Praying for our priests
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Hebrews 7:1-3
Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, met
Abraham as he returned from his defeat of the kings and blessed him. And
Abraham apportioned to him a tenth of everything. His name first means
righteous king, and he was also “king of Salem,” that is, king of peace.
Without father, mother, or ancestry, without beginning of days or end of life,
thus made to resemble the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.
Do you know who is the first priest
mentioned in the Bible? It is a
mysterious and mesmerizing figure named “Melchizedek.” In fact, I was so captivated by him that I
wrote my master’s thesis paper in seminary about him, and the title of it was:
“Who the Heck is Melchizedek?” My thesis
director was not impressed.
Surprisingly, Melchizedek appears at the beginning, middle and close to
the end of the Bible: in Genesis 14, Psalm 110, and today in Hebrews 7. Scripture scholars hotly debate his true
identity and they have yet to reach a consensus. But the one thing scholars cannot do is
ignore him. Why? Because in those three places – Genesis,
Psalms and Hebrews – Melchizedek comes in contact with Father Abraham, King
David and finally Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Any serious student the Scriptures has to
answer the question, “Who the heck is Melchizedek?”
Let me tell you what Melchizedek
means to me. Hebrews says, “Without
father, mother or ancestry, without beginning of days or end of life, thus made
to resemble the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.” I learned two things from that passage: (1)
priesthood is a higher calling than family life, and may even require you to
sacrifice family life in order to be a priest.
So, for me, celibacy makes sense in light of Melchizedek. And (2) priesthood is a full-time job, not a
9 to 5 gig where you punch the time clock.
Indeed, a man who is ordained will be a priest even in heaven. You see, there will not be marriage in heaven
(Mt. 22), but there will be priesthood in heaven. And I can’t wait! We priests will still get a paycheck but we
won’t have any work, since there won’t be any sinners in heaven! And that’s why I wear my Roman collar almost
all the time and everywhere I go.
Why? Because Hebrews says, “You
are a priest forever” – at a Razorback football game, at a local restaurant,
while drinking beer, and everywhere else.
When I was ordained, my mom told me, “Son, always wear your collar. It’ll keep you out of trouble.” What did she know that I didn’t know?? My mom knew the answer to the question, “Who
the heck is Melchizedek?”
May I ask
you a favor? Would you please pray for
us priests? I know you already do, but
don’t slow down! I have a dear friend
who prays her rosary for me while she’s at Adoration. My mom worries about this priest; Mother Mary
worries about all priests. Pope Francis
always concludes his talks to people with the plea: “Please pray for me!” Why pray for priests? Because Melchizedek has set the priestly bar
pretty high for us, indeed, as high as heaven!
But we priests remain fully and feebly human, at the end of the day,
we’re just knuckle-draggers, like the rest of men, in need of salvation as much
as anyone else, maybe more so. This is
why Archbishop Fulton Sheen titled his autobiography, “Treasure in
Clay." The treasure is Jesus; the
clay is the priest.
Who the
heck is Melchizedek? He is the first
priest mentioned in the Bible, and he’s also the model for all priests.
Praised be Jesus Christ!
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