This is the text of a message that I gave at Runnymede Community Church on October 13 2024 with links to some resources imbedded.
Nicholas is 25 now, but in his first year he needed some corrective surgery at Sick Kids’ Hospital. Pam and I were pretty stressed as we were going to hand our baby over to strangers who were going to cut him open! While we were sitting with the intake nurse, filling out all the forms, I could hear her singing quietly. Then I realized what she was singing! She was singing a blessing over us! What a gift from God! We went through that difficult day knowing that God was with us.
Blessings are powerful!
The Importance/Power of Blessing
In many ways, in the western world, we have forgotten the power of blessing. As we have come through the Enlightenment and Modernism, we have placed an emphasis on rationalism, and all but ignored the miraculous and the supernatural. We have forgotten the power that blessings and other prayers can have. So much so that, especially in non-liturgical churches, benedictions have become closing prayers and sermon reviews instead of a blessing.
But the Bible takes blessing very seriously!
In Genesis, Jacob's older twin brother Esau is the one who is supposed to carry on the family legacy: he will get the majority of the inheritance and he will receive the blessing due to the first-born son. Jacob swindles Esau out of his inheritance -- his “birthright.” (Genesis 25: 27-34) Later, as their father is blind and dying, Jacob impersonates Esau, and receives the blessing that was supposed to go to Esau. Esau isn’t happy about losing his inheritance, but he is devastated to lose the blessing!
Genesis 27:34-38
When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!”
But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”
Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?”
Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.
That Esau is so much more upset about losing the blessing over the inheritance tells us that blessing is so much more than nice words that make us feel good! Blessings are powerful!
All of the patriarchs blessed their children!
Later, as Jacob himself is dying, Joseph brings his twin sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to be blessed. And, trickster that he was, Jacob crossed his arms and placed his right hand on the younger son’s head so that the younger Ephraim received the greater blessing! (Genesis 48:8-20)
Later, just before Moses dies, he blesses all the tribes of Israel. For some reason, (maybe because my son’s name is Benjamin) I especially like the blessing for Benjamin:
Deuteronomy 33:12
About Benjamin he said:
“Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him,
for he shields him all day long,
and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.”
The Argentinian pastor and leader Ed Silvoso came to Toronto, teaching us about Prayer Evangelism. As he was trying to convince us to bless our neighbours, he said, “When you accidentally cut someone off in traffic, you can feel their curses on the back of your neck. If you can feel the curses, don’t you think that your neighbours can feel your blessings?!”
He also said that, as he began to bless his neighbours, some of them said to him, “You know, I always feel ‘good vibes’ around you!”
People can feel your blessing even if they don’t hear it!
Not just people - Saint Patrick blessed a river so that the people could catch more fish! When Roy Godwin started to bless the lands around the Ffald-y-Brenin retreat centre in Wales, dried-up springs began to flow again, and the farms began to prosper!
Blessing has power!
The reason that our blessings have power is that the Holy Spirit works through us to put His power behind our words. In this way, we proclaim God’s blessing on people, and He honours our words by putting His power behind them, so that the people are truly blessed!
The Call and Privilege of Blessing
The Apostle Peter writes to us in 1 Peter 2:9-10:
You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
You are all priests!
In the Hebrew scriptures, priests led worship, sacrificed for forgiveness, interceded for the people, and BLESSED the people!
Today, as priests who are filled with the Holy Spirit, we worship God, we can proclaim God’s forgiveness on people through Jesus, we pray for people, and we get the privilege of blessing people!
It isn’t just a privilege, it is a calling: in Numbers 6:22-26 God commissioned the priests to bless the people:
The Priestly Blessing
The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
“‘“The Lord bless you
and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”’
Because we are priests, we are also called to bless the people around us.
How to Bless
Overt blessing: blessing people in such a way that they know they are being blessed.
When I used to perform weddings for Bob Buckley when he wasn’t available, some couples would ask for a secular service, without prayers and scripture. After doing a few of these, I started saying to the couples, “I’m a Christian minister; is it okay if I say a blessing for you at the end of the ceremony?” I never had anyone say no!
Many people aren’t that interested in hearing about our faith, some people are open to you praying for them, but almost everyone is happy to receive a blessing. It’s best to ask them first!
Covert blessing: blessing people when they don’t know they’re being blessed
You can bless your neighbours quietly as you walk past their house. You can bless people in your own regular prayers. While I continue to bless our children overtly, when they were young, I used to slip into their bedroom and bless them while they slept.
Even if the people you bless don’t receive your blessing, it doesn’t go to waste! When Jesus sends out the 70 disciples to minister, He tells them to bless the people and their household. He said that if they don’t receive the blessing, the blessing would return to the giver! (Luke 10:6)
Take the opportunity while saying grace to bless all those involved in getting the food to the table, and everyone around the table!
Scriptural blessings: There are many blessings and benedictions in the Bible. You can easily bookmark or memorize a few so you have them at the ready!
I created a list of many scriptural blessings and put them in a Google doc.
I have books of Celtic Blessings, such as Celtic Blessings: Prayers for Everyday Life compiled by Ray Simpson, and there are likely more books of blessings that you can buy.
In her book The Healing Presence, Leanne Payne says that when we are praying for healing for someone, we need to listen to the person, listen to God for them, and if you don’t hear anything in particular to pray about, bless them.
While the scriptural blessings and the other pre-written prayers are wonderful, there are times when the Holy Spirit will give us words of knowledge, prophetic words, images or inklings that makes the blessing more timely, personal, and powerful for the person being blessed. When I receive something like that, it is usually as I am giving a scriptural blessing.
Blessings are powerful, but James reminds us that words are not enough:
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James 2:14-17
If the person that you are blessing has a need that you can help them with, then bless them tangibly as well as with words!
Who to Bless
Bless those you love: children, parents, spouse, other family members, neighbours
Many people, particularly men, spend their lives yearning for their father’s blessing. I haven’t really experienced that - my dad was pretty spare in his compliments, and the whole idea of formally blessing someone was alien to him, but I always knew his love and support and felt his blessing. All the same, at about my current age, he went back to pastor a local church after being in denominational leadership for many years. I saw my opportunity to bless him. So I drove up to Sudbury for his induction service, I was able to stand up during the sharing time and bless him for the good father and pastor he is. I really believe that if we want someone else's blessing, we should bless them ourselves - it might not change them, but it might change us!
Bless those you don’t love
Jesus says in Luke 6:28, “Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
Paul says in Romans 12:14, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.”
If you bless the people who hurt you, you will be like God!
Jesus says in Matthew 5:43-45
“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbour’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.
Bless them all!
You may remember Stafford the crossing guard who used to work out in front of Runnymede Community Church at Runnymede and Colbeck. If you crossed the street with Stafford, you got blessed. It wasn’t anything elaborate, but Stafford would say “bless” as each person crossed. Be like Stafford - bless everyone you meet!
Last week, The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel’s title for the day was, “How to Be a Blessing Machine.” The idea was that the church should be a blessing machine! They could have titled it, “Be like Stafford!”
The Blessing:
1 Peter 2:9-10
You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
God’s special possession,
that you may declare the praises of him who called you
out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Once you were not a people,
but now you are the people of God;
once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.
Ephesians 3:20-21
Now all glory to God, who is able,
through his mighty power at work within us,
to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus
through all generations forever and ever!
Amen.
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