{"id":3444,"date":"2015-03-03T13:18:33","date_gmt":"2015-03-03T18:18:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ancientfaith.com\/roadsfromemmaus\/?p=3444"},"modified":"2020-04-03T09:19:33","modified_gmt":"2020-04-03T13:19:33","slug":"fr-matthew-baker-priesthood-and-sacrifice-homily-for-sunday-of-the-holy-cross","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ancientfaith.com\/asd\/2015\/03\/03\/fr-matthew-baker-priesthood-and-sacrifice-homily-for-sunday-of-the-holy-cross\/","title":{"rendered":"Fr. Matthew Baker: Priesthood and Sacrifice (Homily for Sunday of the Holy Cross)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Fr.
Fr. Matthew Baker at his first Divine Liturgy as a priest<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I<\/span> committed to blogging every day for 40 days this Lent, but I have to admit that I don’t feel like writing about almost anything right now except trying somehow to keep my friend Fr. Matthew<\/a> in my immediate memory, as if that somehow holds off the reality of his shocking departure from this earthly life. (For more on Fr. Matthew and also for information on how to help his family, click here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

But I made this commitment, so here I am again today trying to put a post together. I won’t write much here myself, because I’ve decided to give you something from him. The last conversation Fr. Matthew and I had was about the priesthood of Christ. The chat was over email, and I am probably like many people who have a vast archive of email from our conversations together. When Fr. Matthew sent you email, you just wanted to save all of it.<\/p>\n

So here’s what he sent me just a couple of weeks ago, a homily on the priesthood of Christ that he delivered at St. Tikhon’s<\/a> on the Sunday of the Cross either in 2007 or 2008 (he couldn’t remember). Even though his voluminous pre-doctoral publishing hadn’t quite gotten off the ground at that point, you can see from this piece that he was masterful not only with the English language and with his sources but profoundly concerned about those with whom he was speaking.<\/p>\n

Here’s the homily.<\/p>\n

\n

Priesthood and Sacrifice<\/b>:\u00a0Homily for\u00a0Sunday\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0Holy\u00a0Cross<\/b><\/p>\n

Hebrews 4:14-5:10; Mark 8:34-9:1<\/b><\/p>\n

1. In today\u2019s readings,\u00a0the\u00a0Church invites us to contemplate\u00a0the\u00a0mystery\u00a0of\u00a0the Holy\u00a0Cross in light\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0high-priestly ministry\u00a0of\u00a0Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

Jesus Christ,\u00a0the\u00a0Epistle to\u00a0the\u00a0Hebrews tells us, is our great High Priest. He is\u00a0the mediator\u00a0of\u00a0a new covenant (Heb. 9:15; 12:24): a new relationship\u00a0of\u00a0love between God and man.<\/p>\n

St. Athanasius points out that whenever\u00a0the\u00a0Apostle Paul speaks\u00a0of\u00a0Christ as priest or mediator, he always connects this to His being made\u00a0man (Contra Arianos II: XIV:10).<\/i>\u00a0As we heard today: \u201cFor we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin\u201d (Heb. 4:15). And again elsewhere it is said: \u201cHe had in all things to be made like unto his brethren, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God\u201d (Heb. 2:17). \u201cFor there is one God and one Mediator between God and men,\u201d writes St. Paul: \u201cthe\u00a0Man\u00a0<\/i>Christ Jesus\u201d (1 Tim. 2:5).<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Fathers\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0Church insist upon this apostolic teaching.\u00a0The\u00a0eternal Son takes\u00a0the \u201cmaterial\u201d\u00a0of\u00a0His priesthood, says St. Epiphanius, \u201cfrom humanity\u201d (Adv. Haer<\/i>. 44:4). \u201cIn what is He a priest, save in that which He took to Himself from\u00a0the\u00a0priestly nation?\u201d asks St. Ambrose\u00a0of\u00a0Milan (Expositio Fidei<\/i>\u00a0III: XI, 86-88). It is as one sharing fully in\u00a0the condition\u00a0of\u00a0our fragile,\u00a0mortal humanity<\/i>\u00a0(Heb.2:14) that\u00a0God\u00a0the\u00a0Son<\/i>\u00a0was made High Priest for us. And\u00a0the\u00a0very \u201cstuff\u201d\u00a0of\u00a0His priestly offering is\u00a0the\u00a0wounded humanity which is shown to us on\u00a0the\u00a0Cross.<\/i><\/p>\n

2. On\u00a0the\u00a0Cross, Jesus prayed to\u00a0the\u00a0Father. As our High Priest, \u201ctaken from amongst men\u201d (Heb. 5:1), our Lord\u00a0offered<\/i>\u00a0worship.\u00a0<\/i>As St. Cyril\u00a0of\u00a0Alexandria tells us:<\/p>\n

Since he put on\u00a0the\u00a0form\u00a0of\u00a0a servant, he fulfilled\u00a0the\u00a0ministry befitting a servant, without ceasing to be God and Lord Worship is a thing most befitting men, reckoned in\u00a0the\u00a0order\u00a0of\u00a0a debt and offered by us to God. Therefore he worshipped as man when he became man, but is ever worshipped with\u00a0the Father, since he is God and ever will be God by nature, and true God (In Joannis Evangelium<\/em>, LXXXIII, 340, 305).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On\u00a0the\u00a0Cross, Jesus offered to\u00a0the\u00a0Father\u00a0the\u00a0prayer\u00a0of\u00a0Israel, a prayer from\u00a0the\u00a0psalms\u00a0of David,\u00a0the\u00a0prayer-book\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0Jerusalem Temple, crying \u201cMy God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?\u201d (Ps. 22:1) and \u201cInto Thy hands I commend my spirit\u201d (Ps. 31:4). He united to Himself the prayers of every generation, completing and fulfilling them, offering in\u00a0the Temple\u00a0of\u00a0His Body\u00a0the\u00a0sacrifice\u00a0of\u00a0His\u00a0holy\u00a0life.<\/p>\n

3. Today\u2019s epistle announces to us that this priestly offering is not simply a fact\u00a0of\u00a0past history: through His ascension into\u00a0the\u00a0Heaven,\u00a0the\u00a0prayer\u00a0of\u00a0Jesus and His sacrifice on the\u00a0Cross\u00a0is gathered into eternity. <\/p>\n

In\u00a0the\u00a0Old Covenant,\u00a0the\u00a0high priest entered\u00a0the\u00a0Holy\u00a0of\u00a0Holies once a year, on the Day of Atonement. Exodus tells us how the high priest bore \u201cupon his shoulders\u201d and \u201cupon his heart\u201d \u2013 in\u00a0the\u00a0form\u00a0of\u00a0a breastplate \u2013\u00a0the\u00a0names\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0twelve tribes\u00a0of\u00a0Israel \u201cto bring them to continual remembrance before\u00a0the\u00a0LORD\u201d (Exod. 28:12, 29). Wisdom of Solomon recalls how the high priest dressed in a long robe which represented \u201cthe\u00a0whole creation\u201d (Wisdom\u00a0of\u00a0Solomon 18:24).<\/p>\n

But now we hear\u00a0of\u00a0something greater: our High Priest \u2013\u00a0the\u00a0only Son\u00a0of\u00a0God<\/i>\u00a0\u2013 now stands in\u00a0the\u00a0presence\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0Father in Heaven,\u00a0still bearing our humanity<\/i>. He brings our names into continual remembrance before God, bearing us upon His heart, offering\u00a0the whole creation to\u00a0the\u00a0Father. As St. Gregory\u00a0the\u00a0Theologian confesses: \u201cAs man He still pleads for my salvation, because He keeps with Him\u00a0the\u00a0body which He took.\u201d (Fourth Theological Oration,<\/i>\u00a014).<\/i><\/p>\n

It is into this heavenly liturgy which\u00a0<\/i>Christ performs before\u00a0the\u00a0face\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0Father that\u00a0the\u00a0Church is drawn in her worship. Jesus Himself is\u00a0the\u00a0one chief “liturgist\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0sanctuary” (Heb. 8:2),\u00a0the\u00a0\u201cbishop\u00a0of\u00a0our souls\u201d (1 Pet. 2:25), and \u201cthe\u00a0Amen,\u00a0the\u00a0faithful and true witness\u201d (Rev. 3:14), through whom that we offer our Amen to God (2 Cor. 1:20). True God, worshipped with\u00a0the\u00a0Father and\u00a0the\u00a0Spirit, Christ also prays \u201cwith us as man\u2026<\/i> offering\u2026 himself on our behalf, and us\u00a0through himself<\/i> and in himself<\/i> to God\u00a0the\u00a0Father\u201d (St. Cyril\u00a0of\u00a0Alexandria,\u00a0Thesaurus,<\/i>\u00a0117CD, 361B-D).<\/p>\n

This is why, before our liturgy begins,\u00a0the\u00a0deacon proclaims, \u201cIt is time for\u00a0the\u00a0Lord<\/i>\u00a0to act.\u201d It is why, during\u00a0the\u00a0prayer\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0Cherubic Hymn,\u00a0the\u00a0bishop or priest addresses our Lord with\u00a0the\u00a0words, \u201cThou art\u00a0the\u00a0Offerer<\/i> and\u00a0the\u00a0Offering\u2026 O Christ.\u201d And we are called to\u00a0lift up our hearts<\/i>: to ascend \u201cboldly to\u00a0the\u00a0throne\u00a0of\u00a0grace\u201d (Heb. 4:16), \u201cwhere Christ is seated on\u00a0the\u00a0right hand\u00a0of\u00a0God\u201d (Col. 3:1) \u2013 where, we pray, our gifts will be received \u201cupon His\u00a0holy, heavenly and ideal altar.” By\u00a0the\u00a0coming\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0Holy\u00a0Spirit upon us and upon these gifts\u00a0of\u00a0bread and wine,\u00a0our<\/i>\u00a0feeble, often halting prayers and\u00a0our<\/i> simple offering are being united to\u00a0Christ\u2019s<\/i>\u00a0prayer and Christ’s<\/i> offering of Hid Holy Body and Blood. We are being made sharers in His priesthood.<\/p>\n

4. Now priesthood, as we heard in today\u2019s epistle reading, entails\u00a0the\u00a0offering\u00a0of\u00a0\u201cboth gifts and sacrifices\u201d (Heb. 5:1). It was for\u00a0this<\/i>\u00a0that we were created: to receive\u00a0the\u00a0gift\u00a0of\u00a0life from\u00a0the\u00a0Creator, and to return this gift to Him in praise and thanksgiving; to\u00a0know<\/i>\u00a0God, to commune with Him, in\u00a0the\u00a0enjoyment\u00a0of\u00a0every created thing. Yet in our fallen world, so scarred by sin and death, every gift must\u00a0of\u00a0necessity be touched with\u00a0sacrifice.<\/i> Nothing less than sacrifice is able to break open\u00a0the\u00a0death-grip\u00a0of\u00a0sinful egotism \u2013 in order that true sharing, true exchange\u00a0of\u00a0life, real communion between persons, may take hold. For it to be\u00a0gift<\/i>, every gift which we exchange with God and one another must be marked with a\u00a0Cross.<\/i><\/p>\n

The\u00a0bread which we use in\u00a0the\u00a0liturgy,\u00a0the\u00a0gift\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0world which we offer up in thanksgiving to\u00a0the\u00a0Creator, is stamped with a\u00a0Cross.\u00a0The\u00a0Holy\u00a0Body\u00a0of\u00a0Christ, which we receive in return, is also a broken body, bearing\u00a0the\u00a0marks\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0Cross. So it must be with\u00a0the\u00a0whole\u00a0of\u00a0our life: We must be broken open, marked with\u00a0the\u00a0Cross, that we might share life together with God and one another.<\/p>\n

This is a challenge to all\u00a0of\u00a0us. Brokenness,\u00a0the\u00a0Cross\u00a0\u2013 these are not things we want to face. We want to run away, to hide. How much energy do I spend in hiding my own weakness, my vulnerabilities, from\u00a0the\u00a0eyes\u00a0of\u00a0other people? And how much time do I spend in escaping any consideration of\u00a0the\u00a0fragility,\u00a0the\u00a0brokenness,\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0other human beings around me \u2013 or worse, in scorning and trampling upon this very brokenness?<\/p>\n

5. But there is Good News. Let us listen again to\u00a0the\u00a0description\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0high priest given in today\u2019s epistle. It says: \u201cHe can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to\u00a0weakness<\/i>\u2026 And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God\u201d (Heb. 5:2, 4).<\/p>\n

This priest is not a religious super-hero. Rather, this priest, according to our epistle, is a person with three chief distinguishing characteristics.\u00a0First<\/i>: he is in touch with his own weaknesses: he knows his own fragility, his limitations; he does not hide them from himself or other people.\u00a0Second<\/i>: because\u00a0of\u00a0this, he can have compassion on\u00a0the weaknesses\u00a0of\u00a0others \u2013 his weaknesses, his own brokenness, become\u00a0the\u00a0very means and form\u00a0of\u00a0his compassionate sharing with others. And\u00a0third<\/i>: he is called by God.<\/p>\n

Now all\u00a0of\u00a0us here today have\u00a0weaknesses<\/i>, profound limitations,\u00a0of\u00a0which we may or may not be aware. All\u00a0of\u00a0us have encountered crosses in life, some\u00a0of\u00a0them very painful; crosses which perhaps we did not choose \u2013 crosses which we are probably still learning how to bear with thanksgiving. And further, each\u00a0of\u00a0us here \u2013 every baptized man, woman and child \u2013 has been\u00a0called by God.\u00a0<\/i>He has called us to be sharers in Christ\u2019s \u201croyal priesthood\u201d (1 Pet. 2:9): to make\u00a0the\u00a0whole<\/i>\u00a0of\u00a0our lives \u2013 our work, our rest and play, and all\u00a0of\u00a0our relationships \u2013 a living sacrifice to God (Rom. 12:1).<\/p>\n

This is a high calling, an arduous task. Yet I suggest we can make a start today by beginning, not with our strengths, but with our\u00a0weaknesses<\/i>. If we can look realistically at our own deep limitations \u2013\u00a0the\u00a0ways which we so often fail in bearing our own crosses \u2013 then perhaps we can begin to approach others with that\u00a0gentleness<\/i> which \u2013 as one\u00a0of\u00a0the Desert Fathers said \u2013 comes\u00a0of\u00a0remembering that \u201ceach and every person we meet is engaged in a deep and bitter struggle.\u201d Then we can begin to see\u00a0the\u00a0wounds which we have received in life for what they truly are: a way in which\u00a0the\u00a0Lord is preparing us to bring healing to others. We can begin to exercise\u00a0the\u00a0priestly virtue\u00a0of\u00a0compassion.<\/i> As in the\u00a0Holy\u00a0Eucharist itself, our very brokenness can become\u00a0the\u00a0opening through which life may be shared with others.\u00a0Then<\/i>\u00a0our crosses truly become\u00a0the\u00a0Holy\u00a0Cross. By coming to terms with our own weakness, by showing gentleness towards\u00a0the\u00a0weaknesses\u00a0of\u00a0others, we can begin to make our whole life a sacrifice: a priestly offering to God, through Jesus Christ our great High Priest.<\/p>\n

Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen\u00a0<\/i>(Rev. 1:5-6).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I committed to blogging every day for 40 days this Lent, but I have to admit that I don’t feel like writing about almost anything right now except trying somehow to keep my friend Fr. Matthew in my immediate memory, as if that somehow holds off the reality of his shocking departure from this earthly life. (For more on Fr. Matthew and also for\u2026 <\/i> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":3445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[576,582,583],"tags":[782,781,702,865],"class_list":["post-3444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal-life","category-scripture","category-sermons","tag-cross","tag-matthew-baker","tag-priesthood","tag-sermons"],"yoast_head":"Fr. Matthew Baker: Priesthood and Sacrifice (Homily for Sunday of the Holy Cross) — Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ancientfaith.com\/asd\/2015\/03\/03\/fr-matthew-baker-priesthood-and-sacrifice-homily-for-sunday-of-the-holy-cross\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fr. Matthew Baker: Priesthood and Sacrifice (Homily for Sunday of the Holy Cross) — Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I committed to blogging every day for 40 days this Lent, but I have to admit that I don’t feel like writing about almost anything right now except trying somehow to keep my friend Fr. Matthew in my immediate memory, as if that somehow holds off the reality of his shocking departure from this earthly life. (For more on Fr. 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