Christian Art | Jesus As A Boy Disputes In The Temple
Office Of Readings | Week 20, Saturday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Discourses Of Saint Ambrose On The Psalms | Through His Blood, Jesus Christ Reconciled The World To God
‘Through his blood, Jesus Christ reconciled the world to God.’
Saint Ambrose of Milan continues his exposition of the psalms by dwelling on the theme of Jesus Christ as the universal reconciler. His reflection builds on two interconnected truths: the sinlessness of Christ and the all-sufficiency of his sacrifice.
The argument begins with the episode of the temple tax (Mt 17:24–27). Ambrose interprets this incident as an enacted parable of Christ’s freedom from sin. The temple tax, associated with offerings of atonement (cf. Ex 30:11–16), symbolised humanity’s indebtedness before God. Jesus, however, declares himself exempt, since he is the true Son, not a servant under bondage. Yet, for the sake of others, he consents to pay, not out of necessity but out of humility and to avoid scandal. The miracle of the coin in the fish’s mouth underscores the gratuitous character of this payment: Christ gives not what is required of him but what is given for the sake of others.
Ambrose then expands this principle into a theology of redemption. Since Christ has no sin, he owes no ransom for himself. His sacrifice, therefore, is offered wholly for others. Moreover, the price of his blood is not limited to one person or one offering, but is sufficient for the redemption of the entire world. Ambrose contrasts this universality with the limitations of human sacrifice: no individual’s blood, however precious, could redeem even themselves, still less others. Only Christ, sinless and divine, can make satisfaction for all.
Ambrose then draws a pastoral implication: since Christ has once and for all made propitiation, no other atoning sacrifice is necessary. There is no need for each individual to offer their own blood, because Christ has already accomplished redemption universally and definitively. This emphasises both the singularity and the finality of the cross.
Ambrose concludes by returning to the words of Christ: ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.’ (Mt 11:28) Reconciliation is not merely a transaction but a sharing of burdens. Christ not only cancels humanity’s debt but takes its weight upon himself. The commentary thus ties together theological reflection with a note of consolation: the universal redeemer is also the one who invites the weary into rest.
This passage exemplifies Ambrose’s theological clarity: Christ’s sinlessness grounds his capacity to redeem; his blood is sufficient for all; reconciliation is universal, final, and pastoral in its effect.
A Reading From The Discourses Of Saint Ambrose On The Psalms | Through His Blood, Jesus Christ Reconciled The World To God
When Christ reconciled the world to God he himself was certainly not in need of reconciliation. What sin could he do penance for, when he had no sin in him? Moreover, when the Jews were asking for the half-shekel, the offering given for sin according to the Law, he said to Peter: ’Simon, what is your opinion? From whom do the kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their sons or from foreigners?’ And when Peter replied, ‘From foreigners’, Jesus said, ‘Well then, the sons are exempt. However, so as not to offend these people, go to the lake and cast a hook; take the first fish that bites, open its mouth and there you will find a shekel; take it and give it to them for me and for you.’
He showed that he does not owe an offering for any sin of his own, for he was not a slave of sin: the Son of God was free from all fault. For the son gives freedom; it is the slave who is guilty. So Jesus is completely free, and he does not make payment to redeem his soul. The price of his blood was more than enough to redeem all the sins of the entire world. It is right that he who owes nothing for himself should be able to give freedom to others.
Let me say more. Christ owes nothing for his own redemption and owes nothing as propitiation for sin. But more than that, if you consider any one of us then you will see that none of us owes anything as a propitiatory offering, because Christ himself is that offering, the offering for all and the redemption of all.
What man’s blood now has the power to redeem him, when Christ has shed his own blood for the redemption of all? Is there anyone whose blood could be compared to Christ’s? Or what man is so powerful that he could make an offering of propitiation greater than the offering that Christ made of himself when he alone reconciled the world to God by his blood? What greater sacrificial victim can there be, what superior sacrifice, what better advocate could there be than Christ, who became the atonement for the sins of all, who gave his life for our redemption?
Individual propitiation, individual redemption is not needed, because the blood of Christ is the price of all. By that blood the Lord Jesus redeemed us, and he alone has reconciled us to the Father. He laboured at this to the end, for he took our own burdens on himself when he said, Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.
Christian Prayer With Jesus Christ
O Christ our Redeemer,
sinless Son of the Father,
whose blood reconciled the world to God,
you owed nothing, yet you paid the debt of all.
Take upon yourself our burdens,
give rest to the weary,
and grant that we may live in the freedom of your redemption,
until we are brought into the fullness of your peace,
who live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
Glossary Of Christian Terms
Reconciliation: The restoration of right relationship between God and humanity, achieved through Christ’s sacrifice.
Temple tax (half-shekel): A levy in the Law of Moses associated with offerings of atonement (Ex 30:11–16). Ambrose reads it as symbolic of sin’s debt.
Sinlessness of Christ: The belief that Jesus was without sin (Heb 4:15), enabling him to be a perfect sacrifice.
Propitiation: An offering that turns aside wrath or satisfies the demands of justice; Christ is the final propitiatory sacrifice (Rom 3:25).
Redemption: The act of buying back or liberating from slavery; in Christian theology, the liberation of humanity from sin and death by Christ’s sacrifice.
Sacrificial victim: In biblical religion, the offering presented to God in atonement; Christ is seen as the perfect and final sacrificial victim.
Advocate: One who intercedes on behalf of another; Christ is the supreme advocate before the Father (1 Jn 2:1).
Saint Ephraem’s homily on the Cross is shaped by the paradox at the heart of the Paschal mystery: that death is undone by death. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, takes on flesh so that he might enter into death, not as a victim, but as a conqueror. Ephraem does not reason this out philosophically, nor does he dwell on emotional pathos. Instead, he draws out the inner structure of salvation as something enacted by God in the flesh, and received by us in faith [ … ]
Saint Charles Borromeo reflects on Advent as the ‘acceptable time’, drawing from Saint Paul’s language to describe a season charged with divine initiative. His tone is pastoral and earnest, urging the faithful not merely to recall a historical event but to participate anew in the grace that Christ’s coming has unleashed. For Saint Charles, the whole mystery of salvation is concentrated in this season: the Father’s mercy, the sending of the Son, the overthrow of Satan’s tyranny, the revelation of truth, the training in virtue, and the inheritance of eternal life. Advent is therefore not only a commemoration but a living conduit of God’s saving work [ … ]
Christian Art | Our Lord Jesus On The Cross | God The Father | God The Son Office Of Readings | Advent December 23rd | A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Hippolytus Against The Heresy Of Noetus | The Hidden Sacrament Is Revealed ‘The hidden sacrament is revealed.’ In this reading, Saint Hippolytus writes against the Noetic heresy, which denied the real distinction between the Father and the Son by treating them as the same person acting under different names. The purpose of Saint Hippolytus is to defend the Church’s confession of one God who is not solitary, but who exists with his Word and Spirit. Hippolytus begins by setting a principle: knowledge of God comes from the Holy Scriptures, not from speculation or private reasoning. Faith is not shaped by human preference but by what God has chosen to reveal. The Father determines how He is believed, the Son how He is glorified, and the Spirit how He is received. This establishes Scripture as the rule of faith and guards against theological invention. Hippolytus then affirms that God existed alone before creation, with nothing co-eternal alongside Him. At the same time, God was not without reason, wisdom, or power. Hippolytus insists that plurality within God does not compromise divine unity. God contains within himself Word, wisdom, and counsel. Creation begins when God wills and manifests His Word. The Word is not created from nothing but proceeds from God and acts as the agent of creation. The Word is first invisible to the created world, though known to God. When God chooses, He makes the Word visible, described as ‘Light of Light’. This language safeguards both distinction and unity: the Word comes from God and reveals God, without being separate from Him. The manifestation of the Word is ordered towards salvation, so that the world may see and be saved. Hippolytus identifies this Word clearly with the Son of God. Through him all things were made, and he alone comes forth from the Father. The Law and the prophets belong to the same saving plan. God speaks through them by the Holy Spirit, so that they proclaim not their own ideas but the Father’s will. Revelation is therefore coherent: creation, prophecy, and incarnation belong to one divine purpose. Hippolytus appeals to the Gospel of John to show continuity between prophecy and fulfilment. The Word spoken of by the prophets is the Word made flesh. Though the world was made through him, it failed to recognise him. This failure does not negate God’s plan but reveals the depth of the mystery now disclosed. A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Hippolytus Against The Heresy Of Noetus | The Hidden Sacrament Is Revealed There is, brethren, one God, the knowledge of whom we gain from the Holy Scriptures and from no other source. Whatever things the Holy Scriptures declare, at these let us look; and whatever they teach, let us learn it; and as the Father wills our belief to be, let us believe; and as he wills the Son to be glorified, let us glorify him; and as he wills the Holy Spirit to be bestowed, let us receive him. Not according to our own will, nor according to our own mind, nor yet storming by force the things which are given by God, but even as he has chosen to teach them by the Holy Scriptures, so let us discern them. God, subsisting alone, and having nothing coeval with himself, chose to create the world. And conceiving the world in mind, and willing and uttering the Word, he made it; and at once it appeared, formed it in the way he desired. For us it is sufficient simply to know that nothing was coeval with God. Outside him there was nothing; but he, while existing alone, yet existed in plurality. For he did not lack reason, or wisdom, or power, or counsel. All things were in him, and he was the All. At a time and in a manner chosen by him he made his Word manifest, and through his Word he made all things. He bears this Word in himself, as yet invisible to the created world. He makes him visible, uttering the voice first, and begetting him as Light of Light. He presents him to the world as its Lord; and whereas the Word was visible formerly to God alone, and invisible to the world which is made, God makes the Word visible in order that the world might see him and be able to be saved. This is the mind which came forth into the world and was manifested as the Son of God. All things came into being through him, and he alone comes from the Father. He gave us the Law and the prophets; and in giving them, he made them speak by the Holy Ghost, in order that, receiving the inspiration of the Father’s power, they might declare the Father’s counsel and will. Thus, then, was the Word made manifest, even as the blessed John says. For he sums up the things that were said by the prophets, and shows that this is the Word, by whom all things were made. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by him, and without him nothing was made. And later, The world was made by him, and the world did not know him; he came to his own, and his own did not receive him. Christian Prayer With Jesus Lord God,You are one, and from You come the Word and the Spirit.You have chosen to make Yourself known, not by human effort,but by what You have revealed in the scriptures. You spoke Your Word, and all things were made.You made that Word visible, so that the world might see and be saved.Grant that we may receive what You give,believe what You teach,and worship You as You have shown Yourself to be. Keep us […]
