27 April 2027 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Latin Rite · Syro-Malabar Rite · മലയാളം
“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe” Hebrews 12:28
Kerala knows what it is for the ground to shake. Many of us remember the floods of 2018, when houses built over a lifetime were gone in a night and families learned how little of what they owned could really be kept. The Letter to the Hebrews speaks of a greater shaking. God's voice once “shook the earth” at Sinai, “but now he has promised, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.’” This phrase, Hebrews explains, “indicates the removal of what is shaken... so that what cannot be shaken may remain.” Everything made will one day be tested. And then comes the good news: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is a consuming fire.” The kingdom of the risen Christ is the one thing that will not be washed away. The fitting response is thanksgiving and worship, which is exactly what the Holy Qurbono is: the great thanksgiving of the Church. But Hebrews also warns: “See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking.” God still speaks, from heaven, through his Son.
The Gospel shows a man who heard that voice and could not let go of what shakes. “A certain ruler asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’” He has kept the commandments since his youth, and he is sincere. Then Jesus says: “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” Luke records simply: “he became sad; for he was very rich.” He was holding on to the house that the flood would take. Jesus looks at him, not with anger but with sorrow, and says: “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” The listeners ask, “Then who can be saved?” and he answers, “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.” Then Peter speaks for the Twelve: “Look, we have left our homes and followed you.” Jesus' reply is one of the most generous promises in the Gospel: “there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.” What we let go of for Christ is not lost; it is placed in the one kingdom that cannot be shaken.
Today the Panchangam remembers St Cletus, one of the first Bishops of Rome after St Peter. St Irenaeus of Lyons, writing in the second century, lists the succession at Rome: after the apostles Peter and Paul came Linus, then Anencletus (Cletus), then Clement (Against Heresies III.3, in substance). Later tradition counts Cletus among the martyrs. We know very little more about him, but what we know is precious: he received what Peter had handed on and passed it on faithfully. He belongs to the unshakable kingdom because he built on the rock. Our own Church, since the reunion of 1930, lives in full communion with the Successor of Peter, and so we honour the early Bishops of Rome as fathers in the faith. Today, pray for the Pope and for our Major Archbishop-Catholicos and our bishops. And look at your own life after the readings: what are you holding on to that could be shaken away in a night? Let go of one thing this week, give something to the poor, and offer thanks at the Qurbono for the kingdom you are already receiving.
Theme: “Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks.”
On Tuesday of the fourth week after Qyomtho, with St Cletus: what shakes, what remains, and the treasure we must not cling to.
“O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah” Psalm 95:7–8
“My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27
Apply: Give ten minutes each day this week to reading the Gospel slowly, asking: Lord, what are you saying to me?
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea” Psalm 46:1–2
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18
Apply: Pray today for the Pope and for the bishops of our Church.
“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”” Genesis 12:1
“More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Philippians 3:8
Apply: Give away one thing you are attached to, this week, to someone who needs it.
Everything that can be shaken will pass; the kingdom of the risen Christ remains.
What we leave for Christ is not lost; it is kept in his kingdom and given back many times over.
Take-home resolution: Listen to the one who speaks from heaven, loosen your grip on what passes, and give thanks at the altar for the kingdom that cannot be shaken.
Dear friends, Christ is risen! Hebrews tells us that God will shake not only the earth but also the heaven, so that what cannot be shaken may remain (Hebrews 12:26–27). Many of us remember the floods of 2018. We learned then how quickly things can be swept away.
But there is something that will never be swept away: since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe (Hebrews 12:28). That thanksgiving is the Holy Qurbono.
The rich ruler asked Jesus about eternal life, but when Jesus said, sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor... then come, follow me, he became sad; for he was very rich (Luke 18:22–23). Peter said, look, we have left our homes and followed you, and Jesus promised: no one who has left house or family for the kingdom of God will fail to get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life (Luke 18:28–30).
Today we remember St Cletus, one of the first Bishops of Rome after St Peter, who handed on faithfully what he had received. He built on the rock. Let us pray for the Pope and our bishops, let go of one thing that holds us back, and give thanks at the altar for the kingdom that cannot be shaken. Amen.
Children, Christ is risen! Have you ever built a sandcastle, and then a wave came and washed it away? Many things in this world are like that sandcastle. But Jesus gives us something that no wave can wash away: God's kingdom and his love. A rich man was sad because he did not want to share his things. But Peter left everything to follow Jesus, and Jesus gave him much more. This week, can you share one toy or book with someone who needs it?
Lord Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, you give us a kingdom that cannot be shaken. When the earth and the heavens are shaken, you remain. Deliver us from clinging to what passes, as the rich ruler clung to his wealth, and give us the courage of Peter and the apostles who left everything to follow you. By the prayers of St Cletus, who received the faith from your apostle Peter and handed it on faithfully, keep your Church firm on the rock, and bless our Holy Father the Pope and the bishops of our Church. Let us offer you, with reverence and awe, the worship of thanksgiving. You live and reign for ever. Amen.