18 Aug SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2024
[Jesus said,] “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”
Wow. That was a hard passage for me to read. How was it for you to hear? I suppose that for many of you, the idea of flesh and blood doesn’t necessarily make you squeamish. I mean, for years, you’ve raised animals for food and prepared meat for meals. But just recently I attended training for all providers of Spiritual Care in the Wellspan health system.
There we were enlightened about the spiritual needs of Jehovah’s Witnesses by leading advocates of their faith. We were told that since Acts 15:20 states, “Abstain from blood,” this prohibits them from accepting blood transfusions of even their own blood. They aren’t strict vegetarians, but they won’t eat what are considered “blood products”.
For Seventh Day Adventists, being a vegetarian is the only option since in Genesis 1:29 God says, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” They believe this means that no meat with or without blood shall pass their lips. If we think about the animals here at the park. Only half of them are vegetarians, the rest are carnivores or omnivores.
The idea of eating flesh and blood for Jews in Jesus’ time would have sounded hideous. Blood was considered the very source of life. Leviticus 17:11 states, “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” Therefore, blood was painted upon the altar in the Holy of Holies. Though contact with blood could be considered profane, blood itself was considered sacred.
A woman during a period of menses was considered ritually impure. She was restricted from entering the kitchen and temple and from touching certain objects. The presence of female blood was considered a threat to the purity of a male partner.
In the Hindu culture, a bleeding woman has the power to shift the balance of atmospheric energy in the temple. So imagine the significance of a woman touching the fringe of Jesus’ cloak who had had an “issue of blood” for over twelve years. That means she was separated from society by law that entire time and suffered in more ways than one.
The idea that blood makes atonement means that blood is able to repair offense or injury. And the blood of Christ specifically, does the opposite of separating a person from community. The blood of Christ unifies.
According to Exodus 24, Moses sacrificed bulls, poured half of the blood on the altar, and threw the other half on the people, saying, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you”. This is the only sacrificial ritual where blood is thrown on people with the intention of uniting them with God and initiating them into God’s covenant.
During Passover in Exodus 12:22, God instructs people to dip hyssop into the blood of a lamb and strike the doorposts and lintel of their homes to protect their families. A rite of purification according to the Mosaic code commands the use of blood from clean animals for purification and ceremonial cleansing.
How many of you have ever seen blood pudding or sausages served as a special holiday dish? Interestingly, the Qur’an prohibits the eating of any food: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine upon which hath been invoked a name other than Allah” Surah Al-Ma’ida (5:3). In some way this passage recognizes that only God and the name of God can make what is impure, acceptable.
Really, the point of all this talk about blood is this: We ought to have reverence and humility about what God has deemed the essence of life. We can’t live without blood that exactly matches our makeup. Being given a transfusion of a foreign blood type will kill us. And as of yet, there’s no artificial substitute or synthetic version of blood available. Truth be told, Jesus knew what he was doing by telling people that they must consume his flesh and blood.
Another thing accomplished by equating bread and wine with flesh and blood was the statement that earthly things were not base. Things considered matter were not at the opposite end of spiritual things. The two could represent each other: the body of Christ is living bread; the blood of Christ could take the form of commonly crushed grapes.
The value of what’s considered common or plentiful may change. For example, in January of 2024, the American Red Cross, which supplies about 40% of the blood products used in this country declared a national blood emergency due to a critical shortage. They’ve seen a 40% drop in donations over the past 20 years.
I’ve seen the cost of meat per pound rise ten fold during my lifetime because flesh is expensive to eat. It’s costly to grow by weight and strictly regulated by industrial standards throughout the world from start to finish. This was the point that Jesus was making. For us to be able to eat his flesh and drink his blood would cost Jesus his human life. The expense of paying the debt of sin would be so exorbitant only God could pay for it and he was willing to do it for the sake of saving us from eternal death.
For the sake of granting eternal life, Jesus says, “It is necessary for you to partake of this sacrifice, to participate in this ritual of cleansing and purification so that you understand that there was no way you could achieve this on your own or using animal blood or by sacrificing your own lives to any extreme.
“I am the extreme,” Jesus says. I am “out there,” for sure. Call me weird, but know this: I’m all about making sure that you understand the urgency and the intent of the Father’s plan of salvation. I know, it’s shocking and almost vile, but so is sin and the demand for death that I must satisfy in order to make all things turn out for good. Let me make this sacrifice for you, but you must partake of it in order to benefit from the provision. Jesus is the universal donor: Type O which in his case stands for otherworldly.
Some of the ways Jehovah’s Witnesses aim to survive the dire need for blood transfusion are to receive surgical interventions sooner rather than later, to receive medication to stimulate blood cell production, replace iron or use chemicals which reduce blood loss. “The ideal agent for patients who decline transfusions would be a true blood substitute that could replace red cell transfusion. However, despite decades of research and clinical studies, this goal remains as elusive as ever.”
https://www.hematologyandoncology.net/archives/december-2020/transfusion-replacement-strategies-in-jehovahs-witnesses-and-others-who-decline-blood-products/
That’s what Jesus said, “If the goal is for people to survive in spite of sin which causes them literally to bleed unto death, if the goal is complete restoration to wholeness of being when sin will surely break them to pieces, then there can be only one solution: the shedding of my pure and innocent blood which will atone for all of whom are guilty and thus found in need.”
Fools despise wisdom and instruction and lean on their own understanding. They are deceived by empty words, believing every spirit without testing to see whether they are from God. Jealousy and selfish ambition cause chaos.
Wisdom trusts the Lord and God’s generous ways to make straight our paths. Wisdom walks in light pursuing all that is good and right and true which is pleasing to the Lord. Transformation occurs by the renewal of our minds so we may discern the will of God, what is good, acceptable and perfect.
Wisdom is shown by good conduct and meekness. It is pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. At this point, wisdom sounds virtuous and downright unattainable. Abound in love with knowledge and discernment so we may approve what is excellent, be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.
Now I know that wisdom defined as such is absolutely unattainable for we may never be considered pure and blameless unless Christ stands in our place before God. That’s the lens through which we are seen. The righteousness of Jesus Christ is transfused from his body to ours, from his flesh to ours, from his blood to ours.
“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor?’ ‘Or who has given a gift to him [so] that he might be repaid?”
Today, Jesus helps listeners know the mind of the Lord so that wisdom will guide us to accept what is the rich gift he offers us, a gift that cannot be repaid or reciprocated, only received, as bread and wine, or in our case, as picnic food offered for our nourishment and refreshment and a reminder of God’s many provisions. Let us pray.
Lord, you are the source of wisdom and insanely generous for giving what is most precious to you, life itself, your body and blood for the nourishment, refreshment and salvation of our souls. May we always recognize the sacrifice you made solemnly yet joyfully, and strive to live in peace with love toward you and also each other. IYHNWP, Amen.