The meaning of priest is
mediator. The original mediators of the Old Testament were the Jewish fathers
of families and their first-born sons in the line of Abraham, who mediated
between themselves and God by faith. This is represented by the “order of
Melchizedek.” But because of the idolatry of the Jews in worshiping the golden
calf, God took the priesthood from them and gave it to the tribe of Levi, to
slaughter the animals as sacrifice to the living God. Priesthood then was
reduced to an external mediation between “this” and “that,” people to God via
the symbolization of the animal. Thus the Levitical priesthood. Jesus Christ is
the meaning of living-faith. Christ did not believe. He obeyed with His human
will. But His obedience was the very giving of Himself to the Will of the
Father, and thus the restoration and fulfillment of Abrahamic faith as the gift
of self (Abraham had made the gift of himself in the sacrifice of his first
born of Sarah, Isaac). This gift of self is the meaning of faith, and the act
of priesthood. Thus, the act of faith is priesthood and the anthropology of
subjectivity whereby the self masters self, makes the gift of self and becomes
priest of one’s own existence. The mediation is between self and God in the
service of the others.
Now, consider St. Paul’s text from today (Friday of the 5th Week of Lent:
Hebrews 7:11-28
If perfection had been reached through the levitical priesthood
because the Law given to the nation rests on it, why was it still necessary for
a new priesthood to arise, one of the same order as Melchizedek not
counted as being ‘of the same order as’ Aaron? But any change in the priesthood
must mean a change in the Law as well.
So our Lord, of whom these things
were said, belonged to a different tribe, the members of which have never done
service at the altar; everyone knows he came from Judah, a tribe which Moses
did not even mention when dealing with priests.
This becomes even more clearly
evident when there appears a second Melchizedek, who is a priest not by virtue
of a law about physical descent, but by the power of an indestructible life.
For it was about him that the prophecy was made: You are a priest of
the order of Melchizedek, and for ever. The earlier commandment is
thus abolished, because it was neither effective nor useful, since the Law
could not make anyone perfect; but now this commandment is replaced by
something better – the hope that brings us nearer to God.
What is more, this was not done
without the taking of an oath. The others, indeed, were made priests without
any oath; but he with an oath sworn by the one who declared to him:The Lord
has sworn an oath which he will never retract: you are a priest, and for ever.And
it follows that it is a greater covenant for which Jesus has become our
guarantee. Then there used to be a great number of those other priests, because
death put an end to each one of them; but this one, because he remains for
ever, can never lose his priesthood. It follows, then, that his power
to save is utterly certain, since he is living for ever to intercede for all
who come to God through him.
To suit us, the ideal high priest
would have to be holy, innocent and uncontaminated, beyond the influence of
sinners, and raised up above the heavens; one who would not need to offer
sacrifices every day, as the other high priests do for their own sins and then
for those of the people, because he has done this once and for all by offering
himself. The Law appoints high priests who are men subject to weakness; but the
promise on oath, which came after the Law, appointed the Son who is made
perfect for ever.
Blogger: And
now, consider Scott Hahn’s rendering of
the recovery and final fulfillment of
priesthood in Christ as mediating between self and God. Note that this is the
meaning of man. It is Christian anthropology, and it can only be fully
formulated and understood in terms of subjectivity – the self – and Christ as
God-man, because, otherwise, how could
there be mediation if there were not
a Self Who gives, and a Self Who is given. The two elements are the divine (as
uncreated) and the human (as create d) and both one divine Person. The uncreated
divine “I” masters the created human will, that is HIS. And so, He
makes the Gift of Himself.
And this is the meaning of priesthood in Christ, and priesthood
in us. We are all called t be priests – through Baptism and Orders. There is
only one priesthood, that of Christ. But i essentially and irreducibly different
ways. The Common priesthood is gift of self to the world through secular work. The Ministaerial priesthood is gift of self by ordained ministers
to the laity. Yet both are priests of Jesus Christ. That includes women, of
course.
Scott Hahn:
The Eucharist as the Meal of Melchizedek
from a talk by Scott Hahn
“Jesus Christ is not a Levite so Old Testament Jews might be tempted to
say, "Well, he can't be a priest, then." But Hebrews is talking all
about the wilderness generation under Moses and how they committed idolatry and
rebelled against God and how God sent all these punishments. The first
rebellion was the Golden Calf, and the first punishment was to take the
priesthood away from the firstborn, which had been theirs for centuries, and to
give it to the Levites temporarily. What the writer of Hebrews is suggesting is
that Jesus Christ, God's Son, is righteous enough to restore the original
pattern of the father-son family priesthood, because this is a divine family
that God, through Christ, is adopting us into through the sacrifice of Christ.
“He is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. The word
"order" does not mean order like the Dominican Order. It means after
the manner of Melchizedek's priesthood. The writer goes on to make a big, sharp
contrast between the Levitical priests who continue to offer these animals in
sacrifice. They had to offer. They had to kill. They had to sacrifice millions
of sheep, millions of goats and millions of cattle with millions of gallons of
blood running down through the temple. Why? It was all after and because of the
Golden Calf, whereas before all of that, you had a father and a son and a clean
priesthood that Melchizedek represents. "After the manner of
Melchizedek" suggests that Melchizedek's manner of priestly sacrifice was
bread and wine. This is how all the early Fathers understood this, as well.
“Now, it says in Hebrews 7 in verse 18, "On the one hand a former
commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness, for the law
made nothing perfect. On the other hand, a better hope is introduced through
which we draw near to God." And it was not without an oath and it talks
about how God swore this oath, and the oath that has been talked about is the
oath that was sworn by God on Moriah where Christ was slain. Verse 22: This
makes Jesus the surety of a better covenant. The former priests were many in
number because they were prevented by death from continuing in office; whereas
Jesus is one. There's the single priesthood, and he lives forever up in heaven.
But he holds his priesthood permanently because he continues a priest forever.
Consequently, he is able for all times to save those who draw near to God
through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
"For it was fitting that we
should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, unstained, separated from
sinners, exalted above the heavens. He has no need like those high priests to
offer sacrifices daily." In other words to kill and to have blood shed
continuously. "...first for his own sins and then for those of the people.
He did this once for all when he offered up himself. Indeed, the law appoints
men in their weakness as high priests." That is the Levitical law that was
given after the Golden Calf, "...but the word of the oath which came later
than the law appoints a son who has been made perfect forever."
Now the point in what we are saying
is this. We have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the
throne of the Majesty in heaven. Notice that the Lamb is the one enthroned in
Revelation. The Lamb and the firstborn Son of the Passover is the priest who
ministers in a sanctuary, the heavenly sanctuary. He is a minister in a
sanctuary. It isn't complete. He is ministering in the heavenly sanctuary and
the true tabernacle which is set up not by man but by the Lord. "For every
high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices. Hence it is necessary
for this priest to have something to offer."
I read that a hundred times before
the obvious meaning hit me like a brick in the face. He is a priest in heaven
ministering now in the sanctuary and he's got something to offer and he's
continually offering it. He's just not bleeding and dying and suffering any
more. He's not killing any more animals, but he's continually offering the once
and for all sacrifice which is himself; but it's a continual sacrifice. It's a
perpetual offering. He's not dying, but he's still offering. That's exactly
what the Catholic Church teaches about the Mass. (Blogger’s emphasis).
In fact, we're going to be offering
this sacrifice forever in and through and with Christ. Not bloody animal
sacrifices but our hearts and our souls and our bodies in union with the One
whose body and blood, soul and divinity are perfect and pure -- the only
acceptable sacrifice which makes our otherwise unacceptable sacrifices
perfectly acceptable. "Holy and righteous," Paul says. He goes on
talking about the superiority of the New Covenant that Christ established.
"The days will come says the Lord when I will establish a New Covenant
with the House of Israel" (Jer. 31:31). Verse 9, "Not like the
covenant I made with your fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to
lead them out of the land
of Egypt Egypt
It won't be like that covenant
because this firstborn Son won't break it, and that's what makes it new.
"This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
And so he goes on in Hebrews 9 to
talk about the superiority. Back in the Old Testament, verse 9, we read,
"According to this Old Testament arrangement, gifts and sacrifices were
offered which cannot perfect the conscience of the worshipper. What is the
contrast implied? Back then sacrifices were offered which couldn't perfect the
worshipper's conscience, implying that in the New Covenant, what? Sacrifices
are offered which do perfect the conscience of the worshipper.
That's what the Eucharist does. It
cleanses our soul. It wipes away all venial sin. These Old Testament
sacrifices, verse 10, deal only with food and drink and various ablutions,
baptismois, in the Greek, regulations for the body imposed until the time of
reformation. Do you know when the real Reformation came? Not in 1517. The real
reformation came in the Upper Room when the Eucharist was instituted, when the
Catholic Church was formed. The time of reformation wiped away the weak
ineffective Old Testament sacrifices. To do away with all sacrifices
altogether? No. To initiate a new sacrifice which has intrinsic power to
cleanse our consciences.
Verse 11, now, "The one Christ
appeared as a High Priest of the good things that have come. Then through the
greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with human hands, that is not of
this creation, he entered once and for all into the holy place, that is heaven,
taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an
eternal redemption." He took his own blood up there. He's not bleeding in
the sense that he's suffering and dying, but he's up there as a Lamb looking as
though he's been slain, offering his own blood. That's a Eucharistic Passover
sacrifice and that's why the entire structure of Revelation is a Passover
liturgy.
And it goes on to talk about the Old
Testament's weakness in comparison with the New Testament's power. "For if
the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls or with the
ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more
shall the blood of Christ who through the Eternal Spirit offered himself
without blemish to God purify your conscience?" The body was cleansed
externally in the Old Testament sacrifices, but with Christ's Passover
sacrifice which he continues to administer up in the heavenly sanctuary, our
consciences are cleansed as we offer and receive that down here below on earth.
"Therefore," verse 15
says, "he is the mediator of a New Covenant." He only said that word
covenant one time. "This cup is the blood of the New Covenant," when
he instituted the Eucharist. That fulfilled Jeremiah 31. That's when he offered
what appeared to be bread and wine. That's when he became a new Melchizedek,
feeding the new children of Abraham so that through Abraham's seed, Jesus, all
the nations of the world, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
Something which God had sworn but had not performed until Christ, the son of
Abraham, was sacrificed on Moriah on the peak called Calvary .
And he
began it in the Upper Room when he instituted the Eucharist which goes on and
on and on here on earth and in heaven above forever and ever. He is the
mediator of this new, everlasting covenant so that those who are called may
receive the promised eternal inheritance which goes back to the promise that
God gave to Abraham. Verse 24, "For Christ has entered not into a
sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now
to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.”
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