Monday, February 9, 2004
Usual Abstinence (Wed & Fri)
Great Martyr Theodore
Kellia: 1 Kings LXX 14:31-35 Epistle: 1 John 2:18-3:10 Gospel: St. Mark 11:1-11
1 Kings 14:31-35 LXX (1 Sam. 14:31-35), especially vs. 34,
"And Saul said, 'Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, Let every man bring his
ox or his sheep, and slay them here, and eat; and do not sin against the Lord by eating with the
blood.'" As Orthodox Priests prepare the Holy Gifts they confess: "Thou has redeemed us from
the curse of the law, by Thy precious Blood: nailed to the Cross and pierced by the spear, Thou
has poured forth immortality upon mankind, O our Savior, glory to Thee."
Among the People of both of the Old and of the New Covenants, blood has been given great
reverence because of its power to unite God and His People (Ex. 24:8; Heb. 9:14). To establish
its sacredness firmly and strictly, the Lord prohibited any eating of blood: "If any man of the
house of Israel or of the strangers that sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set My face
against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people" (Lev. 17:10).
Blood from slaughtering was to be poured "out upon the earth like water" (Dt. 12:16).
Keeping this prohibition in mind, observe what disorder occurred at the end of the battle at
Michmash because of the austere fast which King Saul imposed on his troops during the fight (1
Kngs. 14:24). The men were so "faint [that they] flew upon the spoil, and took sheep and oxen
and calves; and slew them on the ground; and...ate them with the blood" (1 Kngs. 14:31, 32). So
deeply ingrained was the stricture against eating blood that this impropriety was soon relayed to
the king: "Behold, the people are sinning against the Lord, by eating with the blood" (vs. 33).
Knowing God had promised to "cut off from among his people" (Lev. 17:4) anyone who ate flesh
with its blood in it, and he quickly provided an alternative for the people: "roll a great stone to me
here...disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, 'Let every man bring his ox or his
sheep, and slay them here, and eat; and do not sin against the Lord" (vss. 33, 34).
In light of the pre-existing and deep-set prohibition against eating flesh with its blood in it, a rule
that carried over into the early Church (Acts 15:20), how are we, the People of the New
Covenant, to understand the pronouncement of our Lord Jesus that "unless you eat the flesh of
the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you?" (Jn. 6:53).
First, shed blood made atonement in the Former Covenant (Lev. 17:11), and the shed blood of
Christ our God, the Mediator of the New Covenant, cleanses us "from dead works to serve the
living God" (Heb. 9:14). In the New Covenant, blood discloses ultimate atoning grace.
Second, the New Covenant brings a new Sacrifice and a new Priesthood, "according to the order
of Melchizedek. For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because
of its weakness and unprofitableness, for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is
the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God" (Heb. 7:17, 18, 19). Christ,
the Priest, offered one sacrifice, shedding His blood once for all. Hence in the Divine Liturgy, as
Theodoret of Cyrus notes: "we do not offer another sacrifice, but perform a memorial [an
"anamnesis," a living re-entry into] of that unique and saving offering."
Finally, the Divine Liturgy, the work of God's People, as an offering is bloodless: "we offer unto
Thee this reasonable and unbloody service." The "flesh and blood" we receive in the Communion
of the Holy Gifts partake of the Mystery of Christ, pour out the life of God shed once for us, and
join our flesh to His resurrection body in a marriage of the soul with her Lord. St. Cyril of
Jerusalem says: "Christ has given the children of the bridal chamber the enjoyment of His body
and His blood." In Christ, by the power of the Spirit, all things are new (2 Cor. 3:6).
The all-Holy Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is imparted unto me unto life everlasting.
