Daily Catholic Lectio
Thu, 12 December ‘24
Second Week of Advent – Thursday
Isaiah 41:13-20. Psalm 145. Matthew 11:11-15
The least and the greatest
The readings of the day tell us that the least and the greatest are defined by God; in a fraction of a second, he can make the least great and the great least. God’s accompaniment sustains our greatness.
In the first reading, the Lord God, who calls the people of Israel ‘worms’, assures, ‘Fear not; I am the one who helps you!’ In the Ancient Near East, the Egyptians, the Hittites, the Assyrians, and the Babylonians were considered superpowers. Israel was a small nation compared to these superpowers. However, God chose them as his cherished possessions and made a covenant with them. Later, when they sinned against God, he handed them over to the hands of their enemies. The people of Israel, in the hands of the Babylonians, consider themselves worms and powerless creatures. God promises them he will make them ‘a threshing sledge, new, sharp, and having teeth.’ Israel becomes so powerful that it can thresh the mountains and crush them.
Three things happen here: (a) The people of Israel, through the help of God, become powerful;. (b) Their lowly status of slavery is being transformed into liberty; and (c) Those who live in poverty and thirst find prosperity and water.
In the gospel reading, Jesus proclaims the greatness of John the Baptist: ‘No one is greater than John the Baptist.’ However, ‘one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.’ Here, Jesus does not downplay John’s greatness but inspires his disciples to ascribe to the same type of greatness as John possessed.
Jesus’ disciples were few in number. And they were powerless when compared with other groups of their time. But their faith in Jesus makes them partakers of the kingdom.
John’s greatness comes to him because of his call, while the disciples’ greatness comes through their faith.
In the Messianic reading, God strengthens the weak. He invites us to greatness through his vocation and faith in him. Since God has embraced our weakness at the incarnation, he is able to show solidarity to us.
What do we learn from the readings of the day?
Our greatness and strength depend on our relationship with God. God can make a threshing sledge out of a worm.
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The ‘pilgrims of hope’ find their greatness in the Lord (Jubilee 2025, bite 270).
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi (@ Sower)
Archdiocese of Madurai
Missionary of Mercy
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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