Category: Blood

It’s In the Blood

This past week I began dialysis treatments. For those unfamiliar with dialysis, it is a procedure which cleans the blood of people with advanced kidney disease. In effect, it uses a mechanical device to do what the kidneys usually do, which is remove the waste materials which the body normally produces. While not pleasant to go through, after three sessions I have already felt some improvement in my energy level and overall condition.

During one of my treatments, a nurse came and drew blood for testing. As she did, I thought about how significant blood really is. Not only did my blood need to be cleaned, the sample she took would give vital information about many aspects of my health. By such samples, they have a window into my body’s functions. A verse from the Bible came to mind: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood.” (Leviticus 17:11).

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood.”

How true! For not only is blood needed to route oxygen and nutrients to keep cells alive, it also removes those cells’ waste products. If a person is cut and loses too much blood, he or she will die. If a person has too little blood, a transfusion of someone else’s blood will restore their life. And as I said above, a person’s blood will reveal a lot about that person’s condition. As it says in Leviticus 17, the life is truly in the blood.

Of course, if you have read any of my blogs, you know I haven’t said this just to discuss biology or medical practices.  And you would be correct. The connection between life and blood is also a spiritual one, one which is declared in the last part of the same verse from Leviticus. That verse continues and says, “for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.”

How can blood make atonement, that is, atonement for one’s sins? This verse refers to the blood sacrifices which the Old Testament commanded. Hebrews 9:22 explains that, “under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” A guilty person would either pay for their sins with their own blood, or provide the blood of a sinless animal to take their place. Thus, by such sacrifices, the blood of innocent animals was shed to pay for, or cover, the sins of the person offering the animal. This practice actually began back in the Garden of Eden, when God himself provided animal skins to cover the naked and sinful first couple. It continued until the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in A.D. 70.

Although God commanded and honored this practice throughout the Old Testament, there is one verse which reveals that the blood of animals is not the end of the story. Hebrews 10:4 says, “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” The blood sacrifices which God ordered were but a foreshadowing, a preparation for the one true blood sacrifice which was coming, and that is the sacrifice of God’s own Son, Jesus Christ. By shedding his own blood, Jesus provided the one, true, complete, and final sacrifice to atone for all of our sins. While our sins condemned us to eternal death and separation from God, Christ’s death brought us full forgiveness of our sins and eternal life. Hebrews 10:14 concludes, “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” And 1 John 1:7 affirms, “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

In the words of Charles Wesley’s great hymn, O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing, “His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood availed for me.” But how do we gain the benefit of Christ’s great blood sacrifice? How do we know his blood avails for us?

“His blood availed for me.”

The answer is very simple. It is through faith in the One who died for us. Just as God provided the covering for Adam and Eve, so he provides the covering for us through the gift of his Son. It is by God’s grace, and not by any of our works that we are forgiven. As John 3:16 proclaims, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Finally, as Christians, we have the privilege of participating in Christ’s blood by the sacrament of Holy Communion. Jesus offered his body and blood at the Last Supper when he said, “This is my body; take and eat” and “this is my blood; take and drink,” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25). Likewise, in  John 6:53 Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” Whenever we receive Christ’s body and blood in Communion, we are strengthened in our faith and “transfused” by the life-giving blood of our Savior.

Our life is in the blood – in the blood of Christ.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Hebrews 9  and 10.

Beware the Ides of March 2020

“Beware the Ides of March!” That line from Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, was uttered by a soothsayer who warned the Roman dictator about March 15 and the danger he would face that day. The year was 44 BC, and as actually happened, Julius Caesar was assassinated on March 15 by a group of senators and a former friend named Brutus.

Sunday is March 15, the Ides of March according to the Roman calendar. While we probably don’t have to worry about our senators assassinating us, we have plenty to worry about if we let ourselves, given the news stories we hear every day. Particularly, the big scary news these days is about the coronavirus, or Covid-19, which as of today has spread to 142,530 confirmed cases and 5393 deaths in 135 countries. Governments and health officials are issuing warnings, areas are under quarantine, and all kinds of travel and public events are being cancelled. Some sports teams are even competing in empty stadiums! Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it to be a world-wide pandemic. Locally, we have had our first cases in Elk Grove and our first death.

My wife and I are very much aware of the effects this disease is having in the world, because we have been planning a trip to Italy and Germany this year to see the Passion Play in Oberammergau. But now, with Italy on lock-down and flights being cancelled or banned, our prospects are looking dim.

Of course, worries about epidemics, plagues, wars, and other life-threatening situation are nothing new. They have threatened and worried people throughout history. And with good reason, considering events like the 1918 flu epidemic that infected 1/3 of mankind and killed 20 to 50 million people world-wide, or the Black Death of the 14th century, which reduced the world population by 100 million and killed 30 to 60% of Europe.

So it was that the Israelites, too, faced a serious life-threatening situation while crossing the wilderness following their escape from Egypt. Exodus 17 tells us  what happened:  “All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ And Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’

But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?’

When we first read this, we may look down on the Israelites as petty ingrates because we know how the story ends. We know that God will save them, as he already had in different ways. But now, faced with no water to drink, the people feared they would die of thirst in the hot desert. Their concern was legitimate: without water they would die, and there was no sign of it to be found. Their problem was not that they feared their destruction, but how they responded to a very real danger.

  1. First, they forgot those miraculous deliveries and provisions God had already shown them. They had witnessed the plagues God had rained down on Pharaoh and his people. God had saved them from the Egyptians, and brought them safely across the Red Sea, destroying the pursing Egyptian army in the process. He fed them with manna, bread from heaven. Surely they should have been grateful and expected God would take care of them. But they adopted a “What have you done for us lately?” attitude.
  2. Second, instead of praying to God and submitting to his commands, they blamed God and his servant Moses, even threatening to stone Moses to death. The passage tells us that God brought them to this place, Rephidim, so they should have known he would provide where he leads.
  3. Moses warned them about their grumbling, pointing out that they were not only complaining to him, but also were testing the Lord. Just as David admitted in Psalm 51 when confessing his sins to God, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” Moses’ warning should have calmed the people, but still they grumbled.
  4. After providing the people with the needed water, Moses named the location Massah and Meribah, which in Hebrew mean “testing” and “quarreling,” because the people of Israel tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” This showed the people questioned God’s word, his commandments, and his promises. They even doubted his presence and his love for them. They had no faith.

Their sin paralleled that of Adam and Eve, who doubted God’s commands and word, forgot all God had given them in the Garden, and wanted what they didn’t have. And the Bible tells us that all death flows from that original sin; it has caused more deaths than thirst, plagues, and wars combined. As Romans 5:12 tells us, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”

When we understand the Israelites’ errors at Rephidim, we recognize some of the same attitudes, or at least tendencies, in ourselves:

  1. Although blessed beyond measure in so many ways, we often forget not only to be grateful for what God has already provided for us, but also adopt that “What have you done for me lately?” attitude. Sure he’s provided all my needs, but what about those wants that I’m still lacking? Sure, he’s given me 68 years of a good life, but what if I get sick or die?
  2. When I have a fear or unmet need, do I grumble to God, blame him for what I’m facing, or do I accept his will and look for how God will bless and grow me in this situation. As Paul wrote in Romans 5: “we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
  3. Do we have faith, trusting in God’s promises in Christ? Or do I doubt his existence (“A loving God wouldn’t let me go through this!”) and search elsewhere for answers? Do I believe God’s promise never to leave or forsake me, and Christ’s promise to be with me until the end of the age, taking me to be with him no matter what happens to me in this world?
  4. Do we live in a world of Massah and Meribah, or by the Spirit of God with love, joy, peace, and the other fruit of the Spirit?
  5. Do I face the dangers of this world, such as the coronavirus, with paralyzing fear, or with trust and confidence in the Lord? It’s certainly good to follow the protective procedures being urged by health professionals, but what if you get the virus anyway? Will it shatter your faith, or lead you to seek God’s will for you in the new circumstance you face?

Would you go into a dangerous area to save a stranger? How about an infected area where your chances are highly likely you’d catch whatever it is? A similar question became very real to a Catholic priest from Belgium named Damien who answered to call to missions, traveling in 1864 to the leper colony on Molokai, Hawaii. At first he failed in his work, and was ready to leave the island. Then, while waiting for the boat, he discovered his hands had lost feeling. Realizing he had caught leprosy from those he tried to serve, he stayed. Now accepted by his fellow lepers,    he ministered to them spiritually and practically, building houses, schools, roads, hospitals, and churches. He dressed residents’ ulcers, built a reservoir, made coffins, dug graves, shared pipes, and ate with them, providing both medical and emotional support. He served until he became too sick, dying at age 49 of leprosy.

Damien gave his life for those infected with a deadly illness. I don’t believe we are all called to find people sick with the coronavirus and try to catch it ourselves. But if it happens, or you are called to alleviate their suffering, remember this: no less did Christ come to be with, and die for us who were mortally ill with sin.

Paul closes Romans 5:1-9 with these amazing words of God’s love:

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

My prayer is that you all avoid getting the coronavirus, but whatever happens, don’t worry, even if it is the Ides of March, and rejoice in all the Lord has done for you and will do in all eternity to come.

Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 95; Romans 5:1-9

Cross-Words

One of the new activities I took up after retiring was doing crossword puzzles. I don’t know why I didn’t do them “all these years” before retiring, since I do enjoy working with words and language, unless I was just so busy with other word puzzles such as writing sermons and Bible study materials. Not until retiring did I have enough free time to just sit and work a puzzle.

I have been doing two or three a week, depending whether the local paper has one in it; the most enjoyable ones come weekly, especially the New York Times Sunday puzzle. The Times puzzle is usually hard but very clever, using ambiguous clues and phrases following some theme. My favorite one was called, “Advice to Writers,” in which several long answers broke the rules which they were advising. For example: “Don’t use contractions,” “Avoid redundancy. Avoid redundancy,” “Sentence fragments are not,” and so on. I always feel a sense of accomplishment when I write in the final words to such puzzles.

Which is why I was disappointed this week when the Sunday paper didn’t arrive. (Note: I didn’t call it the newspaper since I only read the comics and the puzzles!) What was I to do?

Fortunately, I have plenty of other things to work on, but as I thought about the missing puzzle, the word, “Crossword” stuck in my mind. I began to think about the different meanings it might have in various contexts.  So, after deep study and contemplation, I came up with the following:

1. The first use is to describe the kind of puzzle I’ve been talking about, in which answers to “Across” clues and “Down” clues intersect each other. This use is so obvious and understood that I don’t need to say much about it, except for one life lesson that I have to relearn every time I work one of such puzzles. The lesson is this: it is dangerous to jump to conclusions based on limited evidence. Too often I think I know the answer to a clue because it seems to answer the clue in the right number of letters to fit the right squares, only to be wrong. It isn’t until other words fill in that cross it that I realize my error; since I write my answers in ink, it gets awkward having to cross out my wrong assumption to put in the right word. Only when all the letters are finally in place do I see that the clue fits the word the puzzle designer was looking for.

This is such a good life lesson about the dangers of jumping to conclusions (especially about other people) based on insufficient information. We hear or see one thing, only to find out later, when more facts come in, that our initial idea was wrong. Too many people have been judged, scorned, or harmed by those who make such judgments. Of course, since none of us knows all the facts about anyone or the situations they are facing, it’s always dangerous to assume things about other people. Only God knows all the facts about a person, and he is the perfect Judge. (“Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just?” Genesis 18:25).

I fell into the error of uninformed judging early in my ministry, when I noticed one of our members sitting in the back pew. It was during my sermon, and I saw that he had a cord hanging from an earplug. I was a little irked, figuring that he was listening to some ball game instead of my preaching. Imagine how ashamed I felt when the service ended and the man got up, took out the earpiece, and turned it in to the sound technician, along with the hearing-assist pack it was connected to. Not only was he listening to the sermon, he had taken efforts to hear it better!

2. The second use of “crossword” could be better written as, “cross words.” By this I mean the nasty things we say to each other when we get upset with something that someone says or does (or doesn’t do when we expected them to do it!). We get cross with them, and say things that belittle, insult, or dismiss. Things like: “You idiot!” or “That was stupid!” or “You never listen!” or “You’re worthless!” or . . . you get the picture. Often, such comments come out when we jump to conclusions about the other person’s actions (see the first use of “crossword” above), but usually they say more about us than about the person we slam.

When we belittle others we are judging them (“Judge not” Luke 6:37) often by harsher criteria than we use to correct ourselves (“Remove the log from your own eye” Matthew 7:3-5). We are trying to puff ourselves up by bringing others down, but such nastiness only reveals the smallness of our own character. Such insults also can crush the other person emotionally, or cause an equal reaction in them by which they become hateful and angry back at us (or the next person who upsets them). How many children have grown up under emotional and verbal abuse, who then treat their own children the same way, perpetuating the hurt and estrangement?

This is not to say we cannot ever criticize an action or attitude; we are to call sin, sin. But it’s far different to correct a sin than to condemn the sinner; Scripture tells us the purpose of calling out sin is to win back and restore our sinning brother or sister by correcting them gently (Galatians 6:1).

Jesus spoke plainly about our duty to speak well to and of each other. He told us to bless those who curse us, for what good is there in loving only those who love us? He also warned us that insulting others was a sin similar to murder: ““You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire” (Matthew 5:21-22).

The command not to speak ill of each other goes back to the Decalogue, or what we call the Ten Commandments. Command number eight tells us not to bear false witness against our neighbor. While at first glance, we might think that bad-mouthing a person is not the same as lying about them to others, Martin Luther captured the full sense of that command in his Small Catechism. He explained the command this way: “We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, think and speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.” Not much room there for name-calling! Cross words are not appropriate language for a Christian.

3. Now, the third use of “Crosswords.” Whereas the first two uses are about the Law, that is, what we should do and not do, this third use is about the Gospel. And the Gospel is about what Jesus Christ has done for us, to save us from condemnation for our failure to live up to the Law and all its demands.

These are the Words of the Lord spoken to us by the Cross on which Jesus died, bearing the judgment and punishment of all our sins, including our failure to keep the Law regarding not judging and insulting our neighbors. These “Cross-Words” were both literally spoken by Christ and written by his apostles, and shown to us by the very death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Consider just some of the words recorded for us by Scripture:

1. “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Spoken from the cross by Christ.

2. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,” (Ephesians 1:7).

3. “And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:27-28). Spoken by Christ at the Last Supper.

4. “The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

5. “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

6. “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:19-21).

7. “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-14).

Now those are the cross-words that really matter! For by his death on the cross, and through the promises made by God to us on behalf of his Son’s sacrificial death for our sake, Jesus has reconciled us to God, forgiven all our sins, and opened the door to eternal life. Therefore, I don’t need to get a new crossword puzzle each Sunday, when each Sunday I can hear the real Cross-words, proclaimed as they have been since that day when our Lord and Savior died to give us life. To him be the glory, now and forever!

And now, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Luke 6:27-42 and Colossians 1

 

In the Blood

Today I gave blood.

Well, it’s more like, they took blood. I can’t say I did something as noble as donate blood to a blood bank, when what really happened was that I went to a medical lab to have blood drawn for a round of routine tests. The blood-taker (technical name: phlebotomist) jabbed a needle in my right arm and drew blood from one of my veins.

Some blood-takers have a sense of humor. Others do not. One asked me, “Spell your first and last name for me.” I replied, “Y-o-u-r  f-i-r-s-t  a-n-d  l-a-s-t  n-a-m-e.” The needle stick hurt a bit worse that day. Another time, I asked if the phlebotomist’s work was “in vein.” Not a word in reply. And when I asked why they took so many vials of blood from someone who was supposed to be anemic, since that would leave me more so, the needle-sticker just said it’s surprising how little blood I need to get by. I asked her where I could go to make a withdrawal instead of a deposit.

Some blood-takers have a sense of humor.Others do not.

It’s amazing how much information the medical people can learn from a quart of blood (okay, it only seemed like a quart. It was more like a couple teaspoons. No, make that, a lot of teaspoons). They count the quantity of cells and platelets, and their condition. They detect and measure all kinds of proteins, fats, and sugars, from which they can detect one’s overall health and many different diseases. They can tell how well you’re taking care of yourself, and what problems you’re likely to have. In fact, they can tell all kinds of things from the DNA in your blood, including your ancestry and how suitable you are for blood or organ donations or transplants. It’s almost as if one’s entire life is in his or her blood.

The life is in the blood.

Which sounds almost biblical, because it is. The Old Testament law prohibits drinking the blood of animals (I’m sure humans are included in that law, too) along with their meat, because “the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood” (Leviticus 17:14). Deuteronomy 12:23 repeats the command: “Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh.” Both passages are consistent with the command God gave Noah after the Flood, “But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood” (Genesis 9:4). For that reason, keeping a kosher kitchen has always required that the animal to be eaten was killed by being cut and drained of blood, not strangled.

Now, on the one hand, stating that one’s life is in the blood seems obvious. Blood is required for life – to provide oxygen and nutrients to the body’s cells and remove their waste products. If we get cut and “bleed out,” we die. If we lose blood from an injury or surgery, we may need a transfusion, or we die. Whether hunting food or fighting enemies in combat, one attempts to prevail by making the target bleed and die. In that way, the life is in the blood.

the teaching that “the life is on the blood” used to confuse me a bit.

But, on the other hand, the teaching that “the life is on the blood” used to confuse me a bit. I thought how we are body, mind, and spirit, and therefore our life is much more complicated than just what’s flowing through our veins. What if I do happen to eat some blood with my meat, such as with a rare steak? Am I taking the cow’s life into mine when I do? And what about transfusions – if I receive blood, am I absorbing another person’s being into my soul, like a vampire from an old horror movie? Since over my lifetime, I have eaten chicken, turkey, game hens, eels, tuna, sardines, perch, trout, pike, bass, crabs, lobsters, clams, oysters, shrimp, alligators, cows, pigs, lambs, elk, and even reindeer, have I become a veritable zoo? And what about my DNA-proven English ancestors and their penchant for blood pudding? I’m glad to say that’s one tradition I have not embraced!

Now that I have seen all the information one can glean from blood tests, I better understand how true the biblical teaching really is. For not only can the blood reveal underlying physical conditions, it can also show drug use, drinking, and sexual contact – in other words, social behaviors as well. (Note to readers: my blood work today was not for any of those reasons!)

But there’s an even more important way the the biblical teaching about blood and life is true and relevant to us.

But there’s an even more important way the the biblical teaching about blood and life is true and relevant to us. By the genius of God’s Word, this Old Testament truth is affirmed in the New Testament, only with a twist: for now the command is to receive new life through a different blood, the blood of Jesus Christ. John 6:53-55 spells it out in Jesus’ own words: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.“

Now, if I had some questions about what the Bible said about life being in the blood, the people who heard Jesus’ pronouncement that day were scandalized. Verse 60 tells us that even many disciples said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” And then we read in verse 66, “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.” This seems to refer to people other than the Twelve closest disciples, but still, these were followers and not enemies of the Lord. But though Jesus’ words form what is called one of the “hard sayings” of the Bible, his promise of life through his blood is our hope.

For it is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ that we have hope of forgiveness of our sins. Hebrews 9:22 says that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins,” and explains that whereas the priests used to sacrifice the blood of animals for our sins, Christ poured out his own shed blood as the sin-forgiving sacrifice for us. And while the priests had to continually offer the blood of many animals, Christ, our High Priest, offered his blood, once and done, as the final perfect sacrifice for our sins.

we receive new life in his blood.

By faith in him and his atoning sacrifice, we receive the forgiveness that his blood purchased for us – in other words, we receive new life in his blood. The New Testament is full of such promises related to Christ’s blood, affirmed by the Apostles’ writings:

  • When discussing the Lord’s Supper. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:16 “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?”
  • Paul writes also in Ephesians 2:13 to Gentile readers, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
  • Peter says, “you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19).
  • And the Apostle John praises Christ “who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood” (Revelation 1:5).

So it appears that the most important blood is the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord, bled and shed for you and me, for it is in that blood, his blood, that we truly receive life – eternal life. Our life is in his blood.

Maybe I’ll mention that to my phlebotomist the next time I give blood . . .

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Hebrews 9, John 6