So if it is true that it is not just vampires that are bloodthirsty, but all humans, what do we do to overcome our natural urge to shed blood of other humans, whether by direct violence or by our participation in a society that thrives economically on injustice that brings bloodshed in distant places?
What if we, like Edward the vampire in Twilight have to find an alternate blood source in order to keep from shedding blood of others? To me, it helps the "drink my blood" talk that Jesus gives in John 6 seem a little less crazy.
It may not seem strange to life-long Christians, but one of our two holy sacraments is a ritual based on eating flesh and drinking blood. Of course we use bread and wine, but we are supposed to think of it as Jesus' human body and blood. That is strange!
But what if we acknowledge that, like Edward, we are struggling to overcome a thirst for the blood of others, not just our enemies, but the ones we love? What if, like Edward, we admitted we needed a substitute blood to quench that thirst so we would not fall upon each other?
I don't think it was a random reminder ceremony that Jesus put in place. We don't brush a symbolic blood on our doorways, or on our foreheads, or sprinkle it on our clothes during communion, we drink it! We admit that we come to the table as bloodthirsty humans and give thanks that Jesus has given us his own blood to drink so that we don't have to thirst for any other.
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