Hebrews 5

Hellooooooo from Hong Kong, where it is still in t-shirt and flip-flops weather and (well I would like to say the sun is shining... boo but it is nighttime over here now so nvm that.)

Continuing from the end of ch4, Hebrews 5 talks about priesthood - the criteria and duties of a priest (vv. 1-3); how one is called to become a priest (vv. 4-6); and uses Jesus as an example (vv. 7-10).

It says in v3, 'This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people'.
This reminds me of the Sunday when Pastor Seth came to preach on the last part of the Re:turn series on repentance and forgiveness. Pastor Seth talked about the importance of collective repentance, and pointed out that leaders of the church should take responsibility of the sins committed by the church and repent 'for the people'.

V7 'During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission'.
In one of my quiet times a few weeks ago, I was reading Psalm 102, aka 'A prayer of one afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before God'. In the follow up reading, it says that worship is meant to be real and truthful, as exemplified by Jesus' 'loud cries and tears'.
Ok. This is probably not relevant to what this passage is saying, but I do think it is important to know that we should acknowledge our true feelings in our worship and prayers. By admitting our anger/sadness/anxieties etc to God, we cast these unwanted burdens on Him and let Him be in control of them.

vv 11-14 shifts the theme to our spiritual growth.

vv 13-14 'Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil'.
Ahhh. Foooood.
Milk vs. Solid Food.
I think 'milk' is learning the basics when we first heard the Gospel. It is relatively easy to digest, how we're loved and special in God's eyes; how we can do anything if we have faith and the right motives. We hear all the good things and are protected in this bubble. But we have to grow up. We can't be babies forever. We can't forever crawl on carpeted floors with every dangerous object taken out of our way. We can't forever lie in the crib and wait for someone to feed us. There comes the time when we have to exercise those muscles and start walking. We need to exercise our faith and practice the teachings we've heard Sunday after Sunday. This is when we start to ingest 'solid' food. We gain experience, some harder to digest than others - failures, disappointments... but these are the ones that can provide us with the essential nutrients that will help us grow stronger and more mature.

So yes. It's time to stop waiting open-mouthed for the church to feed us. It's time to really get up on our feet and hunt.

//
Hmm. Oh. Question.
v6, 'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek'.
I had no idea what 'the order of Melchizedek' was, so I looked up Psalm 110:4 as quoted in the reference.
Psalm 110:4 -
The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind:
"You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."
...
Then I read the whole Psalm 110 but I still did not get what 'the order of Melchizedek' was supposed to mean.
Any insights? (If not... is it important? After all, it appeared twice in four verses)