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Night Office
First Reading Hebrews 7:1-11
Responsory
See Gn 14:18; Heb 7:3; Ps 110:5;
Heb 7:16
Melchizedek,
the king of Salem, offered bread and wine. He was a priest of God Most High
like Christ the Son of God, + to whom the Lord has sworn an oath:
V.
You are a priest for ever, of the order of Melchizedek. He became a priest, not
in virtue of a law concerning physical descent, but by the power of an
indestructible life. + To whom the ...
Second Reading From
the writings of — Cardinal Jean Daniélou,
S.J. (Le mystère de l’Avent, 60-66)
The priesthood of Melchizedek
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| Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek by Dieric Bouts the Elder, 1464–67 |
When Abraham inaugurated sacred history by leaving Haran in
response to the call of God and arriving in Canaan, he was greeted by a
mysterious personage about whom the sum of our knowledge is contained in two
verses of the book of Genesis: Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the most high God,
brought bread and wine and gave his blessing to Abraham, saying: May Abraham be
blessed by the most high God, who made heaven and earth.
This mysterious character assumes a major importance for
biblical thought. The hundred and tenth psalm sees in his priesthood the symbol
and type of the Messianic priesthood: You are a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek. The
New Testament invests Melchizedek with outstanding significance, declaring
through the writer to the Hebrews that he remains a priest for ever. What
is more, the same author pronounces the priesthood of Melchizedek to be
superior to the priesthood of the Levites, because the latter was only provisional
and would be rendered obsolete by the coming of Christ, whereas Melchizedek's
priesthood is eternal. This priesthood of Melchizedek's therefore was a
prefiguration of the priesthood of Christ, the true high priest, who has entered the
tabernacle as our forerunner, having been made high priest for ever after the
order of Melchizedek. The correspondence lies in the fact
that Melchizedek's priesthood was established not in accordance with the legal requirements of
physical descent, but according to the power of an indestructible life. That
is why Melchizedek resembles the Son of God.
Although the covenant between God and Abraham marked a new stage
and a step forward in God's plan, it may
also appear in some respects as if it were a step backward. Based on a covenant
made with all the nations, the religion of Melchizedek embraced the whole human
race, whereas the covenant with Abraham was confined to a single people. It
marked a narrowing of scope which, while admittedly of a provisional nature,
would exclude the gentile nations from the new covenant for nineteen hundred
years.
The priesthood of Melchizedek was not the privilege of a special
caste; his was a sacrifice every human being can offer, for all are priests of
the natural creation. "Melchizedek
had not been chosen by men," wrote Eusebius, "nor anointed with man-made oil." In Israel, on the
contrary, the carrying out of religious rites was to become the exclusive
prerogative of one tribe, the tribe of Levi, and members of other tribes were
to be debarred from the ministry. The sacrifice of Melchizedek was not
restricted to a particular place; it could be offered anywhere on earth.
It is clear then that in many respects the Christian liturgy
more nearly resembles the worship of Melchizedek than that of the Levites. Now
we begin to see why Paul set Melchizedek above Abraham. Melchizedek can well be
regarded as the figure, imperfect it is true but reflecting the likeness, of
him who was destined to be high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
Responsory
Heb 5:5-6;
7:21
Christ
did not take upon himself the honour of becoming high priest; he received it
from the One who said to him: + You are a priest for ever,
a priest like Melchizedek of old.
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