Blood and guts

The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a burnt calf are sprinkled on the people who are ritually unclean, and this purifies them by taking away their ritual impurity. Since this is true, how much more is accomplished by the blood of Christ! Through the eternal Spirit he offered himself as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will purify our consciences from useless rituals, so that we may serve the living God. (verses 13,14)

Read Hebrews 9:1-14

With five boys in our family, the dinner table conversation can be bloodthirsty. Whether it’s video games, movies, TV or books, the body count can be high and can be accompanied by fairly graphic descriptions of the action.

This passage of Hebrews gives rise to similar thoughts, and yet the price paid for your sin can’t be cleaned up. Jesus did suffer, physically, and he did die for you. His blood was real, as was the pain and the sweat and the agony.

He suffered and died so that you could come to recognise what is really important in life. It’s not your religious activity, your attempts at piety, your trying to live the good life. The most important thing is the sacrifice Jesus made for you. In that sacrifice is the life you are looking for. It enables you to serve a real and living God.

Jesus, thank you for suffering pain and death so that I might have life. Amen.

by Tom Peitsch, in ‘Living Water for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2001)

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