The Lord’s revelation to my Master:
‘Sit on my right:
your foes I will put beneath your feet.’The Lord will wield from Zion
your sceptre of power:
rule in the midst of all your foes.A prince from the day of your birth
on the holy mountains;
from the womb before the dawn I begot you.The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change.
‘You are a priest for ever,
a priest like Melchizedek of old.’Responsorial Psalm for Corpus Christi
Psalm 109(110):1-4
The psalm – perhaps originally sung in honour of Israel’s kings – finds new meaning in the Church where it is applied to Jesus.
- The language of relationship between Lord and Master speaks of intimacy and care between the two, but also in the light of the resurrection and ascension now implies a present sharing in the divine and heavenly life.
- Christians will find in the language of ‘begotten before the dawn’ a way of considering the unique origin of the Word that is incarnate in Jesus
- The unique salvation won by Jesus is linked to priestly ministry, but to a pre-Aaronic priesthood, exercised by the somewhat mysterious figure of Melchizedek – known only from a brief episode in Genesis.
The metaphors and narrative of the psalm give us new access to the mystery of the Lord Jesus.
St Eloi, Bordeaux. Photograph (c) 2018, Allen Morris.
Reblogged this on St Nicholas, Boldmere.
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