Holy Martyr Callistratus and His Companions; Our Venerable Father Nilus, Founder and Hegumen of the Grottaferrata Monastery
Ephesians 2:19-3:7; Mark 11:11-23
Read Ephesians 2:19-3:7
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
St. Paul reminds the Ephesians of the great dignity that they have received in being united to Christ Jesus in and through their faith. They have become fellow citizens with the saints; members of the household of God; they stand on a foundation that goes back thousands of years. This foundation of all the righteous is held together by the Christ himself for he is the corner stone—without the cornerstone the entire building would fall apart. St. Paul is pointing out that Jesus, the Son and Word of God, was actively involved in the Old Testament guiding, blessing, instructing and sanctifying all God fearing people. This movement of salvation can be likened to building a beautiful Temple of the Lord. Remember that St. John in the book of Revelation sees in a vision the city of God, which as a whole is a Temple, fully completed and filled with the multitude of the saints—the number is innumerable. This is God’s project, which continues its progress until the end of history.
Lest we be distracted by the structure St. Paul reminds us that we are the work and pieces that are being built in order to become an adequate dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Each one of us is a precious part of the Temple of the Living God. What a beautiful and inspiring image we are given to contemplate? God is the Master Architect of all creation, who not only cares for the vision of the whole project, but for every individual brick.