READ | SERMON NOTES
Summary l The Latin word ‘benediction’ comprises two parts: ‘bene’, which means good, and ‘diction’, which means to speak. Together, it means to pronounce a blessing. The cultural notion of blessing is often inherently circumstantial and personalised; it is tied to a time, place and individual and is inherently religious. A person is blessed rather than just fortunate or lucky in a secular context. But what do we mean when we talk about blessing?
Paradox of Blessing
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us. Psalm 67 presents the perspective of us as the recipients of God’s blessings. This passage parallels the Aaronic blessing in Numbers 6. In contrast, the Numbers passage presents the perspective of God as the giver of the blessing. Indeed, a blessing cannot happen without one party giving and another party receiving. It is something that we cannot get on our own.
The paradox is that blessing is never ours to take and always someone else’s to give. We can only have blessing when someone, other than ourselves, gives it to us. “Blessing is not simply a friendly wish but a bestowal of life-force … (it is) the power for life” (Walter Brueggemann) A blessing is an affirmation that there will be flourishing, productivity, wholeness and rest. It brings about immense peace in our lives in the midst of challenges.
Regardless of whether we are Christians or not, everyone wants to be blessed. While we long for blessings to be pronounced upon us, the moment that we take blessing for ourselves when we should not or at the wrong time, it is no longer a blessing. Instead, it becomes a curse for our relationships with one another, and a curse for creation. Blessing is never ours to take. In Genesis 27, Jacob took Esau’s birthright (blessing by might). This spawned hatred and fractured the relationship between the siblings. In Genesis 4:1-16, Cain killed his brother Abel (blessing by right). God pronounced a curse on Cain and it fractured Cain’s relationship with creation. This is what happens when we try to take blessing into our own hands.
Even today, our current human condition is a by-product of us seeking to take blessing either by might or right. It tears up our relationships and damages the world we live in. Paradoxically, human beings and creation always suffers when we try to take blessing for ourselves.
Purpose of Blessing
The reason that God blesses is so that his people might be a blessing to others and creation. The goal is not for our own sake, but for the sake of other and the earth. In Numbers 3, God had accepted the Levites as substitutes for the firstborn in Israel. Yet, God did not directly bestow his blessings on only the Levites. Instead, God told the Levites that their right was to give God’s blessing to others. We need to have such an ethic when it comes to blessing. It is not about how we can be blessed, but how we can be a conduit of God’s blessings to others. God is concerned for all of creation. (Ex 19) When God’s light shines, everything must be lit up. God’s blessing is too large to only affect an isolated individual or specific community. The purpose of God’s blessing is so that God’s way is known on earth, and God’s saving power extended among all nations. The nations and creation are blessed. (Ps 67) It fulfils the Abrahamic blessing and reverses the curse on creation. (Gen 12:2-3, 3:17)
Blessing is not the end of faith, but a means of God’s divine purposes. God blesses us so that we may bless others and the land. A person who only receives and never pours out, will become like the Dead sea — stagnant, lifeless and ultimately spiritually dead. This is the direct opposite of life in Christ Jesus. (Ph 2) God blesses us so that his blessings may go forth and renew all things. God emptied and gave himself for us; that is the good news that we live in.
PONDER | REFLECTION QUESTIONS
- Analyse Psalm 67 as a poem. Which verses are verbatim repetition? How do those verses segment the Psalm? What is emphasised within each segment and what is their connection to one another?
- What is the paradox and purpose of blessing?
- Is blessing the goal of your faith or the means for your mission? How would taking one view or the other affect the way you live?
- What kind of blessing are you currently seeking? Who or what are you seeking it from? What would you do to get that blessing?
