My grandma used to say I'd be a doctor when I grew up. As a child I didn't display any interest in biology or in helping sick people. This statement wasn't really related to my gifts or passions at all—I think she was just trying to prophesy that I'd have a high-paying job.
I knew her predictions were for naught when I noticed my queasy reaction to hymn lyrics about the flow and fount of Jesus' blood. I was nauseated not only by the sight of blood, but even its very mention in a song.
Yet I have learned to consider both the concrete and metaphorical significance of blood. It is a central component of human life and Christian theology. The April 6 issue of the Century, the cover of which features an image of blood cells and the words "Christ's Blood & Ours," contains two remarkable articles about blood. You can find them below: one about preaching with vulnerability and one about the spirituality of donating blood. Other great pieces from this week are also below!
Two questions [feel free to email me an answer to either or both]: 1. What did you want to be when you grew up?
2. What role does blood play in your theological reflection?
“I knew the maxims: preach from your scars, not your open wounds; don’t share so much that you make the people worry about their pastor instead of hearing the gospel. But the model of our incarnate God is more powerful than any maxim.”
“Giving blood is painful, dull, and clinical, but it has come to feel like a spiritual discipline in my life, a kind of ascetic practice. Not as a penance or purification, but as an offering.”
“It is difficult to exaggerate George’s popularity as a Christian symbol and a centerpiece of iconography. He was the patron saint of England and features in many church dedications across Portugal and the Mediterranean world, as well as the Kingdom of Georgia.”
