The mysterious priest Melchizedek appeared to Abraham and offered a sacrifice of bread and wine as a blessing and a thanksgiving to God for the victory which Abraham won in defending his land. While there are many people who appear only once in the Bible Melchizedek captured the imaginations of both Jews and Christians alike. He is referred to several times in the Bible representing the ideal Jewish priesthood. His singular appearance, without heritage, lineage or background, is later developed in the Christian tradition as representing a type of Christ. Melchizedek foreshadows the sacrifice of Jesus and the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
In the Rite of Ordination of Priests, the Bishop declares that, “you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” which we hear in the Responsorial Psalm this weekend. This expresses the continuity of the priesthood of Levi, the line of priests who served the Temple in Jerusalem, and the Christian priesthood.
The use of bread and wine in the offering of Melchizedek stands as the sign of the perfect offering of Jesus. Through that sacrifice all subsequent sacrifice is rendered unnecessary. Our priests do not offer sacrifices on our behalf. Rather, through the power of the Holy Spirit (epiclesis) Christ is made present to the community through the singular sacrifice of Jesus.
We cannot separate the priesthood from the Eucharist. We believe that both sacraments are instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper. In intending the Eucharist, Jesus establishes a priesthood to care for that Eucharist and the Church which celebrates that Eucharist.
Throughout the Mass we experience the presence of Christ in many different and often very subtle ways. In reverencing the altar genuflecting we recognize that Christ is present as the altar itself. Jesus is the Word of God, present in the proclamation of the Scriptures. Other signs and symbols point us toward Christ – the candles and crucifix, for example. The ministerial priesthood – bishop, priest and deacon – signifies that God is present within the assembly. Even the assembly itself, called both “People of God” and the “Body of Christ” point to Christ among us.
The Liturgy is not a repetition of past events nor is it simply a symbolic ritual. The Liturgy, which is a reflection of the Heavenly Liturgy, is where we are in our deepest communion with God. Through the reception of the Eucharist we express that relationship and profess our community with Christ and the Church.
The importance of the “Breaking of the Bread” in the earliest Christian communities it attested in the Second Reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians. Already by the mid 50’s when Paul wrote this letter, Liturgy stood at the core of the worshiping community. Paul instructed the Corinthians by reminding them of the presence of Christ within their assemblies and specifically in the sharing of the Body of Christ.
It is essential to our Tradition that we remain keenly aware of the presence of Christ throughout the Liturgy. Unlike social gatherings or the rituals of family or of society, through the Liturgy we share most deeply the love of Christ which has been poured out for us through the Paschal Sacrifice. It is not only important for us to enter into the celebration each week, but to do so prayerfully and in a way which is a form of evangelization and catechesis for those who do not yet fully apprehend or in faith affirm the very core of the Catholic Faith – that through the Eucharist we share in the very Body and Blood of Christ.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.