A New Covenant In Christ's Blood

To understand the Bible, we have to also understand the concept of “covenant”. All of Scripture is a chronicle of the covenant God wants to establish with His People, Israel, and, ultimately, with all people in every generation.  In fact the word “testament”,  as in “Old Testament” and “New Testament”, itself means “covenant”.

To put it simply, a covenant is an agreement by which two people who are otherwise not related create a family bond. It was common in Old Testament times that a weak king would make a covenant with a stronger king. This stronger king would then pledge to protect the weaker one as if he were his brother or son. Unlike a treaty which can be broken by one or the other party at any time or which only is in force for a certain period of time, a covenant cannot be broken and never expires. Just as a father never stops being a father or a daughter never stops being a daughter, the relationships that are created through a covenant remain always in force.

A beautiful example of this that we can all understand is the covenant of marriage. Through matrimony, a man and a woman who otherwise are unrelated become a new family. They pledge to be faithful to one another until they are separated by death. Once two separate, independent persons, they now become one flesh through the covenant of marriage.

Just so, God was not content to simply give life to the world. He wanted to enter into a relationship with the people He created. He wanted an intimate and personal friendship with us. By establishing a covenant with His people, He revealed His desire to draw all persons into His family.

Today’s first reading tells the story of the covenant God established with the people of Israel in the desert after He had liberated them from slavery in Egypt. God promised to be their God and the people, on their part, promised to keep His law. This new covenant relationship is sealed by the blood which Moses poured out on the altar. We call the relationship between family members “blood ties.” Just so, the pouring out of blood symbolizes that God and His people are now united in a blood tie through the covenant.

Though covenant is the central theme of the Bible, we only hear Jesus use the word once. It is at the Last Supper which we heard proclaimed in today’s gospel. The Last Supper takes place at the Feast of Passover when the Jewish people celebrated their liberation from slavery in Egypt and renewed the covenant that had been made through Moses in the desert. When Jesus picks up the cup filled with wine, He says, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.” While God made a covenant with the people of Israel through the blood that Moses poured out in the desert, Jesus made a new covenant with all those who believe in Him through the blood He poured out on the cross. These new blood ties no longer depend on nationality or race, but are made through faith in Jesus Christ. All who believe now can enter into this covenant relationship with God through Jesus. Through faith and baptism, we are brought into God’s family as His adopted children.

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. It is an opportunity for us to reflect on the great gift Jesus makes of Himself to His people, nourishing us on our journey through life. It is also an opportunity for us to reflect on the covenant He makes with us. Through the Eucharist, we become one flesh with God. We are united with Him and become related to Him just as a man and woman becoming one flesh through marriage and just as a son and daughter are related to their parents.

Whenever we receive the Eucharist, we are renewing our covenant relationship with Jesus. We are accepting Him once again as our Lord and Savior. We respond, “Amen”, because we believe that Jesus is truly present in the communion we receive. Our “Amen” also means that we accept the responsibilities that come with being a child of God. We pledge to follow the commandments He left us, in particular, the commandment of love. We also pledge to live this covenant relationship in the Church with all those who, like us, have been saved through the Blood of Christ.

The “Amen” we say when we receive communion is not something we should take lightly. Because we are renewing our covenant with Christ through the Eucharist, the “amen” we pronounce is like signing our signature to a legal document. None of us would do that without reading what it is we are agreeing to. Once we sign our name, the agreement is final. We cannot go back and say that we didn’t read it or didn’t understand it.

Just so, we should be sure we understand what the “amen” we say at Holy Communion means. It means that we truly believe that Jesus is present in the Eucharist in more than a symbolic way. It means that we embrace all that the Church teaches. It means that we are striving to live a good and holy life. In particular, it means that we have no serious, unconfessed sins on our conscience. If we cannot say “yes” to any of these statements, then we cannot say “amen” to the communion we are about to receive. If we were to receive communion not believing in Jesus’ presence, not embracing the Church He established or not living a good, holy life, then it would be hypocritical for us to receive the Body of Christ.

God loves us. He wants an intimate and personal relationship with each of us. Through the Blood of Christ He has brought us into His family with all the privileges and responsibilities that come with being a child of God. Whenever we receive communion, we are renewing that covenant. Our “Amen” is an act of faith and a commitment to live as children of God. If that “yes” is difficult for us, we can pray for the grace to believe and the strength to live a good life. Then we can claim the inheritance waiting for us in heaven which is ours by covenant through the Blood of Christ.