You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek, we sing as our Psalm response today. This little-known biblical person is central in our Hebrew Scripture reading today. He visits Abram early in his faith story (before God changed his name to Abraham). Melchizedek is both “priest of God Most High” and king of Salem (Jerusalem). Early Christian theologians saw Melchizedek “foreshadowing” the figure of Jesus. Why? Because in today’s reading, Melchizedek provides bread and wine, and then, speaking for God, he blesses Abram and assures him of God’s continuing support. That covenant relationship between Abram and God becomes more explicit in later Bible stories about Abram (Abraham). Jesus is the giver of a new covenant. He provides the bread to feed the crowds in today’s Gospel, and later on he uses bread and wine to institute the Eucharist.
We hear about that in our second reading (1 Cor 11:23-26) — the Scripture that includes the words we hear in all the different Eucharistic Prayers during the Consecration at Mass: “…this is my body that is for you … this cup is the new covenant in my blood…” Melchizedek is treasured by priests because he is someone who, like them, connects “God Most High” with the covenanted people of God. The letter to the Hebrews, written toward the end of the first century, tells us that it is Christ who is the “high priest in the order of Melchizedek.” Our liturgical theology teaches that it is Christ who actually is priest at every Mass. Our priests are “in persona Christi,” or “in the person of Christ,” especially when they bless bread and wine, offer it to the Father, and share it with the people. “In persona Christi” means priests at Mass are sacramentally in union with Christ so that they speak for him as He offers an eternal sacrifice of thanksgiving for us to His Father. So today perhaps we can pray for our priests, and for vocations to priesthood, as we once again are privileged to receive the body and blood of the Lord.
— Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia
The post June 22, The Body & Blood of Christ, Melchizedek: a Sunday Scriptures blog first appeared on Sisters of the Precious Blood.