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Hebrews: A Treatise on the High Priesthood of Christ

- Readings for Daily Masses in Weeks 1 - 4 of Ordinary Time, Year I
  
  Christ the High Priest - Cathedral of Lancaster, England (credit: Lawrence, OP)
  
  Although often called “The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews,” Hebrews is not a letter, it was not written by St. Paul, nor was it written exclusively to Hebrew-speaking people. In the most sophisticated Greek of the New Testament, Hebrews exhorts the entire Jewish Christian community. It seeks to re-energize them by contextualizing their discipleship as a continuation of the salvation history begun by God millennia before.
  
  Chapters 1 and 2 call us to reorient our theology. What we know most confidently about God comes through what we know about Jesus Christ. This is the filter through which we should pass all truth claims. The author of Hebrews is clear: what we know about Christ is the starting point for everything we think, say, and do with respect to God and our Christian journey.
- Moses
  
  Abraham and Melchizedek / Last Supper
  
  Blowing a shofar for Yom Kippur
- Hebrews overflows with explicit and implicit references to God’s salvific activity in the world before the coming of Christ, including the following:
  
  The promises made to Abraham and his family (2:16; 6:13-20; 7:4-9)
  
  The priesthood of Melchizedek and the Levitical priesthood (4:14 – 5:10; 7:1 – 8:5; 10:11-18)
  
  Moses, the Law, and the earlier covenant (3:1-6; 7:22; 8:1-13; 9:15-22; 10:9-18, 26-31; 12:24)
  
  The Exodus, the time in the wilderness, and the entrance into the Promised Land (3:7-19; 4:8-11)
  
  The tabernacle, the temple, and the sacrifices in the temple (7:26 – 8:5; 9:1-14, 23-28; 10:1-25; 12:22-24; 13:10-12)
  
  The judges and the prophets (1:1; 8:8-11; 11:32-40)
  
  Of these many references, the ones probably least familiar to Christians today are the rituals surrounding Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, which are detailed in Leviticus 16. The references to Yom Kippur occur most explicitly in Hebrews 9.
- Although the author of Hebrews acknowledges that it can be “difficult to explain” (5:11) all of this revelation, the author nonetheless exhorts us to move beyond the “basic elements” or “milk,” and to feast on the “solid food” (5:12) obtained by diving more deeply into the study of the mystery. By loving God with all our mind—in addition to with all our hearts and with all our strength (Deuteronomy 6:5)—we will be reassured in our faith, and we will grow in understanding the reconciling, everlasting high priesthood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
- The response to the first reading during these weeks is always from the Book of Psalms, except for Saturday of Week 3, when the response is from the Benedictus (Luke 1:68-79). The gospel reading is taken from the Gospel of Mark, chapters 1-6.

Hebrews: A Treatise on the High Priesthood of Christ

Christ the High Priest - Cathedral of Lancaster, England (credit: Lawrence, OP)

Moses

Abraham and Melchizedek / Last Supper

Blowing a shofar for Yom Kippur

Hebrews overflows with explicit and implicit references to God’s salvific activity in the world before the coming of Christ, including the following:

The promises made to Abraham and his family (2:16; 6:13-20; 7:4-9)

The priesthood of Melchizedek and the Levitical priesthood (4:14 – 5:10; 7:1 – 8:5; 10:11-18)

Moses, the Law, and the earlier covenant (3:1-6; 7:22; 8:1-13; 9:15-22; 10:9-18, 26-31; 12:24)

The Exodus, the time in the wilderness, and the entrance into the Promised Land (3:7-19; 4:8-11)

The tabernacle, the temple, and the sacrifices in the temple (7:26 – 8:5; 9:1-14, 23-28; 10:1-25; 12:22-24; 13:10-12)

The judges and the prophets (1:1; 8:8-11; 11:32-40)

Of these many references, the ones probably least familiar to Christians today are the rituals surrounding Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, which are detailed in Leviticus 16. The references to Yom Kippur occur most explicitly in Hebrews 9.

The response to the first reading during these weeks is always from the Book of Psalms, except for Saturday of Week 3, when the response is from the Benedictus (Luke 1:68-79). The gospel reading is taken from the Gospel of Mark, chapters 1-6.