j Ex eJnov" in Hebrews 2,11 523 officiating in the ceremonies of the bread and prayers/hymns need not be a priest (19). The motive behind such a ceremony was the belief of the one sponsoring it that he had received a signal favor of God in being spared, for example, in war or in famine, or that he firmly believed that such a divine favor would take place. The ceremony, in other words, is based on faith-trust. In the Epistle to the Hebrews the tôdâ is mentioned in its Greek Septuagint translation, qusiva aijnevsew" at Heb 13,15. A plausible argument can be mounted that Heb 13,1-21 is organized on the basis of the Christian adaptation of the tôdâ, i.e., the Eucharist (20). Given this presumed familiarity of the author of Hebrews with the tôdâ, there is nothing forced in presuming that he referred to the tôdâ in its Christian form in Heb 2,12 (21). In its Christian form, of course, the tôdâ is modified in important respects. The bloody death of an animal in the temple is replaced by the bloody death of Christ outside the temple; it is a unique death, as the author of Hebrews states clearly, for Jesus died only once (Heb 9,28). The bread of the tôdâ becomes the Eucharistic bread. The hymns and prayers are the hymns and prayers attendant on the Eucharist. In Heb 2,12 the citation from Ps 22 portrays the psalmist who has been delivered from his foes in a definitive way. His expressions of faith-trust in the earlier part of the psalm (vv. 4-6, 10-12) have been heard. This is the background for the citation of Ps 22 at Heb 2,12: the risen Jesus is summoning the assembly for his public performance of the Christian tôdâ. The members of the assembly he calls “brothers” (ajdelfoiv). Against the background of Heb 2,12 it is useful to work back over the passage 2,8b-18 to see the plausible relevance of the Christian tôdâ (22). The one calling for the Christian tôdâ is the risen Christ. He wishes to share the joy of his resurrection, of his having being heard by God, with all those who share in the faith-trust which he had and which he still has. His brothers have their faith-trust in the face of deaths which have not yet occurred; Jesus has had his faith-trust vindicated and wishes to celebrate this vindication so that his brothers can be strengthened in the face of death (Heb 2,14-15). This unity which serves as the common denominator between Jesus and his brothers is precisely a unity consisting of faith-trust, and it constitutes the common bond between them and him as they worship at the Christian qusiva aijnevsew" and he officiates as heavenly high priest. This is the same unity which Jesus found as he assumed his role of one coming to the aid of Abraham’s spiritual seed, i.e., all those who, like Abraham, had faith-trust in God. But the spiritual seed of Abraham referred to in the Christian tôdâ or qusiva aijnevsew" is enriched by the faith-trust of Jesus, now brought to a perfect vindication (23). (19) Cf. H. GESE, “Der Herkunft des Herrenmahls”, Zur biblischen Theologie. Alttestamentliche Vorträge (Tübingen 1989) 107-127. (20) Cf. J. SWETNAM, “A Liturgical Approach to Hebrews 13”, The Incarnate Word 1 (2006) 3-17. The Latin form of qusiva aijnevsew" (sacrificium laudis) is found in the Canon of the Latin Mass in the remembrance of the living. (21) Cf. also J. SWETNAM, “The Crux at Hebrews 5,7-8”, Bib 81 (2000) 354-356. (22) Remembering, of course, that no attempt at proof is being made, only an attempt to sketch a plausible interpretation to try to understand the expression ejx eJnov" in v. 11. (23) The distinctive contribution of Jesus to the faith-trust of Abraham is probably