The Mysterious Melchizedek
This sermon was given at our Evensong service on Sunday 14th January 2017. The New Testament reading was Hebrews 6:17-7:10.
The Bible, as we know, is full of all sorts of weird and
wonderful characters. There are those that are more well-known, like Jonah, who
was famously swallowed by a big fish, or the giant Goliath, slain on the
battlefield by the young David; and there are those that are more obscure, and
therefore, perhaps more tantalising – Balaam, the prophet, who had a talking
donkey, or the wicked Simon the Sorcerer encountered in the book of Acts, who,
according to apocryphal sources, was a powerful wizard, with the ability to fly.
One of the more mysterious characters, though, was mentioned
in our New Testament reading this evening – Melchizedek, the King of Salem. Our
reading from the book of Hebrews goes some length in explaining why he’s seen
as so mysterious. It brings together the only two references to him in the Old
Testament – a passage in the book of Genesis, where he met the patriarch Abram,
and in Psalm 110, which talks about the order of the priesthood of Melchizedek,
and we find ourselves questioning why the writer of Hebrews is going on about
this obscure man in this way? What point is the writer trying to make?
It’s sometimes thought that the book of Hebrews is a sermon,
rather than a letter. And, as with most sermons, the answer to our question is
probably 'Jesus'. The writer of Hebrews is trying to explain something about Jesus
Christ by referring back to Melchizedek. As such, it probably makes sense for
us to try to find out a little bit more about this mysterious king Melchizedek,
in the hope it will also tell us something
about Christ too.
A Russian icon of Melchizedek |
First up, we know from the book of Genesis that Melchizedek was
a king – king of Salem; Jerusalem.
This king inhabits Abraham’s Promised Land even before it is promised to him.
He’s not Abram’s enemy, though, from whom the land must be taken; we see that
Melchizedek actually blesses Abram, showing his religious superiority, gives
him bread and wine, and that Abram actually pays him a tithe or a tribute of
the spoils of his recent war. Melchizedek, then, is not just a king, he’s a priest.
The priest. The first priest of God, from before the Jewish priesthood had ever
been established. Jewish priests are all descended from the tribe of Levi, the
son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham. The Jewish priesthood would
not be established until three generations after this meeting between
Melchizedek and Abram. So, Melchizedek is the first king of the Promised Land,
and the first priest, of a higher order than that which would later be
established under the Levites.
Unusually with important figures in the Bible, we know
nothing about Melchizedek’s birth or his death. We are not told his age when we
meet him, or how old he was when he died – or even that he died. We are neither told of his parents or his offspring. In
the Bible, he stands alone – a priest-king, with no beginning, and no ending,
with no forefathers and no descendants. Over time, legend grew that he was
himself immortal – a priest forever; an angel, perhaps, or an incarnation of
God.
This legend was fuelled by his name. Some believed ‘Melchizedek’
to not, in fact, be a name, but a title instead. It literally translates as
King of Righteousness. And Salem, the city of his kingdom, means Peace. Melchizedek, King of Salem means King of Righteousness, King of Peace.
I think we’re starting to see the parallels that the writer
of Hebrews is trying to draw. Christ, he says, is a priest forever, in the
order of Melchizedek. That makes him a priest, the priest, greater than all religious teachers before or since. It
also makes him a king, greater than Abraham, the father of nations (and
therefore greater than us all). It makes him the King of Righteousness, King of
Peace, of whose kingdom, there will be no end. The writer of Hebrews places a metaphorical
full-stop here. There is none greater. There has been none greater. There will
be none greater. This Christ is the one to seek after, the one to follow,
now, and always.
And the same is still true today. There is none greater. Our
reading may not seem like it fits in this season of Epiphany, but it is
well-chosen, for Epiphany is about discovering Christ, and whether we join
wise-men in following a star to the hidden wonder of a stable and a baby and an
incarnation, or read the scriptures to discover a priest-king has been pointing
the way since the very beginnings of the Bible, from Melchior to Melchizedek,
we too, are called to marvel and search, and find out for ourselves.
Many Christians agree that Melchizedek is a proto-Christ; a type of Christ, pointing the way towards
the saviour. What many Christians forget, however, is just as he was a type of
Christ, so are we. The word Christian
means 'Little Christ'. We are all Melchizedek, leaders of
righteousness and leaders of peace.
And so, once we ourselves have found Christ, Epiphany does
not, cannot stop there, for, having
found him, like that star-of-wonder, like the writer of Hebrews, we too must
help show the way, must help others to reach their own epiphany, leading others in righteousness and peace to the throne
of our king, to the altar of our great high priest.
So this is our Epiphany challenge; to be the angels proclaiming
good news in the fields. To be the star leading seekers of wisdom to a brighter
light. To be Melchizedek.
Amen
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