January 21, 2013

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Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

Read more about St. Agnes.

Lectionary: 311

Reading 1 from St. Paul's letter to the Hebrews
Heb 5:1-10

Brothers and sisters:
Every high priest is taken from among men
and made their representative before God,
to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

St. Paul is here referring to the Levitical priesthood of the Mosaic Law.

He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring,
for he himself is beset by weakness
and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself
as well as for the people.

Since the Levitical high priest is a regular joe, like the rest of the us, he is able to identify with our fallen human nature and offer sacrifices for his sins as well as ours.

No one takes this honor upon himself
but only when called by God,
just as Aaron was.

This honor is bestowed by God.  No one can call himself the high priest of God unless God pronounces him so, as He did of Aaron.

In the same way,
it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest,
but rather the one who said to him:
You are my Son:this day I have begotten you;just as he says in another place,
You are a priest foreveraccording to the order of Melchizedek.

Even Jesus did not pronounce Himself high priest, but God the Father pronounced Him so when He revealed that Jesus is His only begotten Son and equated His priesthood with that of Melchizedek, in a metaphorical sense.

Now, many are confused by this comparison and I've heard people say that Melchizedek is Jesus Christ.  But that is not true.  According to Scott Hahn and Jeff Cavins, Melchizedek might be,  Noah's son, Shem.

However, Melchizedek foreshadows Jesus Christ because his high priesthood is that of the First Born Son.  Originally, in the Patriarchal period, the high priesthood was passed down from father to first born son.  That is why we have the big tussle between Jacob and Esau.  Esau was the first born, but he sold his inheritance to his brother, Jacob, for a cup of soup.  In selling his inheritance of the high priesthood of God so cheaply, he slapped God in the face.

In the days when he was in the Flesh,
he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears
to the one who was able to save him from death,
and he was heard because of his reverence.

Jesus, in His Passion, suffered and prayed.  And His prayers were heard because of His love.

Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,

This is another hard one for me to understand.  Jesus learned obedience from what He suffered?  He was made perfect because He ascended to the Father and to His rightful place.  But in what sense He learned obedience, escapes me.

I went back to the lexicon on this one, which I rarely do, because I firmly believe that the translators have a much better grasp on the language than someone who looks up a word here and there in a foreign language dictionary.  And that is what a lexicon amounts to.  A dictionary.

And the word for "learned" has as one of its meanings, "practiced".  Therefore, I would substitute there, the word "practiced" obedience in suffering.

And in "made perfect", there is a definition which says, "accomplished" or "completed".  And I like that better.  "...He practiced obedience in suffering and when He accomplished His mission..."

I think this fits better and it is confirmed also in this verse by St. Paul:

Philippians 2:8
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

In so doing, He became the source of salvation for all who obey and imitate Him:

1 Peter 2:21
For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

Responsorial Psalm
PS 110:1, 2, 3, 4

R.(4b) You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.

The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand
till I make your enemies your footstool.”

R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.

The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion:
“Rule in the midst of your enemies.”

R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.

“Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor;
before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.”

R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.

The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:
“You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”

R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.

Melchizedek is a very interesting fellow and worth investigating. I first heard about the Melchizedek/Shem connection in Jeff Cavins Bible Study. But that is just one thing out of hundreds that are revealed by Catholic Bible Scholars such as Jeff Cavins and Scott Hahn. It is worth investing in their books and cd's.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark
Mk 2:18-22

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast.
People came to Jesus and objected,
“Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast,
but your disciples do not fast?”

The Pharisees objected to Jesus that His disciples did not fast from food as did the disciples of St. John the Baptist and those of the Pharisees.

Jesus answered them,
“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?
As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.

Jesus answered that they can't fast while they are celebrating His presence.

But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast on that day.

But, He says, there will come a time when they will fast.

No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak.
If he does, its fullness pulls away,
the new from the old, and the tear gets worse.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins,
and both the wine and the skins are ruined.
Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”

St. Mark left out something of this teaching, which I think, brings it to perspective:

Luke 5:39
No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.

In other words, Jesus is telling the Jews that they are rebelling against Him.  They don't like His Teachings because they consider them new.  The prefer the old wine of the Old Testament.