First Reading

A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy (6:2-6)

Moses spoke to the people, saying: "Fear the Lord, your God, and keep, throughout the days of your lives, all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you, and thus have long life. Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them, that you may grow and prosper the more, in keeping with the promise of the Lord, the God of your fathers, to give you a land flowing with milk and honey.

"Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today."

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51)

(R) I love you, O Lord, my strength, O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.

My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold! Praised be the Lord, I exclaim, and I am safe from my enemies. (R)

The Lord lives! And blessed be my rock! Extolled be God my savior, you who gave great victories to your king and showed kindness to your anointed. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews (7:23-28)

Brothers and sisters: The Levitical priests were many because they were prevented by death from remaining in office, but Jesus, because he remains forever, has a priesthood that does not pass away. Therefore, he is always able to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever to make intercession for them.

It was fitting that we should have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens. He has no need, as did the high priests, to offer sacrifice day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of then for those of the people; he did that once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests, but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law, appoints a son, who has been made perfect forever.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (12:28b-34)

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these."

The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, "He is One and there is no other than he." And "to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself" is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

And when Jesus saw he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

In the past four weeks we have been reading the letter to the Hebrews. We have learned that the letter was most likely written to encourage and reassure Jewish Christians who were suffering persecution for their faith. Throughout the letter the writer stresses the eternal and unchanging nature of Jesus Christ. First he described the greatness of our Lord Jesus. He said that Jesus was always God but became "for a little while lower than the angels", to experience our human conditions, so that he could share our sufferings and help us in times of temptations, and bring us all to God's glory. These words are meant to encourage Christians to persevere through trials and recognize Jesus Christ as an active, living and loving God.

Then the writer explained the power of the Word of God which was God Himself who became human in the person of His Son Jesus. He said that "the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two edged sword". He further said that the word of God has the power to penetrate deep into us, and clearly see all our thoughts, words and actions, and there is nothing that can be hidden from God's sight. These words serve to remind Christians that our relationship with God must be personal, genuine and honest as we approach Him.

Then the writer talked about the mercy and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. He said that Jesus was truly God but also truly human like the rest of us, and was tested and tried just like us. But He lived a sinless life, and then died on the cross to pay the price for our sins. After His resurrection He was taken up to heaven where God gave Him the highest position, that of "the great high priest" who is capable of empathizing with everyone in their needs and assist them. These words provide a great source of hope to Christians and encourage them to approach God confidently for mercy and grace, and to hold on to their confession no matter what or how severe the opposition.

And then last week, the writer summarized the work of the high priests, and then turned to the characteristics of Jesus as a high priest. He said that the Old Testament high priests were to mediate between God and men, to sympathize with his fellow sinners, and were called by God to the office. So too, the writer recounted that God chose Jesus Christ, even though he was from the tribe of Judah, and designated Him as Great High Priest forever in the order of Melchizedek, the king and priest of Salem who blessed Abraham, and Aaron the first high priest chosen from among Israelites to offer sacrifices to God from the time of Moses. These words were intended to assure Christians that Christ did not make Himself high priest but God made Him to be because of his obedience through suffering and that, in the Holy Mass, Jesus as an eternal High Priest, continues to offer Himself to the Father as a living sacrifice for our sins.

In today's text the writer elaborates on this high priestly work of Jesus Christ by making a comparison between the priesthood of the Levites or Melchizedek and that of Christ:

The Levitical priesthood or the priesthood of Melchizedek, like all other priesthoods, was earthly and temporary. They were limited in service due to death. When one priest died, another took his place. Out of necessity, there had to be "many priests". But Jesus' priesthood is heavenly and permanent. By his resurrection from the dead Jesus was made our only and final High Priest forever who is able to serve and offer salvation perpetually.
Priests were sinners like others whereas Jesus Christ was "holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens". In other words, Jesus in his humanity was tempted like any other human being but He did not yield to the temptation.
Priests offered up sacrifices on a daily basis. Even the best of them had to make repeated sacrifices for their own sins before offering sacrifices for the sins of others. But Jesus, first of all, did not need to offer sacrifices for Himself because he was without sin, and He only had to sacrifice himself once and for all, for the sins of people.
Jesus Christ was made a priest forever by the unchangeable oath of God. God chose His only begotten Son as a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek whereas sinful priests were appointed by the Law.

Friends, despite many efforts we still may not have an accurate understanding of these passages in the letter to the Hebrews. This is all the more so because the comparison between the priesthood of Jesus Christ and earthly priesthood may not be a pressing concern for an average Christian. Most Christians today do not even think much about the nature of priesthood. However, I think it is very important for us to understand how Jesus accomplished salvation for the human race. We must remember, Christ's identity as the eternal great high priest in heaven is what enables Him to offer us salvation.

We know now that Jesus Christ, who was God, came into the world as the Son of God, lived a perfectly righteous life, offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice for our sins, rose to everlasting life, and is now sitting at the right hand of God as a Great High Priest, constantly interceding to God, the Father, on our behalf. However to benefit from Christ's offering of himself - we must continually, personally, honestly, confidently and devotedly approach our Lord Jesus Christ, most especially in the Holy Eucharist, and truly believe that Jesus is the perfect and sinless sacrifice for our sins and trust in His Power as the one and only Great High Priest to save us.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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