Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost; The Holy Martyrs and Confessors Gurias, Samonas (284-305) and Abibus (313-24)
Ephesians 2:14-22; Luke 8:41-56
Nativity Fast
Read Ephesians 2:14-22
Anyone who has renovated a house becomes aware very quickly which walls can be torn down and which ones can’t. There can be a lot of variety in building approach and design, but underneath all that cosmetic covering is a skeleton designed to withstand the forces constantly working on the house from within and without.
In our reading today from Ephesians, St. Paul uses the analogy of a building to describe the Church. The weight of our hope does not rest on our talents and initiatives (as good or bad as those may be) but on the witness of the apostles and prophets. We are not standing on preference, expedience or even comfort in our faith, but we rest securely on the solid ground of the Tradition which has been entrusted to us. This is shown spectacularly in many churches with a dome supported by four columns or pillars. On these columns are traditionally depicted the four evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, whose writings in the gospels support our hope.
However, if we continue to look up, inside the dome itself is the “cornerstone,” Christ our Lord, who joins the structure together, and more, He joins together heaven and earth. Through His Incarnation, passion, death and resurrection, Christ has allowed us to be citizens of heaven and earth. This means that we are no longer strangers to the Lord or to one another but brother and sister and sons and daughters of the King!