December 20, 2021

Our collect for the Fourth Sunday of Advent describes you as a “mansion.” Have you ever thought of yourself as a mansion? Or are you more an A-Frame? A squat brick ranch? Those with more developed senses of self might think of themselves as a stately Georgian. But a mansion?

The idea is biblical. St. Paul says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you are bought with a price.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

You are of immeasurable, unquantifiable value; ransomed by the blood of Christ.

“Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.” (Fourth Sunday of Advent – BCP)