Today’s Chapel Homily

By East Africa Regional Director, Pr. Shauen Trump:

Daily Prayer: Morning (LSB p. 295)
Heb. 9:11-15
LSB 529 “Since Our Great High Priest, Christ Jesus”


11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.


The blood of goats, calves, and bulls. Two weeks ago I was in northwest Kenya, up in Turkana where the people are pastoralists – they keep goats and cattle as a livelihood. I was traveling with Benjamin Lemosi, the General Secretary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya – he’s a pastoralist too but from the Samburu tribe. Benjamin was telling me about his youth, when he was responsible for herding the cows and the goats. Many of these pastoralist communities survive day-to-day on the milk and the blood of the animals they herd. They do a live blood-letting, collecting the blood in gourds which they then frequently mix with milk and drink. Apparently, according to Benjamin, a goat is bled from here, and a cow or camel from here. Now I’m one of those guys who was not called to medicine – I was called to church work. My wife was called to medicine – she’s a labor and delivery nurse – and I would pick her up from work here at Barnes Jewish so many years ago and she would start to tell me about her day. Which is wonderful – she’s amazing – but the more she told me about emergency c-sections and whatever fascinating thing had happened to her, the more pale I would get and finally, you know? I’m driving! You gotta stop before I pass out! So you can imagine how I’m doing while Benjamin is telling me about how when you do a live bleeding of a cow you can feed four or six people but when you do a live bleeding of a camel you can feed a whole village – oh, brother, please stop!

We have this thing about blood. We Americans – most of us – don’t eat blood sausage. We don’t like the thought of touching blood – not the blood of animals, not the blood of people. We are so scared of blood-born disease, of e-coli, of hepatitis, of HIV. We overcook meats, we have these latex gloves and needle-prick protocols and we learn about protecting ourselves from blood. We fear blood as much as we fear touching something that’s dead, dead things that are unclean, that are defiled, that defile us! We don’t want to be defiled.

But we are. We are defiled. We have not only come into contact with dead people – we are dead ourselves. You and me – on our own we do dead works, we sin in the very act of doing what we call good. We revel in gossip. We do not put the best construction on everything. We slander. You and me – we are pathetic, caught up in our self-righteous justification of our actions. We are so far beyond redemption by the ashes of a heifer or the blood of a goat. We are completely without life.

And yet. Even though we are completely depraved, there is a way for us. The very rituals referred to in this passage are prescribed for those made defiled by contact with the dead. There is a purification protocol – it purifies the flesh – “…the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh.” That was the heifer who was sacrificed for a burnt offering outside of the city and the ashes preserved to be used for purification. …that blood of goats and bulls – you remember those times in the Old Testament where that blood from the sacrifice is cast against the sides of the altar and thrown and sprinkled on God’s people – to sanctify and purify. And still, the idea of goat blood being thrown on us sets us on edge – we just can’t handle this!

To us, just about the only time we don’t freak out when there’s blood involved is when it’s our family, someone known to us – our children with the skinned knee, our parent with the cut on their finger. Those whom we love, those we are convinced are safe – those we don’t seem to mind, we accept contact with their blood without fear. Even for me – here I find reprieve. While I have passed out at the sight of my own blood, I wash my child’s wounds without a second thought. It’s different within the family.

This for me is the key. Because this Jesus Christ – He has made us members of His own family in the faith worked in baptism. He is known to us, His Spirit works trust within us, there is no fear in His blood. His blood is safe. And so far beyond simply safe – his blood heals, restores, purifies. His blood is effective.  Beyond purifying the flesh, far beyond, as our text says, “…how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, [how much more will His blood] purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

That blood – the blood of Christ, which flows down upon you as you cling to the foot of the cross – that blood brings forgiveness, reconciliation, restoration. That blood which pours out not only from the wounds of the cross but also pours out from the altar, that blood which fills the chalice, that blood, which flows like a live blood-letting from the living God, that blood sustains and nourishes those who believe. That blood, which is freely yours, brings new life, redemption, and the promised eternal inheritance. This is the glorious miracle of His love for us – our God’s blood, shed for you. Amen.

 
Prayers:

O Lord, almighty God, as You have always granted special gifts of the Holy Spirit to Your Church on earth, grant Your continual blessing to all who minister in Your name in the armed forces, especially chaplain Timothy Rosenthal, that by Your gracious working they may honor Christ and advance the good of those committed to their care; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need, look with favor upon Your servants Joseph, Roger, Ruth, Allan, and Jan. Assure them of your mercy, deliver them from the temptations of the evil one, and give them patience and comfort in their illnesses. If it please You, restore them to health, or give them grace to accept this tribulation with courage and hope; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Gracious Father, Your Son grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and all people. Lead those who this week plan together for the Youth Gathering. Bless, guide, and govern both those who plan and those young people of Your Church by Your Holy Spirit, that they may grow in grace and in the knowledge of Your Word. Grant that they may serve You well and usefully, developing their talents not for their own sakes but to Your glory and for the welfare of their neighbor. Protect and defend them from all danger and harm, giving Your holy angels charge over them; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.