Showing posts with label Temple. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Temple. Show all posts

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Who was Melchisedech? Psalm 109/6

Meeting of Abraham and Melchisedech
Dieric Bouts, c1464
The first half of Psalm 109, the verses that we have looked at so far, essentially focused on our Lord’s kingship:

Dixit Dominus Domino meo: Sede a dextris meis,
donec ponam inimicos tuos scabellum pedum tuorum.
Virgam virtutis tuæ emittet Dominus ex Sion : dominare in medio inimicorum tuorum
Tecum principium in die virtutis tuæ in splendoribus sanctorum: ex utero, ante luciferum, genui te.

Now we turn to his status as high priest.

Today’s verse of Psalm 109 alludes to the mysterious figure of Melchisedech:

Jurávit Dóminus, et non pœnitébit eum: * tu es sacérdos in ætérnum secúndum órdinem Melchísedech.
ὤμοσεν κύριος καὶ οὐ μεταμεληθήσεται σὺ εἶ ἱερεὺς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα κατὰ τὴν τάξιν Μελχισεδεκ
The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent: You are a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech.

Who was Melchisedech?

Melchisedech is a mysterious figure, because unlike almost every other figure in Genesis, he is presented without genealogy.

As one of David’s line the Messiah could not of course be a member of the Aaronic priesthood, the Levites. This verse however tells us that he will nonetheless be a priest in the manner of the priest king Melchisdech, who offered God a sacrifice of bread and wine, as described in Genesis 14:14-20:

“When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and routed them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. Then he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his goods, and the women and the people. After his return from the defeat of Ched-or-lao'mer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). And Mel-chiz'edek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!"

Melchisedech also appears in some surviving non-canonical works, particularly the Second Book of Enoch.

St John Chrysostom comments on the importance of Melchisidech as a type of Jesus:

“What was the reason for his saying in the line of Mechizedek? With the eucharist in mind, because he too offered bread and wine to Abraham, and because of the independence of this priesthood of the Law and its being without end and without beginning, as Paul too says. You see, what that priest had in shadow was realized in reality in the case of Jesus; and as the names, like "Jesus" and "Christ," had preceded him, so too this Melchizedek seems to have had no beginning to his days nor end to his life, not because he did not have them but because he had no genealogy. Jesus, on the other hand, had no beginning to his days nor end to his life, not in that fashion but because there was absolutely no chronological beginning in his case, nor any end. One case was shadow, you see, the other reality. So when you hear the name "Jesus," do not be deceived into thinking he was really Jesus, but recognize only the type in the name, and look for no further significance. Likewise also, when you hear that Melchizedek had no beginning or end, do not require him to provide the reality in fact; instead, be content with the name alone, and grasp the reality in the case of Christ.”

The Latin

The Lord swore an oath

Jurávit (3rd person indicative pf of juro, I swear, take an oath) Dóminus (nominative)

Jurávit Dóminus = the Lord has sworn

Here is the first point of contrast between the Aaronic priesthood and the Christian: Aaronic priests were priests by virtue purely of their birth; Christ was immediately appointed by God. As Hebrews points out: “Those who formerly became priests took their office without an oath, but this one was addressed with an oath, "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, `Thou art a priest for ever.'" This makes Jesus the surety of a better covenant.” (7:21-22)

A priest forever

et non pœnitébit (3rd person future indicative of peonitet, he relents, repents) eum (demonstrative pronoun is ea id, acc governed by poenitebit, provides emphasis)

et non pœnitébit eum = and he will not relent

St Paul in Romans 11:29 comments: “For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.”

tu (you, pronoun nom) es (you are) sacérdos (priest, nom) in ætérnum

tu es sacérdos in ætérnum= you are a priest forever

secúndum (according to, by reason of) órdinem (acc, likeness, order, manner) Melchísedech

secúndum órdinem Melchísedech= according to the order of /after the manner of/in the line of Melchisedech

St Robert Bellarmine comments:

“Now Christ is said to be a priest forever, because the effect of the one sacrifice in which he offered his body on the cross holds forever, as the apostle, in Heb. 10 has it, "For by one oblation he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified;" as also, because he, living forever, daily, through the hands of the priests of his Church, who succeed each other, offers a sacrifice to which the apostle alludes, when he says, "And the others indeed were made many priests, because, by reason of death, they were not suffered to continue; but this, for that he continueth forever, hath an everlasting priesthood."

On the word ‘order’ the Catechism (CCC1537) notes:

“The word order in Roman antiquity designated an established civil body, especially a governing body. Ordinatio means incorporation into an ordo. In the Church there are established bodies which Tradition, not without a basis in Sacred Scripture, has since ancient times called taxeis (Greek) or ordines. And so the liturgy speaks of the ordo episcoporum, the ordo presbyterorum, the ordo diaconorum. Other groups also receive this name of ordo: catechumens, virgins, spouses, widows,. . . .

Translations

The Monastic Diurnal translates this fairly literally as “The Lord hath sworn and will not repent: Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchisdedech”. The other main translations offer only minor variants on this.

Key vocab

juro, avi, atum, are, to swear, take an oath
poenitet, ituit with acc, it repents one, one relents,
secundum, according to; by reason of, because of; after the manner of, according to the likeness of, like.
ordo, inis, m. order, manner, likeness
aeternus, a, um eternal. Forever

The Christian priesthood

The main Scriptural expositions of this verse are contained in Hebrews chapter 5-7, which explains the continuity of New and Old when it comes to the priesthood in particular.  There are important distinctions to be made here though, as St Robert Bellarmine points out:

“In the first place, Melchisedech succeeded no priest, nor had he a successor; and, thus, the apostle says of him, "without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life." While in the priesthood of Aaron one succeeded another, the son supplied the father's place. Secondly, Melchisedech was both king and priest; Aaron was simply a priest. Thirdly, Melchisedech's offering consisted of bread and wine, that of Aaron was of sheep and oxen. Fourthly, Melchisedech was the priest of mankind, Aaron's priesthood was confined to the Jews. Fifthly, Melchisedech required neither tent, tabernacle, nor temple for sacrifice, Aaron did; and hence, to the present day, the Jews have no sacrifice, because they have no temple. Christ, then, is a priest according to the order of Melchisedech, by reason of his having succeeded no priest, and by reason of his having had no priest to succeed him in the great dignity of his everlasting priesthood; and he in fact, as to his human nature has really no father, and as to his divine nature has no mother. The same Christ is both King and Priest, and he offered bread and wine at his Last Supper, that is, his body under the appearance of bread, and his blood under the appearance of wine; and he is the priest, not only of the Jews, but of the Gentiles; nor is his priestly office confined to one temple or one tabernacle, but, as Malachy predicted, "From the rising of the sun, even to the going down, in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblation."

St Augustine though draws out what I think is the really key point, namely the link between this prophesy of the nature of the priesthood of Christ and the destruction of the Temple:

“But Priest, in what sense? Will there be those victims, victims offered by the Patriarchs, altars of blood, and tabernacle, and those sacred emblems of the Old Covenant? God forbid! These things are already abolished; the temple being destroyed, that priesthood taken away, their victim and their sacrifice having alike disappeared, not even the Jews have these things. They see that the priesthood after the order of Aaron has already perished, and they do not recognise the Priesthood after the order of Melchizedec.”

Pope Benedict XVI comments:

"In the Risen Lord Jesus who had ascended into Heaven where he is seated at the right hand of the Father the prophecy of our Psalm is fulfilled and the priesthood of Melchizedek is brought to completion. This is because, rendered absolute and eternal, it became a reality that never fades (cf. 7:24). And the offering of bread and wine made by Melchizedek in Abraham’s time is fulfilled in the Eucharistic action of Jesus who offers himself in the bread and in the wine and, having conquered death, brings life to all believers. Since he is an eternal priest, “holy, blameless, unstained” (7:26), as the Letter to the Hebrews states further, “he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (7:25)."

Psalm 109

Dixit Dominus Domino meo: Sede a dextris meis,
donec ponam inimicos tuos scabellum pedum tuorum.
Virgam virtutis tuæ emittet Dominus ex Sion : dominare in medio inimicorum tuorum
Tecum principium in die virtutis tuæ in splendoribus sanctorum: ex utero, ante luciferum, genui te.
Juravit Dominus, et non pœnitebit eum : Tu es sacerdos in æternum secundum ordinem Melchisedech.
Dominus a dextris tuis; confregit in die iræ suæ reges.
Judicabit in nationibus, implebit ruinas; conquassabit capita in terra multorum.
De torrente in via bibet; propterea exaltabit caput.

You can find the next part in this series here.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Lectio notes on the propers for the Eighth Sunday - Psalm 47/2


Tres Riches Heures, Purification of the BVM

The Introit for this week in the Extraordinary Form (on days not displaced by feasts) is, like the Alleluia discussed in my last post, also from Psalm 47, verses 10, 11 and 2:

10 Suscépimus, Deus, misericórdiam tuam, * in médio templi tui.
11 Secúndum nomen tuum, Deus, sic et laus tua in fines terræ: * justítia plena est déxtera tua.
2 Magnus Dóminus, et laudábilis nimis * in civitáte Dei nostri, in monte sancto ejus.

A translation is 'We have received God (suscepimus Deus), your mercy (misericoridam tuam) in the midst (in medio) of your temple (templi tui). According to your name O God,(secundem nomen tuum Deus), so also is your praise (sic et laus tua) unto the ends of the earth (in fines terrae): your right hand (dextera tua) is full of justice (justitia plena est).

Commentary

The text points us to the Sunday Gospel story of the unjust steward, with its reminder that we will all be called to account before God at some point, and fall in need of his mercy. 

St Augustine points out that the wording of the verse suggests that while we have received mercy, others have not.  St Thomas Aquinas explains this idea further: we have received mercy, he suggests, in the form of faith; in the form of grace conferred through the sacraments; and in the form of Christ himself (note that the text and chant setting is also used on the feast of the Purification of the BVM), whose message has been spread by the Church to the ends of the earth.  Thus, he argues, those who receive the sacraments unworthily, or who do not accept the teaching of the Church do not receive God's mercy...

A tough, counter-cultural message to meditate on indeed, that should make us think and do something about our own sins, encourage us to give thanks and praise for the graces we have received, and encourage us to pray and work ever harder for the conversion of others.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Psalm 47 and the eighth Sunday after Pentecost Pt 1

I want to start a series today providing notes to support lectio divina on some of the psalm texts used in the Mass propers.

The Mass propers tend to be relatively neglected when it comes to sermons and Mass preparation.  But they are a rich source for lectio, particularly as the Gregorian chant settings of them provide an interesting supplement to the writings of the Fathers and Theologians as to their interpretation.

Psalm 47: The text



Vulgate
Douay-Rheims
Psalmus cantici. Filiis Core, secunda sabbati.
A psalm of a canticle, for the sons of Core, on the second day of the week.


Magnus Dóminus, et laudábilis nimis * in civitáte Dei nostri, in monte sancto eius.
Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised in the city of our God, in his holy mountain.
Fundátur exsultatióne univérsæ terræ mons Sion, * látera Aquilónis, cívitas Regis magni.
With the joy of the whole earth is mount Sion founded, on the sides of the north, the city of the great king.
Deus in dómibus eius cognoscétur: * cum suscípiet eam.
In her houses shall God be known, when he shall protect her.
Quóniam ecce reges terræ congregáti sunt: * convenérunt in unum.
For behold the kings of the earth assembled themselves: they gathered together.
Ipsi vidéntes sic admiráti sunt, † conturbáti sunt, commóti sunt: * tremor apprehéndit eos.
So they saw, and they wondered, they were troubled, they were moved: Trembling took hold of them.
Ibi dolóres ut parturiéntis: * in spíritu veheménti cónteres naves Tharsis.
There were pains as of a woman in labour. With a vehement wind you shall break in pieces the ships of Tharsis.
Sicut audívimus, sic vídimus in civitáte Dómini virtútum, † in civitáte Dei nostri: * Deus fundávit eam in ætérnum.
As we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God has founded it forever.
Suscépimus, Deus, misericórdiam tuam, * in médio templi tui.
We have received your mercy, O God, in the midst of your temple.
Secúndum nomen tuum, Deus, sic et laus tua in fines terræ: * iustítia plena est déxtera tua.
According to your name, O God, so also is your praise unto the ends of the earth: your right hand is full of justice.
Lætétur mons Sion, et exsúltent fíliæ Iudæ: * propter iudícia tua, Dómine.
Let mount Sion rejoice, and the daughters of Juda be glad; because of your judgments, O Lord.
Circúmdate Sion, et complectímini eam: * narráte in túrribus eius.
Surround Sion, and encompass her: tell lye in her towers.
Pónite corda vestra in virtúte eius: * et distribúite domus eius, ut enarrétis in progénie áltera.
Set your hearts on her strength; and distribute her houses, that you may relate it in another generation.
Quóniam hic est Deus, Deus noster in ætérnum et in sæculum sæculi: * ipse reget nos in sæcula.
For this is God, our God unto eternity, and for ever and ever: he shall rule us for evermore.
Glória Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, * et in sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.
As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.


The eighth Sunday after Pentecost and other liturgical uses of the psalm

As the table below shows, both the Introit and the Alleluia for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost in the Extraordinary Form use verses from Psalm 47 (48 in the Hebrew Masoretic Text numbering) point to a theme of the heavenly city of God, presented to us in Christ; realized for us in the Church and her saints, especially Our Lady (hence the psalm's use on the feast of the Purification); and prefigured by the Temple. 

NT references
-         
RB cursus
Tues Matins
Monastic/(Roman) feasts etc
Nativity, Epiphany, Christ the King, Pentecost, Trinity, Transfiguration, BVM, Assumption, Common of Virgins;
Roman pre 1911
Monday M 
Thesauris schemas
A: ; B: ; C: ; D:
Roman post 1911
1911-62: Tuesday M  . 1970:
Mass propers (EF)
Purification, IN 1, 10-11; GR 7, 10-11;
PP8 IN 1, 10-11; AL 1


In the Benedictine Office it is said on Tuesday at Matins as part of a group of psalms focused on the Temple and foreshadowing the revelation of Christ and his Church as the true Temple.


c16th Russian icon, the Church Militant
The text of  the Alleluia verse

The Alleluia uses the first verse of the psalm (which is also the verse of the Introit):

Magnus Dóminus, et laudábilis valde [nimis] * in civitáte Dei [nostri], in monte sancto ejus.

The Douay-Rheims translates it as 'Great is the Lord (magnus Dominus), and exceedingly to be praised (et laudabilis valde) in the city of God (in civitate Dei), in his holy mountain (in monte sancto ejus)'. Note that the Vulgate substitutes 'nimis' for 'valde' (both of which mean exceedingly) and adds 'nostri' (our) as indicated in square brackets. The Neo-Vulgate sticks with the Vulgate text for this verse.

Commentary

St Robert Bellarmine writes:
"The Prophet, being about to praise a certain edifice, commences by praising the architect, and says that in the holy city the wonderful skill and wisdom of God, who built it, is truly displayed. "Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised;" and so he is, whether we look at his essence, his power, his wisdom, his justice, or his mercy, for all are infinite, everlasting, and incomprehensible; and thus, so much is God "exceedingly to be praised," that all the angels, all men, even all his own works would not suffice thereto; but of all things we have revealed, there is no one thing can give us a greater idea of his greatness, or for which we should praise and thank him more, than the establishment of his Church; and, therefore, the Prophet adds, "in the city of our God, in his holy mountain;" that is to say, the greatness of God, and for which he deserves so much praise, is conspicuous in the foundation and construction of his Church, which is "the city of our God, in his holy mountain;" that is, made as perfect as possible. For, it is said in Isaias 2, "The mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared on top of mountains." And the Lord himself calls his Church "a city placed on a mountain." To touch briefly on the remarkable points of this edifice, just consider, first, the incredible variety of nations, differing in language, manners, customs, and laws, so uniting in the profession of one faith, and the use of the same sacraments, as to form one people, nay, even one family. Consider, secondly, the same Church, founded on Peter, a poor, ignorant, rude fisherman; and yet founded so firmly, that the gates of hell cannot prevail against it; for, in spite of that world in which Christ's Church is spending its exile, in spite of all the powers of darkness, in spite of all the persecutions of the wicked, she will ultimately arrive in safety at the land of promise; and, placed, at length, above the highest heavens, will reign undisturbed in everlasting happiness. Such things, certainly, could not be accomplished, but by the great God; that is, by a most powerful and skillful architect who, therefore, "is exceedingly to be praised," or, rather, is beyond all praise."
You can find more on this psalm here.

There are also some excellent commentaries on the psalm online, including: