As sin spread throughout the world even after the great purging flood, God reveals himself to Abram, tells him to leave his homeland so that He can give Abram a new land, in which He will make him a great nation. In this nation, Abram would have numerous descendants through which great blessing would come to the world. Abram brings his family and his nephew Lot to this new promised land. However, Lot and all he owns is captured and carried away by conquering Kings. When word reaches Abram, he musters up a band of men, chases the kings down, and defeats them in battle regaining Lot.
Upon Abram’s victorious return a mysterious king named Melchizedek offers a sacrifice. Melchizedek is a priest of God the Most High and the king of Salam. He offers a sacrifice of bread and wine and then blesses Abram. Abram then gives to Melchizedek ten percent of his wealth. Little else is known about this mysterious figure, but in light of the New Testament he becomes the prefiguration of Jesus and His Eucharistic sacrifice.
Melchizedek was King of Salem (eventually renamed the city of Jeru‘salem’). Salem comes from the root word ‘shalom’ in Hebrew. Thus Melchizedek, the King of Peace of the region where the Last Supper took place, offers bread and wine as priest of the God Most High. His blessing is given to Abram, the man through whom God is establishing His chosen people. In Melchizedek, we see the prefiguration of Jesus, the ultimate King of Peace, who offers His sacrifice of bread and wine which becomes His Body and Blood in the Upper Room in Jerusalem. By doing so, Jesus is establishing His chosen people as all of those who partake in the sacrifice.
In addition, Psalm 110 (written hundreds of years later) will prophesy that the Messiah will be a priest forever of the line of Melchizedek, not the line of Levi (the line of the Jewish priesthood). Jesus, who is from the line of Judah, takes up this mantle with the sacrifice of His Body and Blood in the Eucharistic offering that ends on the cross. His priesthood continues in His Ascension into heaven where He constantly intercedes for us in the presence of the Father with the sacrifice of His Body and Blood as evidence of His worthiness. Because of this, we see the words of Psalm 110 echoed in Catholic ordinations throughout the history of the Church as each priest becomes an alter Christus (another Christ) revealing that those who stand in persona Christi (in the person of Christ) are of the line of Melchizedek, priests of God the Most High.
Originally published in Prime Soil Magazine | Vol. 1 No. 2
Originally presented at The 10th National Eucharistic Congress in July 2024
