OLD AND NEW
Introduction
This very well known passage of Hebrews evokes the central place in our faith of the passion and glorification of Christ. Jewish priests had to first offer sacrifices for their own sins. Christ replaced the “I will not serve” with the service of obedience to the will of the Father.
You know from experience that change is always a problem to us. It calls us away from the security of our ingrained habits and our certainties. And it forces us to go unfamiliar ways. That is why, as if by nature, we resist change. It is an inherent law of Christianity to be always open to renewal and conversion. The trouble is that the old and the new are usually intolerant of one another.
Heb 5:1-10
Every high priest selected to represent men and women before God and offer sacrifices for their sins should be able to deal gently with their failings, since he knows what it’s like from his own experience. But that also means that he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as the peoples’. No one elects himself to this honored position. He’s called to it by God, as Aaron was. Neither did Christ presume to set himself up as high priest, but was set apart by the One who said to him, “You’re my Son; today I celebrate you!” In another place God declares, “You’re a priest forever in the royal order of Melchizedek.” While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. Because he honored God, God answered him. Though he was God’s Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do. Then, having arrived at the full stature of his maturity and having been announced by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who believingly obey him.
Mk 2:18-22
The disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees made a practice of fasting. Some people confronted Jesus: “Why do the followers of John and the Pharisees take on the discipline of fasting, but your followers don’t?” Jesus said, “When you’re celebrating a wedding, you don’t skimp on the cake and wine. You feast. Later you may need to pull in your belt, but not now. As long as the bride and groom are with you, you have a good time. No one throws cold water on a friendly bonfire. This is Kingdom Come!” He went on, “No one cuts up a fine silk scarf to patch old work clothes; you want fabrics that match. And you don’t put your wine in cracked bottles.”
Prayer
Unchanging and ever-new God,
you want us to be your pilgrim people
on the march with Jesus, your Son,
toward a new future of justice and love.
Do not allow us to be suffocated in being contented
with old habits and sluggish ways.
Help us to accept the pain
of leaving the familiar behind us
and open us to the challenge of the Gospel
to become more like your Son
who guides our faltering steps,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Reflection:
16 January 2023
Hebrews 5: 1-10
Jesus calls us to his priesthood
Today’s first reading deals with how Jesus fulfils the role of our High Priest. Every high priest is a bridge builder between God and his people. He is chosen from among the people and put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
These are the two-fold responsibilities of a priest: To pray to God on behalf of the people and to offer gifts and sacrifices to God. And this is what Jesus does: He prays to God on our behalf and sacrificed himself to expiate our sins. He not only taught us how to pray, but he continues to pray for us and within us. He fulfilled the office of priest perfectly through his sacrificial death on the cross.
In the early days of the Church, the word “priest” was reserved only to Jesus Christ to emphasize that he is ultimately the only priest. Only around the seventh century, the term priest came into common usage. However, we should strive to recognize that “priest” means Jesus Christ foremost and that the priesthood of the ordained and that of the faithful is a sharing in the one priesthood of Jesus Christ.
A priest is a mediator between God and men, a bridge between God and his people. To accomplish its purpose a bridge must be in contact with both shores. The priest, as a human being, must be familiar with the sins and weaknesses of others because he experiences them in himself. And he has to include his own sinfulness in the offerings. The priest is no ‘super-man’. And he is a priest, not because of his superiority over others, but simply because he has been chosen among many to fulfil his intercessory role.
Over the years, many priests of today tend to ignore, with disastrous consequences, that their priesthood is not their merit but a vocation for a purpose. As the reading says, sharing in his fellow human beings’ weaknesses qualifies someone for the role of the priest.
The author of Hebrews quotes this verse of Psalm 110 to show that God has called Jesus to his role as priest. Jesus is among us at this moment. What we do is pleasing the Father because Jesus is our priest, renewing his sacrifice and bringing our worship to the Father. We are fortunate people to have Jesus Christ as our priest.