Who is this Melchizedek fellow?
Melchizedek was encountered by Abraham back in the book of Genesis. He was a strange figure: a king and a priest. But, he was no idol-worshipping pagan priest, but a priest of God Most High, the one true God of Israel, the creator of heaven and earth.
The priest-king Melchizedek appears kind of mysteriously in the book of Genesis, after a battle in which Abraham, with a band of only 318 men, defeated a coalition of four pagan kings and rescued his nephew Lot from captivity. Melchizedek leads Abraham to acknowledge that his victory came not on his own doing, but from God. And so Melchizedek then leads Abraham in offering a thanksgiving sacrifice to God—a sacrifice of bread and wine.
The encounter with Melchizedek is a humbling encounter; as is right and just; a reminder to Abraham and all people that God’s authority must rule our lives.
“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek”. Imagine this psalm being sung in the royal court of king David. The psalmist reminds David that David must live in obedience and thanksgiving to the One True God of Israel.
Royalty needs to be a reminded that they are not gods, but so do all of us; all that we have, and all that we are comes from God. We owe thanksgiving to God, and we get in a lot of trouble spiritually when we let the trappings of the world go to our heads as if we deserved them.
“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” is perfectly fulfilled of course by Christ, who lives in perfect obedience and thanksgiving to His Father—and combines the sacrifice of his flesh and blood on the cross with the sacrifice of bread and wine in the Eucharist.
But it also refers to all Christians. We are to live in perpetual obedience and thanksgiving to the Father, and by doing so, we become effective Melchizedeks for the Abrahams and Davids of the world, pointing them to submit their own lives and victories, to the One True God, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
To God the Father Almighty we direct the prayers of our heart for the needs and salvation of humanity and the good of His faithful ones.
For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her, care for her, and aid her in her mission.
For the peoples of the world, that the Lord may establish and preserve harmony among us.
For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may grant them relief and move Christians to come to the aid of the suffering.
For our beloved dead, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Mass is offered.
O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.
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