I think we all have in our minds the imagery of Jesus as priest, prophet and king. Today, in our reading from the Letter to the Hebrews, the author reflects upon the significance of Jesus as our priest, speaking of Jesus being in the order of Melkizedek. Psalm 110 states, “You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.” The author applies this psalm to Christ. Melkizedek is a mysterious king-priest in the Old Testament as he is described as meeting with Abraham in the 14th chapter of Genesis. Malkizedek encountered Abraham who was returning from a battle, giving Abraham a blessing. In return, Abraham gave him “one-tenth of everything.” Melkizedek brought out bread and wine; perhaps this partly links Christ’s priesthood and that of Melkizedek, alluding to the Eucharist.
The author states that Christ has become our priest “by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed,” which is through his resurrection. Jesus is our priest in a different way from the priests in the Temple in Jerusalem. In fact, in ancient Israel, priesthood was considered an office, not a vocation. Prophets were chosen by God, and often kings, but the only vocation from God in reference to priests is the choosing of the tribe of Levi. The author emphasizes this to his Jewish audience in order to encourage them on their journey of faith as followers of Christ, to convince them not to leave their Christian faith.
When I was in seminary at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Milwaukee, we took a course on the spirituality of the priesthood, taught by Father Don Hying. He later became auxiliary Bishop of Milwaukee, the Bishop of Gary, Indiana, and the Bishop of Madison, Wisconsin. Every day at the beginning of class, Father Hying we read us a passage from the Letter to the Hebrews as our opening prayer. I remember that very clearly as we listen to this passage from the Letter to the Hebrews today.
No comments:
Post a Comment