little ones, and forgive once more.
Dear friends, Christ is risen! The Letter to the Hebrews says: recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings (Hebrews 10:32). The early Church called Baptism enlightenment.
Those first Christians had suffered, been mocked, lost their possessions, and still rejoiced, knowing they had something better and more lasting. Now some were growing tired. So the Letter says: do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward (Hebrews 10:35).
In the Gospel Jesus asks us to protect the little ones and to forgive, even seven times a day. The apostles reply: Increase our faith! They knew that only faith can forgive like that. Jesus answers that faith the size of a mustard seed can uproot a mulberry tree, the deep roots of an old resentment.
Let us thank God today for our Baptism, forgive one person once more, and pray before the Holy Qurbono: Lord, increase our faith. Amen.
Children, a mustard seed is tiny, smaller than a grain of rice. Jesus said that if our faith is even that small, it can pull up a big tree! When is it hard for you to forgive your brother, sister or friend? Ask Jesus: “Lord, give me more faith so that I can forgive.” Then go and make peace.
Lord Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, you enlightened us in Baptism and called us to share in your victory. When we grow tired, do not let us abandon our confidence; give us endurance to do the will of God and receive what you have promised. Make us guardians of the little ones, and give us hearts that forgive again and again. Increase our faith, that even a mustard seed of it may uproot the bitterness that has grown in us. You live and reign for ever. Amen.