The ‘alter Christus’!

Priesthood with its different variants, prevalent, rather dominant in the church was of later origin. Seemingly it was the place of the elders the priesthood grabbed to reign the roost. It was conveniently clubbed with that of the apostles also. The bishops, claimed to be the successors of the apostles are said to have the ‘fullness’ of priesthood and the priests only have a share in that. With the ‘conversion’ of Constantine, the bishops were endowed with titles of feudal lords and all that follow them. Thereafter the prophet Jesus was relegated to the corner and Christ the King and Jesus the high priest came to adorn the center stage.

The priests today claim only the last supper role, ignoring everything else. They can work the ‘wonder’ of transforming the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ along with the forgiveness of sins and nothing more. This they do with all priestly and royal investiture and paraphernalia ignoring the very personal and informal gestures of Jesus. Now, that is invariably connected with money in the name of intentions and stipends.

Again it gave rise to the daily Eucharist and now the adoration aspects. Man is conveniently sidelined against the categorical demand of Jesus that ‘Sabbath is made for man’ and not the other way round. Priests are more managers and administers than spiritual ‘dispersers’.

They can sacrifice anything and everything except the institution of the church and its structures. It won’t become a grain of wheat to give way to the ‘reign of God’ announced by Jesus who himself accepted death to rise in glory.

Priest and Prophet

One of the basic tenets of the church is that Jesus was a priest! This the church presumably inferred from the few references to that effect from the letter to the Hebrews. However, Jesus never ever seemed to have claimed so in the gospels.

Peter in his first letter extends priesthood to the disciples in exile of the Dispersion also: “Come to him, to that living stone… like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood.” 1:4-5. “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people…” 2:9.

It was this priest Jesus and to a certain extent the king Jesus that matters to the church than the prophet Jesus contrary to Jesus’ own understanding of himself and approach to people and events. He seemed to have loved the vulnerabilities of being a prophet rather than being made a king (Jn. 6:13-14). Many a times he was in conflict with the priests and the authorities who worked hand in gloves with one another.

Preaching and Practice

“They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger.” Matt 23:4

“Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest… For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 11:28-30

Burden here seems not to be physical, but rather of anxieties, fear and the like including the burden of law… This becomes evident from the following saying of ‘Jesus to the crowds and his disciples: The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice.’ 23:1-3

“Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them.” 5:17

“You have heard that… But I say to you that…