Exodus 24:3-8 / Hebrews 9:11-15 / Mark 14:12-16, 22-26
There are some words that can be difficult to make a sentence with because of the sensitive implications.
One of those words is the word “dead”. That word in itself means that there is no more life, or that life has ended. That sounds quite depressive actually.
And quite often, instead of saying that a person has died or is dead, it may be more polite to say that the person has “passed on”.
Another word that has sensitive meanings and gives graphic images to the mind is the word “blood”.
Blood has a specific image because red is the associated colour and the form is usually liquid.
The phrases that have the word “blood” in them often have negative meanings and implications.
So, words and phrases like “bloodshed”, “blood is spilled”, “pool of blood”, “blood splattered all over” point to images of violence, injury and even death.
But then there are other words and phrases that have a spiritual meaning, like “blood brothers”, “blood relations” and “sealed with blood”.
Today as we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi, or the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, the readings mention about blood.
The image of the blood is certainly graphic enough but the meaning is spiritual.
In the 1st reading, the Covenant between God and His people was sealed with the blood of bulls. It was quite a sight when we imagine it, as the blood was cast on the altar and also on the people.
But the meaning of “sealed in blood” is profoundly clear. God and His people were bonded by the symbol of blood as Moses declared: This is the blood of the Covenant that the Lord has made with you”.
But the 2nd reading tells us of a new Covenant that is also sealed in blood. But it is not the blood of goats or bulls, but the blood of Christ.
Christ is the high priest of the new Covenant, and with His own Blood, He won an eternal redemption for us as He offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice to God through the eternal Spirit.
And in the gospel, we heard how Jesus offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice at the Last Supper, as He gave His Body and Blood to His disciples.
It was a sacrifice that was fulfilled on the Cross. Jesus gave Himself, His Body, to us to be in union with Him, and He poured out His Blood to wash us clean of sin so that we can be saved.
In short, Jesus has shed His Blood for our forgiveness, so that we don't have to shed our own blood in order to be forgiven.
And neither should any more blood be shed out of revenge or hatred, or even out of anger and resentment.
When we give in to anger, resentment and bitterness, we drain out the blood of life in us as well as in others. All the more, that shouldn't be thoughts of hatred and revenge.
Let us always remember that as we partake of the Body of Christ in Holy Communion, the Blood of Christ also flows into us and gives us new life and washes our sins away.
When we truly understand the spiritual meaning of the Body and Blood of Christ, then we will always want to be in union with Christ Our Saviour.
United with Christ, we will also want to be united with each other in love and forgiveness, so that as the body of Christ, we can offer life and salvation to the world.
As the Body of Christ, as the Church, we must also be witnesses of forgiveness and not to let anger or bitterness or resentment take root in our lives.
Jesus has shed His Blood for our forgiveness and for the salvation of the world. Let there be no more bloodshed.