All the Blessings in Christ, Ephesians 1:3-14, Luke 2:41-52

In Ephesians 1, we hear from St. Paul of various spiritual blessings that are bestowed upon us through our union with Christ. Even the Holy Spirit himself is given to us on account of who Jesus is! Alongside that we hear of Jesus being in the Temple when he was twelve years old and amazing the teachers there of his understanding. What have these two things to do with each other? It all turns on the reality that all that Christ did is gifted to us that we might stand before the Father in Christ himself.

Image: Christ in the Temple, Heinrich Hofmann, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Photo taken by Elke Walford.

How Lovely is Your Dwelling Place!

The birth of Christ meant that God had entered into his own creation and made his dwelling amongst man in a man. Psalm 84 begins with the words, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD God of Hosts.” These words take on a new and deeper meaning in light of the incarnation and connects us also to the coming of the Magi at Epiphany. Listen now to hear Father Jeremiah expand upon this beautiful truth.

Image: From The 'De Grey' Hours, depicting the adoration of the Magi. Author of the book is unknown. [CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication] Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:De_Grey_Hours_f.71.r_Adoration_of_the_Magi.png