De Melchisedech

Of the Same: On Melchisedech 1. I wish today to set before you an apostolic table, and I am preparing to extend the discourse to the deep of Paul's voice. But what am I to suffer? I hesitate and fear lest, having left the harbor and arrived at the depth of apostolic thoughts, we become dizzy, as those unaccustomed to sailing do. For they, when they have left the land and see sea on either side of the ship and nothing else but sea and sky, are seized with vertigo and think the ship is being carried around in a circle with the sea. But the dizziness arises not from the nature of the sea, but from the inexperience of those sailing. Others among the sailors, with bare bodies, dive headlong into the waves and suffer nothing of the sort; but having descended into the depth itself, they pass their time more securely than those sitting on the ground, and receiving the brine with their mouth, eyes, and entire body, they are not distressed. So great and such an evil is inexperience. For it persuades even the fearful to be contemptuous; the other prepares even the safe to suspect and fear. For some, sitting on the high benches of the ship, become dizzy at the sight, while others in the midst of the waves are not disturbed. This also happens with our mind. For it too is often seized by waves of passions wilder than those of the sea, such as a storm, anger turning the heart from below, winds of evil desire, causing great confusion of the mind.

But the inexperienced and untrained man, as soon as the storm of anger begins, is immediately thrown into confusion, disturbed, and shaken; he sees the soul submerged by the passions and suffering shipwreck. But the experienced and practiced man bears such things nobly; like a helmsman at the tiller, he seats reason above the passions and does not desist, doing everything, until he steers the vessel toward the calm harbor of philosophy. What happens at sea, then, and occurs in the mind, this must also befall the interpretation of the Scriptures—confusion and disturbance—whenever we set out into the deep; not because the deep is fearful, but because we who sail are inexperienced. For that a discourse is by nature easy, yet becomes difficult due to the inexperience of the hearers, I will present Paul to you as a witness. For after saying that Christ became high priest according to the order of Melchisedech, and inquiring who this Melchisedech is, he added: "Concerning whom we have much discourse, and it is hard to interpret." What are you saying, O Paul? Hard to interpret for you, who possess spiritual wisdom, who have heard the mysteries, who were snatched up to the third heaven? If it is hard to interpret for you, for whom is it comprehensible? "It is hard to interpret for me," he says, "not due to my own weakness, but due to the difficulty of the hearers." For after saying "hard to interpret," he added: "Since you have become sluggish in hearing." Do you see that it is not the nature of the discourse, but the inexperience of the hearers that has made the not-difficult difficult? And not only does it make it difficult, but also makes it long, though it is short, by the same cause.

Therefore he said it was not only difficult to interpret, but also long, attributing the cause of both the length and the difficulty to the sluggishness of the hearing. For just as in the case of the sick it is not necessary to set out a short and hastily prepared table, but one must prepare various foods, so that if the patient does not want one thing, he may take another, and accept that, and receive something else, and if he rejects this, he may grasp that, and by variety we overcome the difficulty, and by the manifold nature of the table we treat the displeasure of the appetite; so often also in the case of listening we must act, when we are weak, and we must prepare a long discourse, containing various comparisons and examples, constructions and periods, and many other such things, so that from all these the choice of what is beneficial may become easy for us. But even if the discourse is long and difficult to interpret, he did not deprive them of the teaching about Melchisedek; saying, "Long and difficult to interpret," he roused their zeal, so that they might not become more indifferent about the hearing; and providing the table, he gratified their desire. 2. Let us also do this. Even if we are unable to face the sea and depth of thoughts, let us dare the sea, not according to our own power, but according to the grace given to us from above; not through our own boldness, but through your benefit let us dare the sea, and in this imitating Paul. For that he did not deprive them of the discourse about Melchisedek, listen to what follows.

Having said, "Concerning whom there is much discourse and it is difficult to interpret," he added: "This Melchizedek is king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, that is, king of peace, fatherless, motherless, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest forever." Did he not wear out your ears, discoursing about a man and saying, "Fatherless, motherless, without genealogy"? And what am I saying about a man? For if this were said about the Son, would it not provide much and such great inquiry? For if he is fatherless, how is he Son? And if motherless, how is he Only-begotten? For a son must have a father, otherwise he would not be a son. But the Son of God is both fatherless and motherless: fatherless with respect to the lower birth, motherless with respect to the higher. For he had neither a father on earth nor a mother in the heavens. Without genealogy. Let those who pry into his essence hear this. Yet some think that this "without genealogy" is said about the higher birth. For the heretics do not want even this; for they pry into and meddle with that birth as well. But the more moderate among them concede that birth, but think that "without genealogy" is said about this lower one. Let us show, then, that Paul said this about each of the births, both the higher and the lower. For that one is awe-inspiring, and this one is most mystical. For this reason Isaiah also says: "Who will recount his generation?" But, they say, he spoke that about the higher birth. What, then, shall we say to Paul, who mentioned both births and then added "without genealogy"?

So that you may believe that he is without genealogy not only according to that birth, according to which he is motherless, but also according to this one, according to which he is fatherless—I mean the lower one—for this reason he set down both, then said, "Without genealogy." For even this lower one is incomprehensible, so that we may not even dare to peep into that higher one. For if the forecourts of the temple are so fearful and inaccessible, who will attempt to enter the inner sanctuary? That he was born from the Father I know, but how, I do not know. That he was begotten by the Virgin I understand, but the manner I do not grasp even here. For each birth is acknowledged, and the manner of each is kept silent. And just as here, concerning the Virgin, not knowing how he was born from the virgin, I confess that he was born, and I do not deny the fact because of ignorance, so do you also act concerning the Father: even if you do not know how he was born, confess it. And if the heretic says to you, "How was the Son born from the Father?" drag down his arrogance to the ground, and say to him, "Come down from the heavens, and show how he was born from the Virgin, and then look into those matters." Restrain him and surround him; do not let him leap away or retreat into the labyrinth of his thoughts, but restrain him and choke him, not with the hand, but with the word. Do not give him a distinction, and he will escape as he wishes. For from there they cause confusion among those who debate, because we follow them and do not bring them under the laws of the divine Scriptures. So surround him on all sides with a wall of testimonies from the Scriptures, and he will not even be able to open his mouth. Say, "How was he born from the Virgin?

I do not withdraw from you, nor do I depart. But he would not be able to tell us the manner, even if he contended endlessly. For when God closes, who then can open? Such things are to be accepted by faith alone. But if you do not have that, but seek reasonings, I will say to you what Christ says to Nicodemus: "If I told you earthly things, and you do not believe, how, if I tell you the heavenly things, will you believe?" I spoke about the birth from the Virgin, and you do not know, nor do you dare to gape, and yet you meddle with the heavenly? And would that you meddled only with heaven, but you pry even into the Master of the heavens. "If I told you earthly things, and you do not believe." He did not say, "you are not persuaded," but "you do not believe," showing us that even earthly things require faith, much more so the heavenly. And yet at that time he was speaking to Nicodemus about a birth far lesser: for the discourse was about baptism and spiritual regeneration; but it is clear that these too are comprehensible by faith. He called them earthly, not because they are earthly, but because they are accomplished on earth, and in comparison with the higher birth, which is ineffable and surpasses all understanding, these are earthly. If, then, how we are regenerated from water cannot be known, but it is necessary to accept what happens by faith alone and not to meddle with the manner, how great a madness it would be to set in motion human reasonings concerning the higher birth of the only-begotten Son, and to demand an account of the manner of birth! How the Son of God is fatherless and motherless has been sufficiently demonstrated, and how he is without genealogy.

But since many, not understanding what has been written about him, have said that he is greater than Christ, and have formed a heresy for themselves, and are called Melchisedechians, and contend with us, wishing to show that he is greater than Christ, citing the verse, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech," it is necessary to reply to them as well. For they say: How could he not be greater than Christ, if Christ serves as priest according to his image and order? We, therefore, say that he is a man subject to the same passions as we are, and neither greater than Christ, nor even greater than John the Baptist; for Christ says, "Among those born of women, none greater than him has arisen." Others, again, being deceived, say that he is the Holy Spirit; but we do not say this either. For what need would there be for the Word of God to become incarnate, if the Spirit had already become a man long before? And that he is not greater than Christ, nor again the Holy Spirit, let those tell us of which region they say he is: is it of the heavenly, the earthly, or the subterranean? If, then, they say that Melchisedech is of the heavenly or of some other region, let them hear that he too bends the knee to Christ, who was incarnate from the God-bearer Mary. For the Apostle says that "every knee will bend to him," and so forth. If, then, every knee bends, Melchisedech would be lesser than Christ; for he worships Christ, who is worshipped. And if the wretched and miserable ones consider what is said further; for he adds, saying, "Made like the Son of God.

Thus one must understand that just as we have been made in the image and likeness of God, so also was he. For the Jews say that he was born of fornication, and that for this reason he became without genealogy; to whom we will say, "You speak wrongly." For even Solomon, born of the wife of Uriah, who was an adulteress, is genealogized. But since Melchisedech was a type of the Lord, and bore the image of Christ, just as Jonah also did, for this reason Scripture omitted his father, so that in him, as in an image, we might behold the truly fatherless and ungenealogized Christ. The Melchisedechians also argue against us on this point, saying, "What then is it that the Father says to him: 'You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech'?" To whom we say that this Melchisedech became a righteous man, and truly bore the image of Christ. Moved, therefore, by a prophetic spirit, and having understood that the future offering was to be brought on behalf of the nations, he honored God with bread and wine, imitating the Christ who was to come.

Since therefore the synagogue of the Jews offered sacrifice to God according to the order of Aaron, not bread and wine, but calves and lambs, and glorified God with blood sacrifices, God cries out and says to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was to be born of the virgin Mary: You are priest forever according to the order of Melchisedek; not according to that of Aaron, who served with calves and lambs; but, You are priest forever according to the order of Melchisedek, bringing the offering of those who present it with bread and wine perpetually. Through whom glory is given to the Father together with the all-holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.