Friday, January 24, 2014

Friday, January 24, 2014

Hebrews 7:1-17
Contribution by Father Mark Gatto

Jesus, the great high priest, is reflected in this mysterious figure of Melchizedek.  “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”  This priesthood of Jesus is a wider, universal, all-embracing priesthood.  He offers his whole life in a sacrifice rooted in love.

In baptism, each Christian is called to share in the priesthood of the baptized.  (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 5:10)  This calls us to share in the mission of Jesus.  We do this in offering our lives fully in a holy sacrifice.  Today we have come to a deeper appreciation of our Christian unity rooted in baptism.  This baptism calls us to live as brothers and sisters in Christ.  But, it also unites us in a common mission.  We are to share in the priesthood of Christ by offering our lives in loving sacrifice.  

Our priestly life requires us to imitate the priestly life of Jesus.  This requires a faith, a mercy, a love, that is wide enough, big enough, strong enough, courageous enough, inclusive enough, to embrace all.

The eternal priesthood of Jesus is an offering that allows all to be embraced by God’s love.  In our baptism we are given a share in this mission, to make an offering of our life that will reach out to all with God’s love and mercy.

As Christians we share a certain communion in our baptism.  We also have a common mission to share in the priesthood of Jesus through the sacrificial offering of our lives.  Is our faith universal enough, to embrace each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, to embrace all others as brothers and sisters in the one human family?  Is our faith loving enough to reach out to all people, especially the poor and marginalized, with mercy?

The priesthood of Jesus was expressed most fully on the cross, our share in that priesthood is expressed as we give our lives in loving service of others.

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Fr. Mark Gatto is Pastor of St. Matthew Roman Catholic Church in Oakville.