(Ex.24:3-8; Ps.116:12-13,15-18; Heb.9:11-15; Mt.14:12-16,22-26) "The cup of salvation I will take up, and I will call upon the name of the Lord." The blood of sacrifice, the blood that seals all covenants with God, is upon all our readings today. In our first reading, on the altar Moses has "erected at the foot of the mountain" where he received the commandments of the Lord – an altar surrounded by "twelve pillars for the twelve tribes" – "young men of the Israelites… offer holocausts and sacrifice young bulls as peace offerings to the Lord." Half of the blood of the bulls Moses "splashed on the altar"; the other half he "sprinkled… on the people, saying, 'This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words of His.'" And so the people promise to heed the Lord's commands; and so the first covenant is instituted. Our psalm tells us, "Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His faithful ones." And our second reading informs us just how precious is the death of the Lord's Faithful One. Yes, "Christ came as high priest"; as "mediator of a new covenant" He entered the "perfect tabernacle not made by hands… not belonging to this creation," and offered not "the blood of goats and bulls" but rather "His own blood." His "death has taken place for deliverance from transgressions under the first covenant." And so does "the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished before God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God." And in our gospel, in anticipation of His crucifixion, on the feast of Passover – when the lamb was sacrificed and its blood used to anoint the houses of the Israelites to thus save them from death – Jesus institutes the New Covenant with His disciples. First "He took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, 'Take it. This is my body.'" Then with the cup He said, "This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many." It is, of course, this New Covenant we celebrate this day, as we come to the table where all the disciples of the Lord have eaten, where all His faithful have been washed clean in His blood. Here we share not only with our minds – for then why should it be necessary to eat and drink (one does not eat and drink a symbol, but feasts with eyes alone) – but with our very bodies, with the fullness of our beings; and our very human nature is transformed by His sacrificial presence. Brothers and sisters, the Lord gives Himself entirely for us; let us here lay down our lives in His flesh and blood. Let us take up the cup of salvation and each day call upon His Name. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Blood in My Palate" from Loving Spirit, third album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, is Jesus not our inheritance; do we not eat the Body and Blood He has given up for our salvation? YHWH, the blood of the New Covenant be upon us for good, the blood of Christ upon our lips; and let us fulfill our vows before you, serving as the Body of your Son. O let us be blessed with all the graces of Heaven as they pour upon us in the blood of Jesus, our Lord! How can we make return to you, dear God, for all the good you have done for us, for your giving us your only Son to serve as sacrifice for our sins, as food for our journey to you? You, O God, have come among us in His flesh and remain with us in the Sacrament – how can we grasp such a gift? How can we thank you for your love toward us revealed in the blood of Jesus the Christ? Let us but take up the cup you offer and call upon your holy Name. Let us but serve you with all our lives, worshiping you in all things, O living God, and the promised eternal inheritance will be ours. O let us drink of the fruit of the vine with your Son in the kingdom! Prepare our hearts to receive your Lamb.