Blood and the Greatest Commandment

Did you know that blood is mentioned over 400 times in the Bible? And that, in the days of the Old Testament, to simply touch something that a bleeding person had touched made you ritually unclean? The topic of blood rarely comes up in normal conversation these days, except perhaps in discussions about the recent release of a vampire book, or movie! Vampires aside, many world religions share the belief that the spirit of an animal or person resides in its blood. Because of that belief, in late twentieth-century Zaire, people objected to blood transfusions because it meant “putting your spirit into another spirit.” This was turned around in other cultures, which held that if blood contained the life force, then drinking it or mixing it with one’s own blood might convey the special qualities of that being, like the strength of a lion or the compassion of a respected person.

This is not unlike the Eucharist we share. As Catholics, we understand that Jesus instructed us, over and over again, to eat His Body and drink His Blood in order to have His life in us. He also directed us to love God, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, which is why Risen Savior sponsors a Blood Drive every year. This annual event is our Love Your Neighbor initiative for February. It is in memory of one of our priests, Father Edward Rivera, who, as he was undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer, required blood transfusions, prompting the Risen Savior Community to give blood. The Blood Drive is on Sunday, February 20th in the Youth Center, and you can sign up for your appointment on Risen Savior’s web site.

One blood donation by one donor can save the lives of up to three patients. In today’s world, physicians and medical personnel have determined that nine out of ten people who live to age 70 will require a blood transfusion at some point – that person could be you or a loved one.

The act of donating blood is similar to that of tithing. Because donors can give only 10% of their blood, it is a ‘Good Samaritan’ act of “tithing our blood.” Giving blood is a simple Christian act of caring for others that doesn’t cost us anything more than a little time to give others a lifetime. We see it from a Christian point of view: Jesus gave His lifeblood for me and, out of gratitude, I share mine with others.