1ST READING
We have no idea who Melchizedek is, yet he has a place in the ordination rites and Eucharistic Prayer in the life of the Church. I like to meditate on the literal meaning of his name – my King is righteous – and is a good point for reflection for any aspiring leader in the Church. A true leader leads by example and that example must have holiness at its heart.
Hebrews 7:1-3, 15-17
1 Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, met Abraham as he returned from his defeat of the kings and blessed him. 2 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. 3 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. 15 It is even more obvious if another priest is raised up after the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become so, not by a law expressed in a commandment concerning physical descent but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. 17 For it is testified: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
P S A L M
Psalm 110:1, 2, 3, 4
R: You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek.
1 The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool.” (R) 2 The scepter of your power the Lord will stretch forth from Zion: “Rule in the midst of your enemies.” (R) 3 “Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor; before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.” (R) 4 The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent: “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” (R)
GOSPEL
The Pharisees have fallen in a deep hole of hypocrisy. How can they question the healing of a person with a withered hand ? It simply shows the depth of their unfeeling hypocrisy, which we must avoid at all costs. Jesus always puts the needs of the individual first, and so should we.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom and cured every disease among the people.
Mark 3:1-6
1 Jesus entered the synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand. 2 They watched Jesus closely to see if he would cure him on the sabbath so that they might accuse him. 3 He said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up here before us.” 4 Then he said to the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” But they remained silent. 5 Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.
We have no idea who Melchizedek is, yet he has a place in the ordination rites and Eucharistic Prayer in the life of the Church. I like to meditate on the literal meaning of his name – my King is righteous – and is a good point for reflection for any aspiring leader in the Church. A true leader leads by example and that example must have holiness at its heart.
Hebrews 7:1-3, 15-17
1 Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, met Abraham as he returned from his defeat of the kings and blessed him. 2 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. 3 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. 15 It is even more obvious if another priest is raised up after the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become so, not by a law expressed in a commandment concerning physical descent but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. 17 For it is testified: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
P S A L M
Psalm 110:1, 2, 3, 4
R: You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek.
1 The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool.” (R) 2 The scepter of your power the Lord will stretch forth from Zion: “Rule in the midst of your enemies.” (R) 3 “Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor; before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.” (R) 4 The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent: “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” (R)
GOSPEL
The Pharisees have fallen in a deep hole of hypocrisy. How can they question the healing of a person with a withered hand ? It simply shows the depth of their unfeeling hypocrisy, which we must avoid at all costs. Jesus always puts the needs of the individual first, and so should we.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom and cured every disease among the people.
Mark 3:1-6
1 Jesus entered the synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand. 2 They watched Jesus closely to see if he would cure him on the sabbath so that they might accuse him. 3 He said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up here before us.” 4 Then he said to the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” But they remained silent. 5 Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.
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