It is no wonder, then, that covenants and treaties were often “signed in blood.” We are more used to pages of turgid and incomprehensible legalese, but in ancient covenants the rights and responsibilities of each party were laid out with the rewards for compliance and the negative consequences for failure. After the performance of a sacrifice the signatories were sprinkled with the blood of the sacrificial victim. This witnessed to the seriousness and solemnity of the occasion and the covenant — the life-force itself sealed and ratified the agreement.

The covenant contained all that Moses wrote down concerning God’s commandments, though we might question how much was from Moses and later generations and how much was actually from God. God made a covenant with Israel out of love and concern for Israel’s well-being. In return for many blessings God asked commitment and fidelity.

As with all human undertakings Israel’s response was less than perfect — just as our response often falls far short of our promises. The covenant always remained as a reminder and an ideal, and whenever Israel strayed from her commitment negative consequences were the result. In an age in which commitment and perseverance seem to be difficult and lacking in all human activities, perhaps revisiting the seriousness and solemnity of covenant and promise will revitalize our relationships with one another and with God.

The author of Hebrews used the language of blood and sacrifice to illuminate the meaning of the life and death of Jesus. If the blood of animals will purify and restore how much more will the blood of the Christ – himself pure and without blemish – purify our hearts and souls? This letter also has another purpose: to wean us from sacrificial modes of thinking and our fascination with blood. This is a continuation of the prophetic teachings of the Old Testament. The sacrifice of Christ — although it involved blood — both fulfilled all sacrifices and put an end to them. Throughout the New Testament there are images of sacrifice that are spiritualized — the offering of one’s pure body and soul to God, for example. Sacrifice that is pleasing to God is expressed in love and service to others, especially when it nudges us out of our comfort zone.

This sacrifice of Christ was expressed in his words at the Last Supper. The “blood of the covenant” was a continuation, amplification and broadening of the previous covenant — it did not cancel it or render it obsolete. God’s love, mercy and faithfulness have not changed. The covenant is both with the people of God and the individual believer.

By participating in the Last Supper — the Eucharist — one promises to walk in the ways of God and to strive to follow the path of Jesus. It is a celebration of commitment — to love and service — as well as a celebration of God’s faithful love. The Eucharist has been celebrated as Jesus commanded his followers thousands of times every day for the last 2,000 years.

Unfortunately, his followers have not always understood what partaking in that meal really means, nor have they always lived up to the commitment of discipleship that is such an essential part of it. The body of Jesus was indeed broken for humanity and his blood poured out for all (“many” in the Hebrew idiom is a collective term meaning “all”).  His body and blood were not “sacrificed” to appease God but to bear witness to the revelation of God’s love and the path that we have been given for authentic and spiritual human life.

Let us not take for granted or squander Jesus’ selfless and loving act of renunciation on our behalf.