21 April 2027 · Syro-Malabar Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Latin Rite · Syro-Malankara Rite · മലയാളം
“Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.” Hebrews 7:3
The Letter to the Hebrews reaches back to one of the most mysterious figures of the Old Testament. In Genesis 14 Abram returns from rescuing his nephew Lot, and a stranger comes out to meet him: “And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High.” He blesses Abram, and Abram gives him a tenth of everything. Then Melchizedek vanishes from the story. Centuries later Psalm 110 speaks of a king whom God has sworn to make “a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews brings these two passages together and sees in them a portrait of Christ. Melchizedek's name means “king of righteousness”; he is king of Salem, that is, “king of peace”. Scripture gives him no father or mother, no genealogy, no birth or death: “resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.” The writer does not say Melchizedek was an angel or a ghost. He says that Scripture's silence about his origin and end makes him a living picture of the true Priest, who has no beginning as the eternal Son and no end as the Risen One.
Then the letter argues, in the careful way of a rabbi, that this priesthood is greater than the priesthood of Levi. Abraham, the father of the whole people and the one who “had received the promises”, received a blessing from Melchizedek and gave him tithes: “It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.” Levi, still unborn, was in a sense in Abraham and paid tithes through him. Then comes a line that rings with Easter: “In the one case, tithes are received by those who are mortal; in the other, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.” The Levitical priests died one after another, and their office passed from father to son. Christ's priesthood does not pass to anyone, for, as the same chapter says a little later, “he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” The Resurrection is not only the end of Christ's suffering; it is the beginning of his eternal priesthood. At this moment the Risen Lord stands before the Father, interceding for us. The Fathers of the Church loved to point out that Melchizedek brought out bread and wine. In every Holy Qurbana the eternal Priest offers himself under those same signs; our priests stand at the altar not in their own name but in his.
In the Gospel Jesus answers those who challenged him for healing on the sabbath. He speaks of witnesses, as in a court of law: the Law required two or three witnesses before a charge could stand. “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true.” So he calls his witnesses. First John the Baptist: “He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.” Then a greater witness: “The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.” And behind the works, the Father himself: “And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf.” Jesus is not seeking his own glory: “I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.” The Church reads this passage in Easter time because the Resurrection is the Father's great testimony to his Son. When the Father raised Jesus from the dead, he declared before the whole world that this was his Son. The apostles then became witnesses in their turn, and so must we. The world will not believe because we argue well; it believes when it sees the works that the Risen Lord still does through his Church.
Theme: “Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.”
The king-priest with bread and wine, the Risen Priest who always intercedes, and the witnesses to the Son.
“And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High.” Genesis 14:18
“Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.” Hebrews 7:3
Apply: Pray today for the priest who baptised you.
“The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”” Psalm 110:4
“but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:24–25
Apply: When you cannot find words, ask Jesus to pray for you, and rest in his prayer.
“Only on the evidence of two or three witnesses shall a charge be sustained.” Deuteronomy 19:15
“But I have a testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.” John 5:36
Apply: Do one good work this week that points to Christ rather than to yourself.
The eternal Priest lives and intercedes for us, and offers himself on our altars.
Let us thank God for our priests and become witnesses whose works speak of Christ.
Take-home resolution: This week, pray for priests by name, give God the first part of each day, and let one work of yours bear witness to Christ.
Dear friends, today the Letter to the Hebrews takes us back to a mysterious king who met Abraham with bread and wine.
Melchizedek, king of Salem, “brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High.” His name means king of righteousness; Salem means peace. Scripture tells us nothing of his birth or death, so Hebrews says he resembles the Son of God and remains a priest forever. He is a picture of Christ.
Hebrews then says something full of Easter joy: the old priests were mortal, but Christ is “one of whom it is testified that he lives.” He holds his priesthood for ever, and “he always lives to make intercession” for us. Right now, the Risen Lord is praying for you before the Father.
And in every Holy Qurbana, the eternal Priest offers himself under the signs of bread and wine, as Melchizedek once foreshadowed. Our priests stand at the altar in his name.
In the Gospel Jesus calls his witnesses: John the Baptist, “a burning and shining lamp”; the works the Father gave him to do; and the Father himself. At Easter the Father gave his greatest testimony: he raised his Son from the dead.
Now it is our turn to be witnesses. Let us pray today for our priests, lean on Christ's intercession when we cannot pray, and let our works point to him. Alleluia! Amen.
Children, long ago a king called Melchizedek brought bread and wine to Abraham and blessed him. He was a picture of Jesus, our priest for ever!
Jesus is alive and he prays for you every day. Tonight, say thank you to Jesus for praying for you!
Lord Jesus Christ, eternal Priest according to the order of Melchizedek, King of righteousness and King of peace, you live for ever to make intercession for us. Accept the bread and wine we bring, and make them your Body and Blood. Bless our priests, who stand at the altar in your name. Make us witnesses like John, burning and shining lamps, so that the world may see in our works that the Father has sent you. Glory to you, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, for ever. Amen. Alleluia!