Reading 1, Hebrews 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. 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. No one takes this honor upon himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. 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 forever according to the order of Melchizedek. 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. Son, though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”
***My friends, there is so much here to chew on. You may honestly want to pick a couple of lines & go be contemplative. **One of the more obvious lines for me is, “No one takes this honor upon himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.” I have a Cursillo friend who became a priest, Fr. Sam. He joins us by zoom whenever he’s able. When he’s ‘not’ meeting with us, he is performing his duties as laid out from the beginning of this scripture! He’s Serving! ALL of our priests: Have been taken from men, made our representative before God, offering gifts and sacrifices. WE are the gifts he offers… The Mass, while a celebration, is the Sacrifice he offers!! Then in his spare time he gets to deal with people like me, ‘ignorant & erring’. “Fr. Sam’s favorite line is “You don’t become a priest because ‘you’ want to, it’s because GOD wants you to”: “No one takes this honor upon himself, but only when called by God!! Just as Aaron was. According to the order of Melchizedek.” In my previous reflection, I commented on how ‘ordered’, God is! God knows what he wants. God knows who he wants. 😊 Hug a priest today!
Psalm 110:1, 2, 3, 4, You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek… “”The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool.” The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion: “Rule in the midst of your enemies.”
“Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor; before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.” The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent””
***Christ’s priesthood, call, inherent responsibility and splendor is everlasting. This Psalm calls me-us to remember to thank, and respect our parish priests. Jesus Christ is Priest, Prophet and King. He is King from the line of David, a Prophet far greater & greatest forever, and Priest from the line of Melchizedek. Jesus himself has passed down His priesthood with all knowledge, humility, and stature. These men have been ‘chosen’ to give up their secular lives to serve God, to serve you. All I can say is Thank You.
Alleluia, Hebrews 4:12, The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
***This week I’m including the Alleluia refrain solely because of the meaning of the words, Living and Effective Reflections. In the USCCB reference guide the word ‘word’ is lower case, which to me means Holy Scripture, the Holy Bible. This is an incredibly profound statement!! ALL through the ages, as far back as Adam & Eve, God has spoken! What He has said has been carried on through stories told accurately, truthfully, and so unrelentingly as to have been put to written form A.S.A.P.! Just think about that for a second, the Hebrews had to create language, God’s communication was so compelling! Your GOD, loves you so much ‘today’ as to make sure a record of all He needs you to know from antiquity & down through the ages, is available, to you, Right Now, Today. I AM in awe at how much love God has poured out onto the earth into biblical form order to be ready for me! 😊 I must infuse myself with teaching and understanding. I must consume God!
Gospel, Mark 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?” 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. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. *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.””
***Here we have what seems to be ‘this’ particular day’s version of, The letter of the Old Law -vs- the meaning(spirit) of those laws. As a retail manager you can bet there was a lot of delegating tasks in my day. I found, that employees, as well as the co., would end up with far more desirable results if the ‘why’ (the spirit) of a task, and it’s specific purpose that required the rules part, were made clear in the instructions. Employees cared more! These folks Jesus was teaching were not ignorant, just unaware. The Hebrews knew the 613 laws, inside and out, because that’s what and how they were taught. With that much ‘Do as you’re told’, hanging out there, who has time to care about the why? ***As a current member of the ‘Old Wineskin’ club😊, I would ‘gladly’ accept some New Wine (blessings) when the Trinity is ready to pour them in! Shalom and all of God’s love, Mark
