Where is Christ's priesthood today?

Good News Reflection
Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
January 17, 2011

Today's Saint: Anthony the Abbot
Pray for freedom from attachments:
http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/AnthonyAbbot.htm

Today’s Readings:
Heb 5:1-10
Ps 110:1-4
Mark 2:18-22
http://www.usccb.org/nab/011711.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_01_17.mp3

Where is Christ's priesthood today?

Jesus is a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. So says today's first reading, which quotes today's responsorial psalm. What does this mean? Just who was Melchizedek?

Jesus was not born in the LINE of Melchizedek; Melchizedek was not in his family tree. Melchizedek wasn't even a Jew; therefore, he was never a priest of the Covenant. The writer of this Letter to the Hebrews was not using a Hebrew example to help the readers understand who Jesus is.

Melchizedek was a Canaanite priest-king who lived at the time of Abraham. He ruled the town of Salem, which means "peace". Nearly a thousand years later, a young Hebrew king, David, conquered it and renamed it Jerusalem.

Melchizedek met Abram (later called Abraham) when Abram settled in Canaan with his family. Melchizedek worshipped God with him as they agreed to a peace treaty. He sealed this covenant with bread and wine, praying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand" (see Genesis 14:18-20).

Jesus is this kind of priest-king. Like Melchizedek, he offers peace and seals the promise with bread and wine, although now it becomes his own body and blood. With this new covenant, his kingly priesthood takes the order of Melchizedek to its highest level and it's greatest benefit. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus gives us complete and everlasting peace.

Jesus is the new wine skin that he speaks of in today's Gospel reading. The old wine skin – the priesthood of the old covenant – consisted of sinful kings and sinful priests. Through the gift of the Eucharist, the sinless Jesus became the ultimate king, ruling in peace, and a new type of priest, atoning for the sins of all who seek his peace.

Jesus became our high priest when he offered the sacrifice of his own body and blood as the new bread and new wine to seal our salvation in the only perfect peace treaty. This is the meaning of the Eucharist.

The Christian priesthood – i.e., the priesthood of Christ lived out in those who are called and ordained – is the continuation of Christ's sacrificial presence among us. Every personal sacrifice that a priest makes today (not marrying, middle-of-night hospital calls, etc.) is a gift of Jesus to the world. Even when a priest is a horrific sinner, the work of Christ is still always valid in him, always real, because it's not the sinning priest who consecrates the bread and wine; it is Christ himself.

© 2010 by Terry A. Modica
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