The Shadow-gloom and Weight of the Sacred

Credit: Holly Hayes http://www.flickr.com/photos/sacred_destinations/ CC BY-SA 2.0

If you identify as a Christian, as I do, then the Bible tends to be an important part of life. I wish that I could admit to reading the Bible a lot, but rather I must admit that these days my interaction with Faulkner tends to be greater than my interaction with the Bible. (I also wish I could admit to feeling badly about this.) Nonetheless, I am somewhat familiar with the Bible and still occasionally find the time and inclination to read it. One of the real struggles for Christians is to think that God can--and does--work not just within the narrative of our own lives, but outside it, too. I was confronted with this reality a few days ago while reading Genesis.

As a Christian, I've adopted the story of the Bible as my own story. The exodus from Egyptian bondage, the reign of David, the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah, the exile in Babylon, the return to the promised land, and of course the life of Jesus: all these stories (and others), I see them as being my own story. The stories collected in the Bible are the history of my people. It is the story of how God has interacted with creation through my people and, often, for my people. But, God has worked on behalf of all of creation and all peoples, not just my people and not just through my narrative. This is the section of scripture that struck me:

14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine.(Now he was the priest of the Most High God.) 14:19 He blessed Abram, saying,“Blessed be Abram by the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth. 14:20 Worthy of praise is the Most High God,who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything (Gen. 14:18-20).

It seems to me that just as God is working through Abram/Abraham to bless creation, so he is also working through Melchizedek. In other words, God is working through Abraham, but he's not working solely through Abraham. God wasn't simply selecting one family or one race of people to save at the exclusion of all other families and peoples.The story of the Bible is told from the perspective Abraham and his people, not from the perspective of Melchizedek (the study note in my Bible states that Salem, where Melchizedek was king, was a Jebusite stronghold). Melchizedek, though, emerges in the narrative of Abraham, the narrative of Israel and Christianity, and shows us a man who is faithful to God. Indeed, Melchizedek is called a priest of God.

I think that's an important something to remember. Just because we're (i.e., Christians) aren't in a particular place doesn't mean that God isn't there.