Thursday, December 11, 2025
Is 41:13-20; Mt 11:11-15
Today’s Gospel highlights the greatness of ‘The Least in the Kingdom of Heaven.’
When he begins, it looks as if Jesus is belittling the greatness of his predecessor by placing the least in the Kingdom of Heaven above him. However, what Jesus aims at is not to disparage John the Baptist, but to teach us about the greatness of those who have been found worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus holds that the one who is worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven is holy and full of virtues. Thus, the person, though termed as ‘the least’ in the Kingdom of Heaven, is not someone ordinary by virtue of his/her holiness and sanctification. Hence, to state that someone is worthy of God’s Kingdom amounts to saying that the person is a spiritual elite in the eyes of God.
In addition, in his praise for the greatness of the least in the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus lets us see ‘the spiritual great’ that we can become. If we conduct ourselves worthy in God’s ways, we can be rated greater than John the Baptist himself, though no one among those born of women has been regarded greater than him.
In sum, Jesus does not put his predecessor down but is interested in showing who his disciples can rise up to be and become. It is also Jesus’ assurance that there is no limit to who his disciples can blossom into.
Let us pray that we may grow in our holiness and virtue to be found worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar
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Jesus was taken up by the asceticism, resoluteness, commitment and valour of his cousin John. But when he praises him, he is reminded 🫂f the LEAST in the Kingdom, the ordinary people who may not be ascetics, but they are God’s delight!