Abraham & Melchezidek
Mark S. Roberti, Director of Stewardship & Development
Heartland Parishes of Ellis County
Let’s play some connect-the-dots with Scripture. The word “Eucharisto” in Greek means thanksgiving. Stewardship is about giving back to God, in gratitude, the first fruits of our time, talent, and treasure. Stewardship, then, is also about thanksgiving.
Events prefiguring the Bible’s teaching on the Eucharist and stewardship begin early in the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible. Chedorlaomer, the King of Elam rides into the land occupied by Lot, Abraham’s nephew. He conquers the land, claims its booty, and takes Lot captive.
Abraham takes 318 men, routs Chedorlaomer and frees Lot and his kinsmen. He also takes Cherdorlamer’s accumulated booty. He then goes out to the Valley of the Kings where he visits Melchezidek, the King of Salem. Salem means peace. Years later, it will become Jerusalem, or City of Peace.
We are then told that Melchezidek is “priest of God Most High, who brings out bread and wine and blesses Abraham saying, “Blessed be God Most High, maker of heaven and earth and blessed be God most High who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” Then we are told, “And Abraham gave him a tenth of everything” (Cf: Genesis 14: 17-20).
Woe! Woe! Up to this point, Abraham is the pre-eminent figure in the Bible. Where does this Melchezidek come from? Later, in the New Testament Book of Hebrews, we are told that the name Melchezidek means King of Righteousness. “He is without father or mother or genealogy, and has neither beginning of day nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever” (Hebrews 7:1-3).
We are on to something major here. In the Old Testament the genealogy of the major figures is always given as well as where they died. Who, then, is this guy to whom Abraham gives a tithe of the spoils? Melchizedek also blesses Abraham. Abraham, our Old Testament hero, is the inferior person to someone who has no beginning or end. That same person brings out bread and wine.
Connecting the dots yet? Let’s continue. In the Old Testament the priestly class came out the tribe of Levites, one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The Levites were offspring of Abraham’s grandson, Jacob whose name was later changed to Israel. Moses, to whom God gave the Law – the Ten Commandments -- was from the tribe of Levi, as was his brother, Aaron, the high priest. The Levitical priesthood offered sacrifices of bullock, lambs, goats, bread, oil, etc., as sin offerings.
We’ve now got traces of two priesthoods running parallel...an eternal priesthood and an earthly priesthood. The Book of Hebrews tells us, “Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priesthood to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron?” (Heb 7:11)
We are then told, “For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well…. This becomes more evident when another priesthood arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not according to a legal requirement concerning bodily descent but by the power of an indestructible life” (Cf Heb 12-16).
Jesus, human and divine, takes elements of both priesthoods in that He becomes the paschal lamb of the Levitical priesthood…priest, victim, and sacrifice. Yet he is of the earthly tribe of Judah. His true priesthood is the one eternal priesthood of the order of Melchizedek. So he offers his life up to the Father as the sacrifice of an unblemished lamb of the Passover. The gifts he leaves us to offer are that same one eternal sacrifice in the form of bread and wine.
That bread and wine transubstantiated (i.e crossing substances) become His Body and Blood in a profound act of thanksgiving to the eternal Father on our behalf.
But the sacrifice does not end there. We are to offer the sacrifice of our lives, everything we have and are in communion with Jesus sacrifice. Everything we are and have is our time, talent, and treasure. It is the first fruits of this time, talent, and treasure that we are supposed to be offering back to God at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass!
Those who put a paltry sum in the collection basket, those who don’t offer significant prayer and worship until next Sunday, and those who do not give of their gifts of talent to the Church and greater community are missing the whole point! We are to offer ourselves up – everything we are and have – as an act of thanksgiving.
Our Stewardship at Mass -- and when we leave the Church until the next time we return-- is supposed to be offered up to God. That’s our act of stewardship. That’s our act of thanksgiving.
That’s why we are to tithe of our time, talent, and treasure to the best of our ability. Anything else is a lack of gratitude to our glorious Lord and Savior…and we need a deeper conversion.
Can we connecting the dots now?