A Leading Cause of Life: Blessing
It Shapes How We Live
October 18, 2009
Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called ñ that you might inherit a blessing.
1st Peter 3:8-9
I read recently of a young man from Burkina Faso who came to study in the United States, settling into a comfortable life while receiving his Ph.D. in agriculture from the University of Georgia. To the amazement of his U.S. friends, he chose to return home to his rural province. How many of you know anything about Burkina Faso? I had to do a little homework myself. It is a small, landlocked nation in Western Africa that holds the 7th to last place on the Human Development Index that measures life expectancy, educational attainment, and standard of living. We might be wondering right along with his friendsÖ why would he choose to return home? Why wouldnít he take advantage of the blessings that would certainly be his if he remained in the United States? (The U.S. is ranked 13th on the Human Development Index.) Along with his friends, we would understand his answer if he said that he loved his homeland or that he missed his family. But along with his friends, we are unprepared for the power of his answer. When asked why he was going home, he said, ìWhen I die I want to come before my father and say ëHere is what I did with my life.í I hope to be worthy of his blessing.î*
ìWorthy of blessingÖ.î During the past few weeks, we have been affirming together not the leading causes of death that seem to dominate the headlines, putting fear into our hearts, but the leading causes of life that come as a part of faith. We have been receiving lifelines, symbolizing each of these leading causes. We began with connection ñ being connected to one another. (RED) ìConnections are like the breath of air on which our very lives dependÖ Life comes and is sustained through our connections.î* Our second lifeline is coherence ñ the sense that life makes sense. (YELLOW) Coherence is knowing not just in our heads but in our heartsÖ in our souls that we are doing what God created us to doÖ that we are being who God created us to be. Our third lifeline is agency ñ taking action to make Godís world a better place. (LAVENDER) ìHumans do. We do, lift, reach, touch, hold dig, study, watch, fight, love, seek, wait, and stand. We do, and thus we live. Sometimes all we have is this doing.î* Our fourth lifeline ñ one that I added to the list ñ is children. (GREEN) Children give us life. Children bring us life. This morning we add a fifth lifeline ñ blessing. (BLUE)
How many of you are blessed? Go ahead ñ raise your hands if you are blessed. Now the harder question, how? How are you blessed? Letís hear some of your answers!
The truth is, ìwe cannot imagine our lives without blessing as a touchstone. But as a leading cause of life it goes deeper than that... Blessing results in gratitude and responsibility that is life giving and life causing.î* It shapes how we live.
Blessing shapes how we live. In her wonderful book, My Grandfatherís Blessing, Rachel Naomi Remen writes, ìblessings strengthen life and feed life just as water does.î She speaks of a woman who told her ìÖ that she did not feel the need to reach out to those around her because she prayed every day. Surely, this was enough. But a prayer is about our relationship to God; a blessing is about our relationship to the spark of God in one another. God may not need our attention as badly as the person next to us on the bus or behind us in line in the supermarketÖ When we bless others, we offer them refuge from an indifferent world.î** We offer them a lifeline.
Blessing shapes how we live. Blessing challenges us to askÖ what am I doing for someone else in the moment? It ìmoves us closer to each other and closer to our authentic selves.î** Through blessing, we discover that our lives matter.
The words from 1st Peter that we heard this morning call us to live our lives as a blessing. Listen again, ìFinally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called ñ that you might inherit a blessing.î
Traditionally thought to be the words of the apostle Peter, followers are urged to live lives of mutual respect and loveÖ to live lives of blessing. Peter was trying, to the very best of his ability, to exhibit the qualities of Jesus and he called all who would follow Christ to do the same. Simply put he said, ìBless ñ thatís your job, to bless. Youíll be a blessing and also get a blessing.î (The Message)
I know that the word ìblessingî may have too many quaint, religious overtones to have meaning for some of us but letís redefine it to speak of the interconnectednessÖ the interdependencies of mutual love and respect foundational to the Gospel. I believe that life depends on the relationships in our lives that are channels of blessing. So think for a moment of a person who blesses youÖ a person who, through their words and actions, treats you with respect and love. Picture that person in your mindís eye. Write his or her name down in your worship folder.
While you are thinking about a person who is a blessing to you, I will share with you about a person who does that for me. I am not going to use any names because I donít want to embarrass her or make her feel uncomfortable. But I do want to thank her for her blessings. Every time I am in conversation with her, she finds a way to thank me for something I am doing or for some way I am sharing myself or just for being me. I am aware that she is noticing my lifeÖ that she is paying attention. Through her words and actions, she makes me feel good and makes me want to keep on trying my best to live as Christ intends. She exemplifies for me the understanding that blessing results in gratitude and responsibility. And you know what, no matter what, when we come to the end of our conversation about whatever, she says to me, ìOh, bless youÖ bless youÖ bless you!î She offers me a lifeline.
Now I want you to think of someone in your life who could benefit from your blessing. It could be a neighbor or friendÖ a member of your family or the person sitting in front of you this morning. It could be the homeless woman holding the cardboard sign on the street corner or the child who walks past your house every afternoon after school. Think of someone whose life will be changed when the blessing you offer provides them a refuge from an indifferent world. Write that personís name down in your worship folder or picture them in your mindís eye. And now ask yourself how you might, through your words or your actions, offer them the lifeline of blessing?
Not too long ago, I was talking with a friend who works with youth in her church. She said that it is her practice to offer the youth a blessing as they head for home. It is nothing formal or anything like that. It really is just three simple words spoken with love and respectÖ God bless you. For most of the kids in the youth group, this just rolls off as they run out the door or jump in the car. But on one recent occasion, when she offered these words to a new participant in the youth group as she was leaving, the girl stopped and turned around and looked at my friend in amazement. She asked, ìWhat do you mean?î and when my friend simply repeated the words, ìGod bless you,î the girl broke out in a huge smile and said, ìWow, no one has ever blessed me!î
My friends, blessing is life giving and life causing. In a chaotic and often indifferent world, blessing is a lifeline. It must shape how we live. We are called to live with mutual love and respect so that we are worthy of Godís blessing. Letís find ways to say it again and again and againÖ ìOh bless youÖ bless youÖ bless you!î
*Leading Cause of Life by Gary Gunderson and Larry Pray
**My Grandfatherís Blessing by Rachel Naomi Remen
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