The Most Precious Blood of Jesus
October 22, 2024 - Tuesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Ephesians 2:12-22
From the Jewish perspective, which Paul shared as well, the ancient world was divided into the Jews and the Gentiles. Moreover, as Paul presents it, the situation of the Gentiles was miserable. They were without the Savior, living outside the community of Israel, strangers to the promise encoded in God's covenants with His people, living without hope, and worshiping idols, not knowing the true God (Eph. 2:11-13).
Surprisingly, even after two thousand years of Christianity, this message resonates with our contemporary situation. How many people live without hope in this world? Our young generation struggles with finding meaning in their lives and sees their future as rather bleak. Many people look for a savior among politicians or celebrities because they have not experienced the salvation that Jesus brings to those who believe in Him. Our world is bitterly divided across lines of race, religion, nationality, and socio-economic status. Finally, our individualistic society and the rise of secularism leave more and more people strangers to God's covenants and the promise they offer.
The phrase "but now" is at the heart of Paul's message. This "now" can also take place in the lives of those who turn to Christ. Jesus said that when lifted up from the earth, He would draw all people to Himself (see John 12:32). And when Jesus was crucified, "blood and water" came out of His pierced side (see John 19:33-34). Paul says that this Blood transformed the situation of the Ephesians. Their past exclusion from the commonwealth of Israel with all its benefits was no more. Now, through the Blood of Christ, they gained everything that before was only limited to the Jews.
There is a beautiful song that tries to capture Paul's message about the Blood of Christ titled "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus." It begins with two questions: "What can wash away my sin?" and "What can make me whole again?" Paraphrasing this song, the Ephesians could sing: What can make me a part of the community of Israel and the covenants of the promise? "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus." What can give me hope in this world? "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus." How can I come to the true God? Only through the Blood of Jesus. And then, the Ephesians could utilize the refrain of our song, proclaiming:
"O precious is the flow
that makes me white as snow;
no other fount I know;
nothing but the blood of Jesus."
Paul writes that Jesus' death on the cross broke the dividing wall of hostility and that Christ is our peace. How sad that in our world we build so many walls that separate us from one another. How sad that the number of armed conflicts in the world is increasing instead of decreasing. The reason is obvious: what we see in today's world is similar to what Paul saw in his world. The solution to our problem is the Gospel, the liberating and transforming power of Christ's redeeming death on the cross. "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus" can change us. And so, let us pray:
"Blood of Christ, 'poured out on the Cross' and the 'price of our salvation,' 'save us'" (see the Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus).