Epistle: Ephesians 4:1–6
Gospel: Matthew 22:34–46
Liturgical Rank: II Class – Green Vestments
Date: Early October
“In One Body and One Spirit” — The Call to Unity in Charity
St. Paul, writing to the Ephesians, exhorts the faithful:
“I therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called, with all humility and mildness, with patience, supporting one another in charity; careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1–3).
This Sunday’s Epistle resounds like a gentle but firm summons to the soul: unity, humility, and peace are not mere virtues among others—they are the very condition of belonging to the Mystical Body of Christ. As St. John Chrysostom comments:
“Nothing so provokes God’s anger as division in the Church. Nothing so delights Him as the bond of charity whereby we are made one.” (Hom. in Eph. 9).
Unity in the Spirit does not mean uniformity of temperament or station, but harmony in grace and truth. The Apostle continues:
“One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all.” (Eph. 4:5–6).
Here is the heartbeat of the Church: one faith, one sacramental life, one divine Fatherhood that binds the many into the One. St. Augustine saw in this unity the reflection of the divine Trinity itself—unum in essentia, trinum in personis—a sacred image reflected in the communion of believers. Thus, to preserve unity is to mirror the inner life of God.
The Greatest Commandment and the Mystery of the Christ
In the Gospel (Matt. 22:34–46), Our Lord silences the Pharisees and scribes with two sublime utterances: first, the summary of all the Law and Prophets in the twin commandment of love; second, His own revelation as the divine Son of David.
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. And the second is like to this: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Matt. 22:37–39)
St. Augustine comments that “the love of God and the love of neighbor are not two loves, but one—because he who loves God rightly must love all whom God loves.” (De Trinitate, VIII.8)
Thus, the unity St. Paul exhorts in the Epistle is founded upon the very law of charity which Christ proclaims in the Gospel. Charity is not only the bond of perfection, as St. Paul says elsewhere (Col. 3:14), but the very essence of divine unity translated into human hearts.
Then the Lord poses His mysterious question:
“What think you of Christ? Whose son is He?”
They say to Him, “David’s.”
He saith to them, “How then doth David in spirit call Him Lord, saying: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand, until I make thy enemies thy footstool?” (Matt. 22:42–44)
The Fathers see here a revelation of the Incarnation’s mystery: the Messiah is both Son of David and Lord of David—true man and true God. St. Ambrose writes:
“David calls Him Lord, because though He is his son according to the flesh, He is his Lord according to His divine nature.” (Expos. in Luc., X.121)
By silencing the Pharisees, Christ reveals that only divine Wisdom can unite what human intellect cannot—divinity and humanity, justice and mercy, the infinite and the finite. Just as the Epistle exhorts unity in the Church, the Gospel unveils its divine foundation: the unity of God and man in the Person of Christ.
Liturgical Resonance
In the ancient liturgy, this Sunday’s Collect prays:
“Da, quaesumus, Domine, populo tuo diabolica vitare contagia, et te solum Deum pura mente sectari.”
“Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord, to Thy people grace to avoid the contagions of the devil, and with pure mind to follow Thee, the only God.”
This prayer echoes the theme of the readings: purity of heart leads to unity in faith and love. To follow God “with a pure mind” is to walk “worthy of the vocation” we have received. Division and impurity—whether of doctrine, will, or heart—are the true contagions of the devil, seeking to fracture the Body of Christ.