This brief passage at the beginning of the fourth chapter of Ephesians is like the hinge on a diptych. In chapters one to three, Paul has laid the foundation for our calling or election by God into the covenant with Christ that overcomes the barrier between Jew and Gentile. In chapter four he will focus on the structure and the ministries of the church which is Christ's Body. Chapter 4:1-6 at once sums up and propels us forward, from our faith in the one God known in Trinity to our unity with one another.

In Ephesians, Paul expresses a breathtaking vision of the unity of the universe in Christ. Often termed the Cosmic Christ in the Ephesian and Colossian letters, here is a vision of humanity renewed. But as with all visions, it must begin somewhere, so Paul comes down to the ground and gives us the broken wall between Jew and Gentile, from which we move out to see that any wall can be broken.

Fr. Gabriel addresses particularly the catechumens who were chrismated this weekend at St. Anthony but the message is for all. We concentrate on the truth that the Church is the Mysteries and the Mystery is Christ and the Mystery of Christ comes to us in the Mysteries. What blocks our vision and our behavior is the clouding of reason and the pursuit of the passions. Many people in our age think of these distortions as normal. God has more in store for us, as Fr. Gabriel attempts to expounds this week, with Ephesians as the ground for consideration.

In our readings through the epistles and the whole New Testament we use lectio continua, meaning that we read straight through a particular book day by day. This means that whole chunks of books may not be preaching texts. This week Fr. Gabriel attempts to cover the main points in the Epistle to the Galatians before Paul signs off in chapter 6. At the heart are his words: "God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ..."

This week we see a crucial difference in prepositions. Most translations of Galatians 2:16 speak of justification through faith in Christ; of older translations, only the KJV reads "through the faith of Christ." This is an important distinction, as father Gabriel shows. In Galatians, Paul emphasizes our inheritance of a covenant relationship with God, which he demonstrates in the case of Abraham (chapter 3) and which governs his thought: we enter relationship with God through Christ, who is the trustee of God's grace toward us.

As we begin the reading through Paul's magisterial Epistle to the Galatians, Fr. Gabriel brings an overview of Paul's mission efforts. How did Paul perceive himself within Judaism, and what was his mission intended to do? We also consider some of the misunderstandings or Paul's teaching that have grown over the years.

This week Fr. Gabriel explores the Epistle lesson from II Corinthians 11:31-12:9. Here we see Paul as Christ-mystic and also Paul as faithful person capable of understanding suffering within the framework of God's Presence. This pericope contains the famous passage many people know and have repeated over the course of their lives: "My grace is sufficient for you, and my power is made perfect in weakness."

This week Fr. Gabriel considers the Epistle lesson, II Corinthians 9:6-11, and its preceding chapter and following verses. He works with the text regarding Paul's request for an offering grounded in the grace which has fulfilled the lives of the Corinthian Christians from three angles: the church's abilities at responding to human needs out of mercy over against the industry of service; the false gospel of prosperity that is given the lie by Paul's text; and the inner strength that we receive in terms of meaning and purpose in life through the grace of Christ, a strength and fulfillment so obviously lacking in contemporary society and whose loss was again demonstrated in the tragic events in Oregon this past week.

Fr. Gabriel considers the conclusion of II Corinthians 6, where Paul enjoins his hearers to thread a way through the culture that honors commitment to Christ without caving in to the Zeitgeist.The early Fathers of the Church stressed that we need to make individual decisions that will bring us into the light rather than into the darkness. Each cultural issue must be taken on its own merit, and we can enter into alliances with others for social good without knowing everything about their positions. We have to remain vigilant but at the same time we need to be open to alliances for the overall benefit of the culture in which we find ourselves.

Fr. Gabriel continues with the resurrection Epistles from II Corinthians, this week from the sixth chapter. In the first verses of this chapter, Paul urges his hearers not to receive the Gospel "in vain." We will consider what this means, working from Paul's statement of the gracious gift of God that concludes chapter 5. Paul's use of the Servant Poem from Isaiah 49 sets up his audience to hear about their reception of the "mighty acts of God" in the person of Christ.