The Way: life-oriented not death-bound

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 2nd week in Ordinary time

January 22, 2025 - Hebrews 7: 1-3, 15-17; Mark 3:1-6

The Way that Jesus showed us was definitively life-oriented! Today we see the contrasts in the mindset of Jesus and the Pharisees who opposed him - while Jesus was asking them if it were lawful on a sabbath to give life, they were intent on gathering together to plot his death. The Jesus difference that we can make in this world is this: being life oriented persons, giving life to all. 

Melchizedek, is presented to us by the letter to the Hebrews as a prefigurement of Christ from the Old Testament, one whose origins and whereabouts were known to none. Just as Jesus said, you think you know from where I come, in fact you do not; the One who sent me alone knows that! Melchizedek is presented as the one with fullness of life, who blessed Abraham in the Old Testament (Gen 14:18) and who is presented as the priest of God who offered himself to God for eternity. 

The fullness of life that Jesus was able to offer to us as saving grace, is this sense of offering oneself to God and to God's will for eternity. It is in living for God and belonging to God forever in everything that we become people of God, people of life.  And naturally anything Christ-ian has to be life-oriented, not death-bound; life giving and not death wishing.