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Ordinary Time · Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time · Year B

Ephesians 5:21-32 or Ephesians 5:2a, 25-32

Christ and the Church

August 22, 2027

The Jewish Bride, Rembrandt van Rijn
The Jewish Bride, Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1665–1669Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Nobody knows who they are or what the title means; it was attached two centuries later. Van Gogh said he would give ten years of his life to sit in front of it for a fortnight.These readings use marriage for what God is doing, and this is the most convincing painting of tenderness between two people in European art.Rembrandt van RijnRembrandt (1606-1669) painted scripture as if it had happened in a room he had been in, and returned to the same stories across forty years, changing his mind about them in public.Rijksmuseum, AmsterdamThe Netherlands' national museum, built around the Dutch Golden Age and reopened in 2013 after a ten-year rebuilding.Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Roman Lectionary
GospelJohn 6:60-69Jn 6:60-69
Second ReadingEph. 5:21-32Eph 5:21-32 orEph. 5:2a, 25-32Eph 5:2a, 25-32
First ReadingJosh. 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18bJos 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b
Responsorial PsalmPs. 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19, 20-21 (9a)Ps 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19, 20-21 (9a)

Overview & Insights

"This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church." (Ephesians 5:32)

Paul calls believers to be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ and frames marriage in that light. He reads the union of husband and wife as a sign of the deeper mystery of Christ's love for the church.

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Take it further: Ephesians 5:21-32 or Ephesians 5:2a, 25-32

Commentary

Ephesians 5: Marriage and the Mystery of ChristEph 5: Marriage and the Mystery of Christ Enduring Word · David Guzik

David Guzik's verse by verse evangelical commentary on submission, marriage, and the church.

Ephesians 5:22-33 CommentaryEph 5:22-33 Commentary Precept Austin

A deep gathering of word studies and cross references verse by verse on husbands, wives, and Christ and the church.

Ephesians 5:21 CommentariesEph 5:21 Commentaries BibleHub

Aggregates classic commentaries on mutual submission and the marriage mystery in one place.

Barnes' Notes on Ephesians 5Barnes' Notes on Eph 5 StudyLight

Albert Barnes' notes on the whole chapter of Ephesians 5.

Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B): Readings Agape Bible Study

A Catholic reading study that opens Paul's image of Christ and the church.

Background & Word Study

Ephesians 5:21 Greek InterlinearEph 5:21 Greek Interlinear BibleHub

Greek word by word with parsing and Strong's numbers for mutual submission and the marriage mystery.

Book of Ephesians OverviewBook of Eph Overview BibleProject

An animated overview of Ephesians and its vision of unity in Christ.

The Church Fathers

Catena on Ephesians 5Catena on Eph 5 Catena

Patristic comments verse by verse on marriage and the mystery of Christ and the church.

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