Submitted by Pastor David Wynn, Tarkio Christian Church

In 1855 an author by the name of H. Clay Trumball published a book titled “The Blood Covenant.” In it he describes the true story a friend told him about an experience he witnessed in the mountains of Lebanon, a blood covenant between two young men of ancient Arab descent. First the young men met at an open place in front of the village fountain, where they were surrounded by the relatives and neighbors who had been invited to witness their covenant. Then they declared their purpose to the crowd – to become each other’s closest kin – and they spelled out what that would mean for each of them while a scribe copied down what they said, not once but twice, so that each man would have a record of the promises he had made. After that was done, both men signed both copies of the covenant paper along with several of their witnesses, and together they then moved to the center of the crowd.

Then one friend took a sharp knife and opened a vein in the other’s arm, inserted a hollow quill, or a tube, into the wound and drank the living blood of his friend. Picture it. When he was through, he wiped the knife on one set of the covenant papers and stood still while his friend repeated the same procedure on him. Then both men declared in one voice: “We are brothers in a covenant made before God.” Then both of the bloodstained covenant papers were folded into one-inch squares and sewn into matching leather amulets that the young men would wear around their necks for the rest of their lives, a token of their union.

As brothers of the covenant, they had forged a bond between themselves that was more sacred than any other bond in their lives, including parentage and marriage. From that day forward, neither of them lived for himself alone. Now I ask you, would you be able to do that?

Belief in the power of shared blood must come from some place way down inside of us. “Take, eat, this is my body,” Jesus said. Then he took the cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; for this is the blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

The hours following that declaration witnessed something utterly beyond our comprehension, involving the gift of life’s blood that bound us to God in a whole new way. When it was all over, the world was a different place, and the world knew it. A new covenant was now in effect. God became flesh and blood in order to bring divine love to life. And then he gave up that life so that there would be no doubt about God’s faithfulness to us through that covenant.

“Here,” God said with the gift of his son, the one thing God had to give that was more precious to him than himself. “You don’t have to come to me where I am anymore. I will come all the way to you where you are, through this beloved child.” And the child was willing. He was not forced to do what he did. When Jesus held up the cup, he was talking to everyone.

The pelican is an interesting bird. In the Middle Ages, in books called bestiaries, you’ll find images of this extraordinary bird. The legend suggests that the pelican, in times of famine, when it found nothing to give to nourish its children, plucked its own breast, and fed all of its children from the blood of its own body.

In our Christian tradition, we’ve likened the symbol of this bird’s sacrifice to that of Jesus.

A wise person once said, our hearts belong to the one we are willing to shed our blood for. To whom does your heart belong? If your heart belongs to Jesus, your heart belongs in love to every one of God’s children, no matter where they are in their journey, inside or outside of the church.

Jesus said, “I know who you are. I know you will not be innocent of the blood in this cup, but I will not let that come between us. Look here, I bless it! I make it my gift to you. Let it mean life to you, not death. Let my life become your life through the blood of this covenant, this day.” Amen!