The Holy Martyr Polyeuctus. Post-feast of Theophany.
Hebrews 7:1-6; Luke 21:28-33.
Read Hebrews 7:1-6
In the book of Genesis, we encounter a mysterious figure named Melchizedek. We read: “Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: ‘Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.’ And he gave him a tithe of all” (Gen. 14:18-20). The author of the letter to the Hebrews addresses this passage in today’s reading.
Melchizedek is said to be an image of Christ: “resembling the Son of God he continues a priest for ever” (Heb. 7:3). There is no mention of his father, mother, or genealogy, but yet Melchizedek is identified as a priest who blesses Abram (later renamed “Abraham” by God). The priesthood that God establishes in the Old Testament comes from the tribe of Levi. The Levitical priesthood was passed down via bloodline from one generation to the next. However, Melchizedek’s and Christ’s priesthood do not depend on biological lineage.
Today’s reading teaches the superiority of the priesthood of Melchizedek over the Levitical priesthood. To demonstrate this, the author of the letter to the Hebrews points out that Abraham paid a tithe to Melchizedek who was of a different lineage and received a blessing from him, even though Abraham was the one who received God’s promises (Heb. 7:6). As baptized and chrismated Christians, we are all sharers in Christ’s offices as priest, prophet, and king. Christ is the one and only Great High Priest, entering “once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12). In his first letter, St. Peter writes to the Christians telling them that “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people” (1 Pt. 2:9). Christ is the Great High Priest, and all other priesthood flows from His own. St. Paul writes in his letter to the Galatians: “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:26-27). By faith, our baptisms into Christ allow us to be called “children of God” as well as to share in Christ’s priesthood.