Job 38:1-7; Hbr. 5:1-10; Mk. 10:35-45]
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
“You are priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” (Hbr. 5:6b)
Who remembers Melchizedek?
He was the one who came to visit Abram -before the name change to Abraham- in Genesis chapter 14.
Melchizedek -the ‘righteous king’ or the ‘righteous one and king’- was one of the priest-kings ruling the burgeoning city-states of the Early Bronze Age, in his case Salem, the ‘city of peace’.
Melchizedek is described as a “priest of the Highest”, el elyon, an unnamed deity.
He brought bread and wine, and he blessed Abram in the name of this “highest God, who created heaven and earth.” (Gen. 14:19)
Jesus Christ is the righteous one, the High Priest and King through whom all things were made, and Jerusalem is his city of peace.
There’s a meme circulating on Facebook with a picture of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury during the English Reformation in the 16th c., looking rather serious. The text under the picture reads:
“I retained the title of priest for ordained Anglican ministers because cat herder,
though often more descriptive, did not seem to have sufficient dignity.”
It’s meant to be humorous of course, ‘cat herding’ isn’t an actual course at seminary or theological faculty.
The fact is, when it comes to the priesthood, all baptised Christians are priests; in baptism every single Christian was consecrated to the priesthood.
Saint Peter writes,
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” (i Peter 2:9)
This is what’s meant by the ‘priesthood of all believers’ or the ‘priesthood of all the
baptised’.
The Protestant Reformers like Luther and Calvin put a great deal of emphasis on this. In their opinion, there was to be no spiritual distinction between the clergy and the laity. Because of baptism all Christians have a direct access to God and all can intercede for others.
That was not to say that the Reformers were against ordained clergy; on the contrary, the education and training of pastors or priests for the ministry of Word and Sacrament was and remains extremely important.
But those in the ministry were no longer considered spiritually better or spiritually special if you will. Their status, their position with God was and is exactly the same as non-clergy, while their office, their job was and is the ministry instituted by God.
Together, both groups are called to fulfil their vocations in the Church and in the World.
So, what do priests do, or at least, what are they supposed to do?
Well, first and foremost, the priest is one who prays.
Here we circle back to our common priesthood in baptism; all Christians, being consecrated priest without distinction in the waters of baptism, are called to prayer.
A Christian is one who prays.
Then how do we pray?
Because, let’s face it, sometimes prayer feels overwhelming or we feel incompetent in articulating our needs or those of others. Often, we feel that we could use some guidance or some tips.
As Christians, we are called to pray through Christ our great High Priest.
Not only does the Son intercede with the Father for all of his people, indeed for all of Creation, through him our prayers are put before God’s throne of grace.
Furthermore, not only is Jesus our example for prayer, he’s also our companion in prayer.
As such, Christians are called to pray with Christ, through Christ and because of Christ.
With, through, because of.
It’s this basic ‘rule’ which is the very foundation for a Christian’s prayer life.
And there’s no prayer that isn’t heard.
God the Father’s too loving, too involved not to listen to our prayers, even if for our own good our prayers aren’t always granted.
All this because of what Jesus Christ has done for us, becoming human, living a human life and completely understanding human weakness. Because of what Christ has done on the cross, giving himself, emptying himself for us.
We read in Hebrews,
“…and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” (Hbr. 5:9)
There’s no human emotion, no human pain and joy which Christ did not fully experience and feel himself, no prayer which he himself did not pray or at least sympathised with.
Our Epistle reading today tells us,
“He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and the wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness.” (Hbr. 5:2)
This why he’s in a perfect position to pray for us, just as we’re in a perfect position to pray for others and ourselves (we’re allowed to pray for ourselves as well!).
Prayer is a place for listening, for interceding, for empathy.
Prayer, like breathing is an act of being human, with everything that entails.
Not only is Christ our source for salvation, for justification, we could say he’s our manual, our inspiration on how to live in response to this salvation, on how to live out this justification in our grace-filled lives, clergy and laity alike, one Christian priesthood in the order of Melchizedek.
Not just proclaiming the Good News, but also being the Good News.
Not only inviting people to Church, but also being the Church.
Not only praying for others but living out our lives as a constant creative prayer.
Prayer’s not just a vocation for ‘priestly professionals’, people who have been called, trained and set aside, i.e. ordained for specific tasks in the Church. It’s the vocation of all, the ‘common lay-folk’ in the pews as well.
Prayer is a great gift from God, and through our shared royal priesthood we all have the wonderful possibility and responsibility to pray.
Prayer strengthens and deepens the intimate bond between the one who’s praying, the one he or she is praying for, the God he or she is praying to, and the Christ, our great High Priest he or she is praying through and praying with.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in C