 |
| “The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek” by Pieter Pauwel Rubens, 1625 |
Reading 1: Hebrews 5:1-10
Brothers and sisters:
Every high priest is taken
from among men
and made their representative
before God,
to offer gifts and sacrifices
for sins.
He is able to deal patiently
with the ignorant and erring,
for he himself is beset by
weakness
and so, for this reason, must
make sin offerings for himself
as well as for the people.
No one takes this honor upon
himself
but only when called by God,
just as Aaron was.
In the same way,
it was not Christ who
glorified himself in becoming high priest,
but rather the one who said
to him:
You are my Son:
this day I have begotten you;
just as he says in another
place,
You are a priest forever
according to the order of
Melchizedek.
In the days when he was in
the Flesh,
he offered prayers and
supplications with loud cries and tears
to the one who was able to
save him from death,
and he was heard because of
his reverence.
Son though he was, he learned
obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,
he became the source of
eternal salvation for all who obey him.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Heb 5:1-10
This is an important passage from the standpoint of understanding
the call to ministry, especially the Priesthood. It is frequently used at ordinations and
provides an understanding of what it means to be called to a vocation; “No one takes this
honor upon himself but only when called by God.”
“Priests are mediators between man and God. As such they must be united with men and
called by God. The priests of Israel,
who traced their lineage to Aaron and his sons, were united with men in the
weakness of human sin and were called by God to an earthly priesthood (Exodus 28:1-4; 40:12-15).
Jesus, too, was united with men in his human nature (Hebrews 2:14); however, unlike the Aaronic priests,
he was free from sin (Hebrews 4:15) and was
called by God to a heavenly priesthood (v. 5-6; Hebrews 8:1-4). Priestly ministry is a
vocation from God, not volunteer work that men can take upon themselves (CCC 1539, 1578).”[4]
The second part of the reading continues with Christ’s own
call. The author captures Christ’s
humanity in this description. The
reference to the “order of Melchizedek”, the priest King, first
identified in Genesis 14:18 and referenced again in Psalm
110:4. The image of
Melchizedek is used to prefigure Christ, the Messiah who is Priest, Prophet and
King. This same indelible character is imposed upon those called to God’s
service in the priesthood.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 110:1, 2, 3, 4
R. (4b) You are a priest for ever, in the line of
Melchizedek.
The LORD said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
till I make your enemies your
footstool.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of
Melchizedek.
The scepter of your power the
LORD will stretch forth from Zion
“Rule in the midst of your
enemies.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of
Melchizedek.
“Yours is princely power in
the day of your birth, in holy splendor;
before the daystar, like the
dew, I have begotten you.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of
Melchizedek.
The LORD has sworn, and he
will not repent:
“You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of
Melchizedek.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 110:1, 2, 3, 4
Psalm 110 is one of the Royal
Psalms. In these strophes we find the
reference point used in the Hebrews 5:1-10. The
psalmist, David, reflects upon his call as king to serve the people. The final
verse specifically mentions the High Priest Melchizedek.
Melchizedek was the ancient king of Salem (Jerusalem) who blessed Abraham (Genesis 14:18-20); like
other kings of the time he performed priestly functions.
Psalm 110 thanks God for earthly
authority, recognizing that it is only through His strength that authority is
exercised. Using Melchizedek as an arch example, he was a secular king in the
time of Abraham who ruled on the spiritual side as well. Though he was not of
the Hebrew race, he was none the less chosen by God to be priest not of the
line of Aaron. Since the ancient text refer neither to his lineage nor his
death, his office is seen as eternal (“You
are a priest forever…”)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Mark 2:18-22
The disciples of John and of
the Pharisees were accustomed to fast.
People came to Jesus and
objected,
“Why do the disciples of John
and the disciples of the Pharisees fast,
but your disciples do not
fast?”
Jesus answered them,
“Can the wedding guests fast
while the bridegroom is with them?
As long as they have the
bridegroom with them they cannot fast.
But the days will come when
the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast on
that day.
No one sews a piece of
unshrunken cloth on an old cloak.
If he does, its fullness
pulls away,
the new from the old, and the
tear gets worse.
Likewise, no one pours new
wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the wine will
burst the skins,
and both the wine and the
skins are ruined.
Rather, new wine is poured
into fresh wineskins.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mk 2:18-22
In response to the question by the Pharisees, Jesus uses an Old
Testament metaphor in which God’s relation to his covenant people is a marriage
(see Hosea 2:16-20, Isaiah 54:5-6, Jeremiah 2:2, Ezekiel 16:32 ff) “Can the wedding guests fast?: the bridal metaphor
expresses a new relationship of love between God and his people in the person
and mission of Jesus to his disciples. It is the inauguration of the new and
joyful messianic time of fulfillment and the passing of the old. Any attempt at
assimilating the Pharisaic practice of fasting, or of extending the preparatory
discipline of John's disciples beyond the arrival of the bridegroom, would be
as futile as sewing a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak or pouring new
wine into old wineskins with the resulting destruction of both cloth and wine (Mark
2:21-22). Fasting is rendered
superfluous during the earthly ministry of Jesus; cf Mark
2:20.”[5]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
What
immediately attracts our attention today is the first reading from Hebrews that
speaks of the call to service. While Melchizedek is the archetype for the modern Priest,
his ancient role is instructive for us as well.
It seems that Melchizedek was a secular king and he was deputized by
Abraham to perform priestly tasks for the people.
In that same sense we are
called to be a “priestly people” ministering to one another. Just as the bridal metaphor used again today
is a symbol of God’s love for his people, so we are called, by Jesus’ example
to demonstrate that same love to our brothers and sisters. As usual, this is the difficult part of our
calling. But this is one we can put on
someone else. If we ask ourselves why we
are ignoring our baser impulses and sacrificing for the sake of others, we can
tell others, “God made us do it.” For,
hopefully, it is for His greater glory that we do these things and it is only
with His help that we accomplish any good result.
Too often, however, we fall
into the trap of our human desires. We
seek our own comfort in the face of a need to help our friends and even family
as they face difficult times. It is at
these times when the Bride becomes the harlot, seeking her own ends rather than
the good of all desired by the Bridegroom.
That image comes in many places from the Old Testament when the Covenant
People ignore the will of God and seek their own ends. It is a challenge not only of our spiritual
leaders but for ourselves to constantly check our motives and actions. Through prayer and meditation we continue to
discern the way forward.
The Bridegroom is no longer
with us in the flesh and we miss him always.
However, we have the Holy Spirit which he left for us as guide and
sanctifier. That same spirit that
creates the archetype of Melchizedek in our priests who lead us spiritually,
leads us individually as well. We pray
today that we follow the Lord faithfully as a dutiful bride follows her loving
Groom.
Pax
[1]
ALTRE
[2]
The picture today is “The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek” by Pieter Pauwel
Rubens, 1625
[3]
The readings are taken from the New
American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were
developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by
USCCB and is for private use only.
[4]
Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco , CA. pp. 421
[5]
See NAB footnote for MK 2:18-22
No comments:
Post a Comment