2026/05/04
246. The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant: The Lord's Prayer and the Seven Blessedness IV
The fourth petition of the Lord's Prayer, "Give
us this day our daily bread," is, as we considered last time, a prayer in
which believers ask for the fulfilment of God's words foretold to Adam: "In
the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for
out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return"
(Gen 3:19). Believers witness the fulfilment of that prayer when they partake
in the fourth blessedness, as recorded in Revelation: "And the angel
said to me, 'Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage
supper of the Lamb.' And he said to me, 'These are true words of God.'"
(Rev 19:9). Immediately preceding this fourth blessedness in Revelation, we
read: "'Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the
marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was
granted her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure' -- for the fine
linen is the righteous deeds of the saints" (19:7–8).
The "Bride" who has made herself ready in
this passage is the priesthood of the New Covenant, which is hidden in a
special way in the memory of the priest. The "righteous deeds of the
saints" with which the priesthood of the New Covenant is clothed
represent the actions of the priest who, as the "friend" of the
Bridegroom—that is, the Holy Spirit sent in the name of Jesus—follows the Holy
Spirit, becoming His mouth, hands and feet, and who, with a selfless heart,
collaborates with Him to celebrate the Mass. It is here that the Eucharist is
born. The priest and the congregation there will witness all this. For they are
the people who have received the priesthood of the New Covenant. Thus, the writer,
realising the blessedness of "those who are invited to the marriage
supper of the Lamb," was so moved that he sought to worship the angel
and fell down at his feet. Then it is written, "But he said to me, 'You
must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren who hold the
testimony of Jesus. Worship God.' For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of
prophecy" (Rev 19:10).
By the words, "you and your brethren who hold
the testimony of Jesus," the angel refers to the Apostles and their
successors, who have preserved in their memory the words of the institution of
the Eucharist and the priesthood of the New Covenant conferred with them,
inheriting the authority of these through the kingship entrusted to them by
Jesus. These words, which Jesus bestowed upon the Apostles together with the
priesthood of the New Covenant, are drawn from their memory by the Holy
Spirit—who becomes the spirit of prophecy—and are made real through His working
with them. At that moment, they, like the angel, become servants of the Holy
Spirit, who is God. This blessedness reveals that a profound and fundamental
structure is woven into the human and simple expression of the prayer:
"Give us this day our daily bread." This is implied in the phrase of
the fourth blessedness that follows: "These are true words of God."
When the angel's words ended, the writer continued with the following
description.
"Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white
horse! He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he
judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are
many diadems; and he has a name inscribed which no one knows but himself. He is
clad in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word
of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure,
followed him on white horses. From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to
smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the
wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his
thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords" (Rev
19:11–16).
This description pertains to the Holy Spirit and the
Eucharist. A white horse appears, and the one sitting on it is called Faithful
and True, because Jesus said of the Holy Spirit: "When the Spirit of
truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his
own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you
the things that are to come" (Jn 16:13). He judges and makes war in
righteousness so that "when he comes, he will convince the world
concerning sin and righteousness and judgment" (16:8) and so that
"the ruler of this world is judged" (16:11). It reads that his
eyes are like a blazing fire, that he wears many diadems upon his head, and
that a name is inscribed upon him which no one but himself knows; this is
because the Holy Spirit is invisible to the people of this world.
Even so, as it is written that he is clothed in a robe
dipped in blood and is called "the Word of God," believers
recall that in the scene of the Passion, a scarlet robe was put upon Jesus (cf.
Mat 27:28–29), and that Jesus said, "He will glorify me, for he will
take what is mine and declare it to you" (Jn 16:14). The fact that his
name is called "the Word of God" is because the Holy Spirit is
sent in the name of Jesus, to bring the Word to life and to fulfil what Jesus
testified to. Thus, the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and
pure, followed the Holy Spirit on white horses. These are the priests who
follow the Holy Spirit, becoming His mouth, hands and feet, and who, with a
selfless heart, collaborate with the Holy Spirit to celebrate the Mass. The
Word, made alive by the Holy Spirit, is a sharp sword. The "nations"
that it smites are the "human information" that has penetrated deep
into people's hearts.
Next, the "he" in the statement, "he
will rule them with a rod of iron," alludes to the Body of Christ. For
this phrase is taken from the chapter 12 of Revelation: "She brought
forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but
her child was caught up to God and to his throne" (Rev 12:5). This
description follows the scene in which "a great portent appeared in
heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her
head a crown of twelve stars" (12:1). As we have previously discussed
in this blog, this "a woman" represents the priesthood of the
New Covenant, depicted in the image of the Mother of Jesus. Hence, the woman
who "brought forth a male child" is the Apostles (priests) who
preserve it in memory, and the child who was "caught up to God and to
his throne" is the Body of Christ.
The statement that "he will tread the wine
press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty" stems from Jesus'
words: "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many
for the forgiveness of sins" (Mat 26:28). "The wine" refers
to the Blood of Jesus. The subsequent passage, "On his robe and on his
thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords,"
refers to the name of the Holy Eucharist. "King of kings" suggests
the Anointed One, the Messiah, whilst "Lord of lords" suggests the
name of Jesus, the Son of God. The Eucharist has a name, and that name is
"Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God."
These things suggest that, amidst the blessedness of
"those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb," we
believers are able to call the name of the Eucharist we receive "Jesus,
the Messiah, the Son of God." Indeed, to call upon that name before "God
with us" (Mat 1:23) is the ardent desire of every Christian. And when
believers, in the presence of the Eucharist, call out "Jesus, the Messiah,
the Son of God" and hear that voice, it is as though they are writing that
name upon their own memories. That is why the angel said to the writer, "Write
this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb."
Maria K. M.
A new article has been posted on the blog, The Wind of Patmos. It is a translation of an article I submitted to and was published in the Japanese internet magazine, Catholic Ai.
