BLESSING: a verb
Rev. Barry W. Szymanski, J.D.
Minister of Pastoral Care
December 5, 2010
First Congregational Church of Wauwatosa

THE SERMON

When a person sneezes, most people respond with “Bless you.” One of our national songs is “God Bless America.” We close religious services with Benedictions, which are Blessings. Often people refer to prayer before meals as a Blessing.

In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, God is recorded blessing us human beings in this passage: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them . . .” Genesis 1:27-28. Later, in the same book of Genesis, God spoke to Abraham. This is what was said: “Now the Lord had said to Abram, Go out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you: And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you: and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 12:1-3

So we have the blessing of creation – and the blessing of Abraham. We often hear of the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. Therefore what happened with Jacob? What kind of blessing did he receive? Again, we turn to Genesis, and in chapter 32 find this passage: “And [God] said, ‘Your name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince you have power with God and with men, and have prevailed.’

And Jacob asked him, and said, ‘Tell me, I pray you, your name.’ And he said, ‘Why is it that you do ask my name?’ And he blessed him there.” Genesis 32:28-29

Remembering that Jacob was also called “Israel”, in Psalm 115 the Psalmist reminds us, as people have been reminded for centuries: “O Israel, trust in the LORD. You that fear the LORD trust in the LORD. The LORD … will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel. You are blessed of the LORD who made heaven and earth.”

And, in the same Psalm, we have this astonishing directive: “We will bless the Lord from this time forth and for ever more.” Psalm 115:18a. We move on to the New Testament, and, in Luke’s Gospel we are told when Jesus was offered in the Temple and Mary was purified as required under Jewish law, we heard that a man named Simeon was just and devout, and who had the Holy Spirit upon him, was directed by the Spirit “and when the parents brought in the child Jesus … he took him up in his arms, and blessed God.” Imagine the look of surprise on the faces of Mary and Joseph.

Simeon blessed God, and then Simeon: “… said, ‘Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word: “For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all people; A light to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.’’ Luke 2:27-32

But that wasn’t the only blessing. For: ’’Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him. And Simeon blessed them.” Luke 2:33 We have many, many more Biblical blessings. In fact, the Bible is full of blessings.

During the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus preached on the Beatitudes, he taught us that Blessed are the poor in spirit, those that mourn, the meek, the merciful.

Let’s skip to the very last verses of Luke’s Gospel, at the Ascension, “And [Jesus] led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they … returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And they were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.” Luke 24:50-53

Now that you have had a brief tour of the Bible, we come to today’s Sermon: Blessings, a verb. What is a blessing? We have heard that God blesses us; the Psalmist and Simeon bless God; Simeon blesses Mary and blesses Joseph; Jesus tells us that certain ways of living are blessed; as Jesus ascends he blesses his disciples; and after the Ascension of Jesus, the disciples go to God’s house and bless God.

We respond to sneezes with a blessing; and sing to bless our country. We ask God to bless our food and us at mealtimes. Blessings, as the term is used signifies a host of meanings: Holy Sanctified, Full of Grace, Celebration of God, A Wish of Good and good fortune, A ‘Fear of God’, which is a respect for the standards set by God.

From the Bible we learn that blessings both come from God and come from people. God blesses us. But we can also bless God. -- If we choose!!!!! The Psalmist told us how and what to say to bless God. And how we can bless each other. If blessings are so good, why don’t we bless more often? We eat meals at least three times a day. Those are three occasions of blessings.

We enjoy the company of people. Do we feel that those times of blessing? Maybe, in trying to understand ‘blessing’ as a verb, we can look at two other concepts. On one hand we have Blessings – on the other we have curses. Curses are also part of the Bible.

Let’s go back to Genesis. After Adam and Eve ate of the Tree, it is recorded: “And to Adam [God] said, because you have … eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying, you shall not eat of it: cursed is the ground for your sake …Genesis 3:17

Jesus himself did not bless everything. Matthew’s Gospel records the fig tree incident: “And when [Jesus] saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said to it, ‘Let no fruit grow on you henceforward for ever.’ And presently the fig tree withered away.” Matthew 21:19

Yet Jesus instructs us to: “Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which spitefully use you.” Luke 6:28

A curse is a wish of harm -- a wish of abuse -- at the very least a statement of disrespect. Cursing ties into the commandment not to use God’s name in vain. We have Blessings on one hand -- we have curses on the other. In between we have apathy. We neither wish well, nor do we wish evil.

In apathy we just don’t care. In not caring, we can just be selfish. or maybe too lazy to respect God’s world or even too lazy to disrespect it. If we pray for God’s blessings to come upon us, we expect the best from God. Therefore, if we decide that we want to bless God [as the Psalmist prayed] we need to give our best to God.

Why don’t we bless our children? For if we decide that we want to bless our children, we want to give our very best to our children. If we ask for God’s blessing though our Pastor when we leave our worship liturgies, we are asking that God bless us -- and we expect that the blessing is a holy blessing.

Should we tell our children that we are blessing them? This has not been part of my audible life with my daughter – and, now, with my grandson. I now do so. Sometimes quietly; sometimes audibly. Should I be more verbal about it? Yes. And I tie it into meal prayer. But, frankly, it is not part of our American culture.

Yet, we have seen that Blessings permeate the Bible. I did not even begin to count the word Blessing, Blest, and Blessed in the other Biblical texts. There are hundreds of references. Paul himself, in his letters, liberally uses the word – as a verb and as a noun and an adjective.

When we marry we ask God to bless our union. Do we ask God to continually bless our union? Do we turn to our spouses and tell them we bless them and do we ask blessings upon our marriages? By the way, don’t shock them, maybe you should just start to bless silently!!! I know one spouse who would have had a heart attack if the person up here said this aloud years ago!

Yet the best of blessings are audible. For it is not only in the heart of the person praying the blessing, it is also comes to rest in the heart of the person hearing and accepting the blessing. Maybe our children and spouses and friends [and even strangers] need to sneeze more often!

The real questions I want to leave you with are these: Can blessing another person solve some of the problems of life? Can a blessing help people who have no self-esteem? Can a blessing work wonders for those who in their heart, feel that others just pretend to like them? Can a blessing assist individuals who stay in abusive relationships simply because of inertia – or fear? Can saying a blessing help family members who feel that those who should be closest to them do not love them? Simply stated, do people need to give and receive blessings?

For so often many people feel cursed, or, just as horrible, feel they are apathetic objects.

If even our silent blessings can help them – let us bless them. But maybe said-out-loud blessings can, with God’s help, work a miracle!! Then let us bless them in God’s Holy Name! As Simeon did, we can offer our blessings, working with the Holy Spirit.

And if our giving a blessing aloud can help people realize God among us – then let us bless them – either in the silence of our hearts – or by disguised words of encouragement and hope – or by the direct words of blessing.

As believers of God we have a tradition of blessing; as followers of Christ, we have his power of blessing. And we know that in Jesus, with Jesus, and through Jesus we can make a blessed difference in our own lives -- and then in the lives of all those we encounter each week.

And, let us not forget what the Psalmist, in Psalm 103, [v.22] says: “Bless the Lord, O my soul!”

In closing I would like to read one of the last passages of Luke's Gospel: Luke 24:50-53

(The Ascension of Jesus)

Then Jesus led His disciples out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple/blessing God.

THE READINGS

Luke 2:21-35

After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, [Mary and Joseph] brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord’), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.’

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.

Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents [Mary and Joseph] brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, >

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 'Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.’ And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him.

Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed —and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’

Genesis 12:1-3

Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

Psalm 115: 9-18

OIsrael, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. Ohouse of Aaron, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. The Lord has been mindful of us; he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron; he will bless those who fear the Lord, both small and great. May the Lord give you increase, both you and your children. May the Lord, who made heaven and earth, bless you.

The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to human beings. The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any that go. Praise the Lord!

Prayer of the People and Minister:

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer, Lord Jesus,

Who came to us as a model of life?

Who came to save us?

Who came to teach us?

Who came to give of himself?

During his life he saw people in situations of distrust, prejudice, stubbornness, being opposed, or simply unable to cope. In fact, many times the Gospels record that he was in the midst of situations of distrust, of prejudice, of stubbornness, of being opposed, and wondering whether he could manage without you. But in all these instances, he prayed to you, our Father in heaven.

Lord, we now pray to you.

We pray for help.

Bless us for us for we need you.

Individually some of us have learned that we have illnesses.

Some of us have learned that we need to love more.

Some of us have learned that we need to parent better.

Some of us have learned that we are not good friends to others.

Some of us have been hurt by life itself.

Some of us feel that we just cannot cope any more.

Yet we know that with your grace, we can deal with life. Lord, with your son Jesus, grants us the grace to rely on you, and your promises. For you have said that you will be with us for all time. We trust in your promises and we ask for your blessings. Amen.