Our First Readings this week are taken from St. Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews. Today’s reading (Hebrews 7:1-3, 15-17) continues to reflect on the meaning of Jesus Christ as our priest. Today’s reading speaks of Jesus being “in the order of Melchizedek” and discusses both the similarities and differences between the Old Testament figure and Christ.
The author explores the significance of applying Psalm 110 (our Responsorial for today), “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek,” to Christ. Paul relies on the only reference to Melchizedek, a mysterious king-priest, in the Old Testament, where he is described as meeting with Abraham (Genesis 14). The author presumes that he belonged to the beliefs of Israel and not to some other religious group.
As Paul’s reading affirms, Melchizedek is the King of Salem and a priest of the Most High God. He encounters Abraham, who was returning from a battle, and blesses him. In return, Abraham gave him “one-tenth of everything”, suggesting that Melchizedek was superior to him. While so doing, we are told that Melchizedek “brought out bread and wine”, and perhaps it is this, in the mind of the author, that partly links Christ’s priesthood and that of Melchizedek, with overtones of the Eucharist.
We are told the “Melchizedek” means ‘king of righteousness’ and “Salem,” his kingdom, means ‘peace’. Notice that ‘Salem’ is part of the name of Jerusalem and also is the root for the Arabic word for peace, “salaam.” The messianic blessings of righteousness and peace are foreshadowed in these two names.
The more obvious link of Melchizedek with Christ is that Scripture states that Melchizedek has no father, mother or ancestry; The rabbis maintained that anything not mentioned in the Torah does not exist. Thus, his life has no recorded beginning or ending, something rather unusual for a personage in the Old Testament. In this he is seen to be similar to the Son of God, one who “remains a priest forever”. Consequently, since the Old Testament nowhere mentions Melchizedek’s ancestry, birth, or death, the conclusion can be drawn that he “remains…forever”.
This, says the Letter, is even more obvious when “another priest” appears, resembling Melchizedek in many ways. Like Melchizedek, Christ did not become our priest through the legal requirement of belonging to a particular priestly family (as in the case of the Levitical priesthood). Jesus actually belonged to the non-priestly tribe of Judah. Christ became priest “through the power of an indestructible life”, brought about by his resurrection. It is his being “raised up” that makes him our priest rather than his divine nature.
The reading concludes with a repetition of Psalm 110: “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”
Jesus, then, is our High Priest but on a totally different level from the priests of the Jerusalem Temple. Again, the writer is emphasizing to his Jewish readers the very different status of Jesus compared to the old order to which they are tempted to return.
Sometimes in our Church, we find ourselves hankering for the past and fail to embrace changes that an incarnated Church makes in an effort to communicate more effectively with a rapidly changing world. Sometimes those efforts work well, while others prove to be “non-starters”.
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!