May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.
Collect
God, our light and our salvation, illuminate our lives, that we may see your goodness in the land of the living, and looking on your beauty may be changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Confession
Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith, firmly resolved to keep God’s commandments and to live in love and peace together.
Merciful Father, we confess that have sinned in your sight, in the wrong we have said and done, and in the good we have failed to do. Forgive us and heal us, that we may live and walk in the light of your presence, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
May God grant us his forgiveness, and the strength and comfort of his Holy Spirit. Amen.
Hebrews, chapter 5, verses 1 to 10 :-
Every high priest is taken from among men and appointed their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to bear patiently with the ignorant and erring, since he too is beset by weakness; and because of this he is bound to make sin-offerings for himself as well as for the people. Moreover nobody assumes the office on his own authority: he is called by God, just as Aaron was. So it is with Christ: he did not confer on himself the glory of becoming high priest; it was granted by God, who said to him, ‘You are my son; today I have become your father’; as also in another place he says, ‘You are a priest for ever, in the order of Melchizedek.’ In the course of his earthly life he offered up prayers and petitions, with loud cries and tears, to God who was able to deliver him from death. Because of his devotion his prayer was heard: son though he was, he learned obedience through his sufferings, and, once perfected, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, and by God he was designated high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Mark, chapter 10, verses 35 to 45 :-
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Jesus and said, ‘Teacher, we should like you to do us a favour.’ ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ he asked. They answered, ‘Allow us to sit with you in your glory, one at your right hand and the other at your left.’ Jesus said to them, ‘You do not understand what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?’ ‘We can,’ they answered. Jesus said, ‘The cup that I drink you shall drink, and the baptism I am baptized with shall be your baptism; but to sit on my right or on my left is not for me to grant; that honour is for those to whom it has already been assigned.’
When the other ten heard this, they were indignant with James and John. Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that among the Gentiles the recognized rulers lord it over their subjects, and the great make their authority felt. It shall not be so with you; among you, whoever wants to be great must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.
Reflection on the Readings
Melchizedek, the priest mentioned in our first reading, from Hebrews, featured in the east window of our chapel at Lincoln Theological College, where I trained for ministry. I confess I don’t recall much about his image there, other than that he seemed to be wearing red and white striped socks, not the normal attire for a priest I’d have thought.
But Melchizedek was not a very normal priest. He’s a very obscure character, who may have been a king as well as a priest, and who was specially called and designated by God, rather than being a priest because his father and grandfather had been, as was the case for the temple priests in Israel. In fact we know nothing about Melchizedek’s lineage at all; scripture says nothing about his ancestors or his children - but at a crucial point in the story of Abraham, he is there to pronounce God’s blessing upon him.
So the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews describes Jesus as “a priest for ever, in the order of Melchizedek” - meaning that, like Melchizedek, the priesthood of Jesus is something directly conferred upon him by God, rather than merely inherited, as with the priests of the temple.
And like Melchizedek, he is both priest and king. The line quoted in Hebrews about being a priest for ever in the order of Melchizedek comes from one of the only two places in the Old Testament where Melchizedek is mentioned at all - the 110th Psalm. This seems to be a Psalm in which God confers upon King David himself the status of both priest and king. But the writer to the Hebrews understands this as referring not to David himself, but to his descendant, Jesus.
Jesus is presented in Hebrews as the one perfect priest, as compared with the priests of the temple, who are themselves imperfect and fallible, and must expiate their own sins before they can presume to speak and plead on behalf of the people to their God. Later in Hebrews (in chapter 10) he will also be presented as the perfect sacrifice: the one perfect sacrifice made by the one person declared fit to make it is contrasted with the repeated round of sacrifices made in the temple, which have to be repeated because they are inevitably imperfect.
The disciples of Jesus recognised something in him that was special and different, and unlike other teachers; but they didn’t really understand what that was, or, really, what it would mean for them. In our second reading, James and John are still thinking in terms of status, of what’s in it for them, even. “Can you share my cup?” Jesus asks them. “We can!” they reply, though they can’t possibly know what that will require of them.
The other disciples are furious, probably mostly because they’ve seen James and John try to steal a march on them. So Jesus uses this as an opportunity to teach about the very different kind of priesthood - and kingship - he will bring, and what it’s going to require from them. Look around you, he tells them, see what the world counts as greatness. It shall not be so with you. My way is different from the world’s way: in my way priests give themselves as a sacrifice, and kings are the servants of all.
It’s a long time since I sat in the chapel at Lincoln Theological college marvelling at Melchizedek’s red and white striped socks. The college is no longer there, though maybe the chapel is still used for worship. I have been a priest of the Church of England for forty years; how does my priesthood square with the priesthood of Jesus, after the order of Melchizedek? Am I perhaps more like the temple priests?
How do people see the church in which I’m called to minister? Christ shares his kingship with us, and calls us his sisters and brothers: how servant-minded, how forgetful of ourselves in God’s service, do we manage to be? I love our ancient and historic and beautiful buildings - but are we too wedded to them? Like - I’m sure - those disciples after Jesus spoke to them about what kingship should actually mean, I have more questions than answers . . . and, after forty years, much still to learn.
Statement of faith - We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love. We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayers - Pray for the Church to be motivated by a spirit of sacrifice and servanthood, and to be ready to reach out to all who are abused or treated unjustly. Pray for the churches of the West Indies, and for the Anglican Province of the West Indies. Pray for Bishop Richard, and for the churches and communities of the Leominster Deanery.
On Child Poverty Day, pray for children being brought up in poverty within our own society, and for the many children in our world who are abused or exploited, live out on the streets, or lack healthcare, education and protection. Pray too for all in our world who face persecution because of their faith. Continue to pray that the nations of the world may work together to ensure all are vaccinated against Covid.
On the eve of St Luke’s Day, pray for all who work in medicine, and for those who work as hospital and hospice chaplains. Pray for all who are in hospital or any other place of care, and for all that is done for their good. Pray for the ongoing programme of vaccination against Covid and also against flu.
Pray for families and friends, and for the life of our churches and communities. St Luke’s Day prompts our prayer for our local doctors and health practices. Pray also for our local parish and community councils, for our county councilors and all who work in local government. Pray we may continue to act with responsibility and care, looking out for each other, and keeping safe ourselves.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Blessing - May Christ our servant King bless us in his service, and grant us light to guide us, and love to inspire us. Amen.
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