Bringing a Blessing

We recently, at our Bible study group, studied Romans 12:14 – Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Now I think it would be fair to say that if we are advised to “bless our persecutors”, then we should have the attitude of blessing everybody. What then does it mean to “bless” other people? Well that’s what I want to get a better understanding of!

Another point here is the reference to “not cursing our persecutors”. To “curse” someone would obviously include wishing ill toward them or wanting revenge to be dished out. To “curse” is to speak in a way that destroys the prospects of another person. This is something we cannot do, not even when it is done to us; for Jesus said in Luke 6:28a, “Bless [even] those who curse you”!

We could perhaps take this even further, to say that … a failure to “bless” is itself a “curse”!!! People need to live under blessing, and if they are deprived of this, then they are actually living under a “curse”.

What does it mean then to “bless” someone, or to give them a ‘blessing’???

Ø  Praying for someone?

Ø  Provide some sort of support ministry to someone?

Ø  A word of encouragement (often very powerful in such a critical world)?

Ø  Probably more than this!

Let’s look at a well-known blessing, known as the ‘Aaronic blessing’, for it is the blessing that God gave Moses to give to Aaron to bless the people of Israel with (refer Numbers 6:22-26). These words were to be spoken to and over the people:

The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you his peace.

This particular ‘blessing’ involved some very positive vibes. It includes the notion of God’s “keeping” – a guardianship and protection from [the worst effects of] evil and misfortune. It includes God’s positive and light-filled interest in people and an offering of God’s grace (which of course brings with it love, mercy and forgiveness … in the face of weakness and failure). It also includes God’s very presence to people, with gifts of reconciling love, which in turn brings the possibility of living in an experience of peace and well-being. The word translated “peace” is “shalom”, which is more than the absence of hostility, and includes: health, welfare, friendship, justice and salvation. There is the sense here that God can meet all human need. This ‘blessing’ seeks to impart a life that is as ‘full’ as it can be.

Then we read in verse 27, that this blessing that Aaron and his sons will bring to the people, will, “put [God’s] name on the Israelites” – and they are thus claimed as God’s people. These people carry God’s name, and as such, experience God’s personal presence and effectiveness. Now as Israel from the time of Abraham were themselves to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth, we can see how such a blessing as this can also extend to the ends of the earth. As we focus on the last phrase of verse 27, we can see that as this ‘Aaronic blessing’ (or God’s name) is spoken over the people … God blesses them.

So is this the sort of ‘blessing’ we can speak into people lives today?

This is clearly in line with Jesus’ teaching on prayer. This ties right in with the prayer that says, “Your [as in, God’s] Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth, as it [already] is in heaven”. This is seeking the life of God in community, that we call the Trinity, to be more evident in daily life. In seeking to “bless” people, we release something here on earth, as we act in unison with the cry of heaven.

We can speak (or pray) the name of Jesus into the very fabric of the neighbourhood, street or home we seek to place a blessing upon. This can include prayer for the removal of all and any contamination or blockage that would tend to disrupt God’s blessing.

A “blessing” affirms what is already good – what already represents a ‘Kingdom’ value; while presenting a picture of what could be with God involved or if God was released.

Who should be involved in such acts of ‘blessing’??

It is Aaron the priest who is to speak this ‘blessing’ in Numbers 6. “The priest as representative of the people prays to God for these blessings, and as God’s anointed he bespeaks over the people God’s will to bless” (J L Mays). This priestly role of ‘blessing’ the people was to be understood as both a privilege and a responsibility. Who are God’s priests in our Jesus-following New Testament context?? We are, I hear you say!! “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Part of being a ‘priest’ to a community is to come to identify deeply with this particular locality, being at one with its people, and thus connected with this area’s beauty and needs. Another part of taking a ‘priestly’ role of blessing, is to become as open and as clear a channel as possible – which may require confession and repentance. This might also involve confessing our own role in any community hardship e.g. over-consumption, or even past faithlessness. We may also have to suspend judgment, and deal with any critical tendencies – becoming what Roy Godwin (in “The Grace Outpouring”) calls being “grace first” people. Roy says (page 28), “We’re still asking people to turn away from rebellion against God, but we’re seeking to be part of the revelation from [God] that his primary desire is to bless those he created in his image”.

So it is more likely that we emphasise God’s available love, so that this is fully experienced and appreciated before the question of “sin” is approached. Such a realisation, as the need to change, is often part of a process, as new spiritual eyes and ears are gradually opened. And, God’s Spirit is quite capable of convicting people of the need for repentance, and is far more accurate than we in strategically targeting a particular area of behaviour. ‘Good news’ needs to be initially perceived by people as just that … good news (not as something that seems to be a curse). We should emulate Jesus, who interacted with people via telling stories, asking questions, and also eating with people in their homes (which was certainly, for him, a means of blessing).

Sometimes we will be able to use standard ‘blessings’ as appropriate to certain people and contexts; other times we will need to be heavily reliant on the Holy Spirit to give us more precise and specific words to “bless” a more complicated or delicate situation. Either way, the concept of blessing people and the neighbourhood should become as natural as breathing.

Who or what can we “bless”??

·         the community in general, particular neighbourhoods, certain homes

·         parks, playgrounds, community centres, schools, kindergartens, playgroups, retirement villages

·         hospitals, medical centres, cafes, shopping centres, businesses

·         individuals, teachers, doctors, nurses, medical health workers, community leaders, council, local media

·         people groups, families, community organisations, social & sporting groups

·         waterways, land, nature reserves, animal & birdlife, crops, community gardens

And what difference might such ‘blessings’ make??

(1)    Opening the pathway for people to experience God (and all that can mean)

(2)    A renewed sense of hope

(3)    A softening of hearts and attitudes towards God and towards other people, and a new receptiveness

(4)    Release insights, wisdom, values, spiritual sensitivity, sense of freedom

(5)    Increase possibilities of the healing of brokenness, the alleviation of poverty, reduction in criminality, general encouragement

(6)    Promote healthy relationships, good family functioning, social interaction, neighbourhood care, reconciliation between hostile people groups, enjoyment, serving others

(7)    Better and more caring schools, kindergartens, community centres, retirement villages, hospitals, cafes, shopping centres (& churches)

(8)    Greater employment opportunities; higher levels of volunteering

(9)    More cohesive community functioning and decision-making

How could we speak such blessings – in what forums???

·         Through church gatherings

·         Out in the open – in public places

·         Prayer triplets/groups – for a set period of time each week

·         In specially designated occasions & settings (e.g. openings, house-blessings)

·         Through personally offering a word of blessing

·         In ‘Local Neighbourhood Houses of Prayer’ – speaking a blessing into the local neighbourhood

An example of a Prayer of Blessing:

We stand in the mighty name of Jesus and bless you (insert name);

That you might prosper under the mighty hand of God.

We bless you that right and generous living might take their proper place within your boundaries.

We bless you that the favour of the Lord might rest upon you and give you peace.

We bless you that God’s compassion might fall upon your people.

We bless your poor that they might be lifted up.

We bless you that the knowledge of Jesus might come in amongst you.

We bless the people of God in (insert name),

That they might rise up with servant hearts and become a people of blessing.

We bless you that the joy of the Lord might be your strength. Amen.

{Adapted from a Ffald-y-Brenin prayer used in each of the places where the Olympic torch travelled around the UK in 2012.}