Psalm 67:2-5, Ephesians 3:14-19 “Blessings”

As you can see in the bulletin, the blessing is different today for the sermon. “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his countenance to shine upon us” We can repeat that again, please.

Where have we heard this before in the bible? This is known as the priestly benediction from Numbers 6:22-27. These words are spoken to Moses in the Sinai desert. The Hebrew slaves have been freed; they are now traversing the desert for the next 40 years before coming into the promised land. Moses at first talked with God upon Sinai in the burning bush. Later, they set up a tent, which is called the Tabernacle, into which Moses himself enters and is able to get direct revelations of God. When he comes out of the tabernacle he has what is known as “shekinah glory” in Hebrew. Let us quickly look at Exodus 34:29-35.

This is what it means that God’s face, or countenance, should shine upon us. It is a very real thing. This blessing is a physical occurrence. You look upon someone else and you can see that God’s blessing is upon them. You can see it on their faces. I know that it is popular to wear a t-shirt or have a bumper sticker that says “Blessed” on it. I will just put it out there that we really should be able to tell that God has blessed someone without physically writing it on something.

I have a remembrance of taking my Jewsih friend Robert to a Christian Concert once. This is when I was maybe just 16/17 years old. He really enjoyed himself. After the concert he came up to me and said, “I see this light in the eyes of the people here. I cannot explain it.” Then, he asked how he could get that light in his eyes, too. I was of course amazed. Maybe we Christians get so used to seeing the light in the eyes of our brothers and sisters that we do not even register it anymore. This is the “shekinah glory” or the light of God’s countenance shining down upon us! And through us!

Excuse me as I delve a little into Hebrew grammar here because this verse starts with the word “may” in English. That is a passive concept that really does not exist in Hebrew. We are dealing with what has been called “command prayer” here. “God be gracious to us and bless us.” We do not need the “may.” Then, this command-form prayer is continuous in nature. The grammatical term is “imperfect,” meaning that has not stopped happening. So, “God continue to bless us in the past and present and into the future!”

This is a very powerful prayer that loses its strength when the word “may’ is introduced in English. This also holds true for the verses that start with the word “let.” It also does not exist in the original Hebrew and tends to weaken the strength of the Psalmist’s meaning. Let’s take all the “let’s” out, too!

One more thing: the notion of blessing someone or something is much stronger in Hebrew understanding than in English. The word Baruch in Hebrew means to get down on your knees before God. It means allowing this greater power over your life. It means receiving the light. Think how it was that Jesus in Luke 9 lays hands over the Disciples and gives them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. Think about how people were being blessed at the time of the Pentecost with tongues of flame resting upon their heads! This is not just a divine manifestation but also a tangible blessing. People are feeling it!

Have you not just at times felt the utter presence of God? I know when I am swimming in the ocean and the fish seem to be swimming with me that I experience a wonderful sense of God’s presence. So, that is just the normal everyday feeling of God in my life. Then, every once in a while I just really very strongly feel the blessing of God over me. And, it is flet again very much as a physical occurrence.

I remember a few years back joining in a time of singing and praise with a YWAM team here at our church. I had a really heavy burden on my heart. I really do not want to get into the whole story now, but I was fighting internally with the question if I should forgive someone who had really gone out of his way to hurt me personally. The group was singing the song “Holy Spirit you are present here.” This was also one of the songs we were singing up at camp two weeks ago. All of the sudden I just really felt the presence hit me upside the head. There was no more question if I was supposed to forgive or not. Of course, it was the will of God that forgiveness and grace should be shared out. I could hardly wait to get back on the computer to share a note of apology and forgiveness back to that other person. In this I found a kind of humility before God that was truly powerful. It was a blessing as that other person got right back to me also having been hit by God’s call to forgive. It was like God whacked us both that morning! It was absolutely a physical blessing coming down from heaven.

In the Psalm this morning there is a command to sing for joy for God’s righteous judgment. That reminds of the idea that Jesus is up on the throne (Revelation 20) waiting to open the Book of Life to see how we have done on this planet. In the end there will be a song of joy, just like the Disciples and Jesus sang a song after the Passover, the Last Supper. God’s judgment in righteousness is assured. Be joyous!

Our second reading this morning was from Ephesians 3:14-19. On April 1st, that Tuesday morning I texted Berenice to tell her that there would be not one but rather two readings this morning that she would have to read. She got back to me, saying, “Is this an April Fools’ joke?” I assured her it wasn’t, but then thought afterwards it would have been fun to assign a second reading as a joke–you know, like Mark 17:9-14. That can be your homework tonight!

To be sure, the church in the town of Ephesus was the hardest church in the New Testament times. Ephesus is where the people actually rioted against Saint Paul and he had to escape the city by being lowered over the wall in a basket. If there was ever a church that needed a blessing, it was Ephesus! Saint Paul is never able to go back there. Then, we read this incredible line in verse 14, “. . . .I bow my knees before the Father.” Then, he continues to bless the church in Ephesus: (verse 15) “That God may grant that you be strengthened in your inner being with the power through his spirit.”

Check out verse 17, “That you may be grounded in love.” The power of the blessing from God to us and out to others is the power of being grounded in love! The power to forgive is the power of love. The power to judge righteously is the power of love. The power to bless is the power of love.

On the night that Jesus was betrayed, what was the last thing he commanded us to do? “Love God, love your neighbor.” That is the Great Commandment. And, it is the final blessing on humanity by the Lord! This is the “shekinah glory” that shines out in the darkness and allows us to glimpse imperfectly the true power of Grace over our lives.

Amen.