Monday, October 28, 2024

*** This is a rough transcript of today’s show ***

It is the 28th of October 2024. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

A very happy Monday to you- and I’ll tell you- I knew it, I knew it, I knew it… partly because last week I read from the lectionary that mentioned the mysterious Melchizedek.

And, a number of churches- including my own- use the lectionary, and so last week we heard about Melchizedek, and I knew the questions would start flooding in… so, Jason in Overland Park Kansas- interestingly, Jason Sudeikis- Ted Lasso is from Overland Park. Still, I saw your last name in your email, and you are a different Jason. Also, Paul Rudd is from Overland Park, Kansas. Now- Overland Park is on the Missouri border just south of Kansas City- but Kansas City, Kansas, not Missouri, and we really need some kind of legislation against this mess.

So Jason- but also both Bob and Tom this weekend at the event I was speaking at (which happened to be at my own church) asked about it, too.

Ok- Melchizedek shows up in Genesis 14. Abram has rescued his nephew Lot again and on the way back comes across this mysterious man— Melchizedek the priest and king of Salem. He brings bread and wine, he blesses Abram on behalf of the Most High God and Abram gives him 10% of his stuff.

And then, the author of Hebrews (Apollos or Priscilla in my fan fiction) brings this up when talking about Jesus. Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek.

But wait, there’s more! Melchizedek shows up in Psalm 110- it seems that perhaps David is also of this mysterious priestly line. So, a quick reminder-

Priests came from the tribe of Levi, but not all Levites were priests- there were qualifications (a man, unblemished, of a certain age) all Levites are not priests, but all priests are Levites. But, our high priest, Jesus… he’s of the tribe of Judah- in the line of David. How could he (or David for that matter, who does priestly things) be a priest? Well, what if there was a deeper magic? A “priesthood” that worked outside and before the line from Levi down to Moses and Aaron into the Levites.

In Ravenna in the Basilica of San Vitale, there is a 6th-century mosaic that is fascinating- in the part of the church where communion is served to the clergy, and it contains a picture of an altar- and then Melchizedek offering bread and Abel offering a lamb. These two knew how to offer up sacrifices like priests before there was any tribe of Israel- these were offerings and sacrifices before there was an official priesthood! God is not bound by the law of the Levitical priesthood.

And this mystery king is the king of Salem, near the Valley of Kings… near “JERU” Salem- where the new kind of king will rule (David) and the next new king and priest will himself become the sacrifice, there is Jerusalem.

So- who is this guy Melchizedek- the dude who can be a priest but not a Levite just like David and Jesus? You might hear the word “theophany,” that is, an “appearance of God,” or “christophany,” “an appearance of a pre-incarnate Christ. Or maybe an Angel- they do show up in Abram’s story from time to time.

There is no ‘right answer’ as to who Melchizedek is- but authors of the Bible across languages and centuries both thought he was showing us the way of a new kind of priest and king- the Messiah.

What is also interesting to me is how Melchizedek would be used in the politics of Medieval Europe- for instance, Constantine the Great, the Roman Emperor who called the Council of Nicea in 325- used Melchizedek as the reason he should be both a king, but also have a place in the church. This might be in the top 3 issues of all the Middle Ages- Monarchs ruling the church- and ironically, Melchizedek was used by them- as if they too were, well… monarchs and hubris have always been bedfellows.

Thanks for the question Jason in Kansas where you eat chili with cinnamon rolls and I kinda really want to try that.

You can send me your questions at Danv@1517.org.

The last word for today is from the daily lectionary- and what do you know, 1 Peter 2 with more evidence that the priesthood is bigger than one line:

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 28th of October 2024, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who knows you eat the cinnamon roll from the inside out—you unravel it—he knows. He is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man happy for you that your teams are winning all the games… I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.