Grace and peace (Ephesians 1:3-14)
It’s hard to greet people with a blessing without sounding ostentatiously pious.
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There’s a lot of theology packed into three sentences at the beginning of the letter to the Ephesians. They are preceded by an opening blessing: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” The subjunctive mode is inherently prayerful: may it be so. May you walk in grace and live in peace. More than an expression of goodwill, it reaffirms that all the words to come are wrapped in prayer that the writer’s words be instruments of grace and peace, however complex, admonitory, or confrontational they may seem. The blessing is a frame.
