First Presbyterian Church
Blessings
Sermon for July 12, 2009
by Pastor Susan Barnes

Let us pray.

Living God, help us so to hear your holy word that we may truly understand; that, understanding, we may believe, and , believing, we may follow in all faithfulness and obedience, seeking your honor and glory in all that we do; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Our psalm reading on page 502. It is about God our creator, and that those who honor God's creation may receive a blessing from God. Listen for the word of God as we read it together in Psalm 24.

1 Of David. A Psalm. The earth is the LORD's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it;
2 for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully.
5 They will receive blessing from the LORD, and vindication from the God of their salvation.
6 Such is the company of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
7 Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is the King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah

This ends our reading from the psalms. As we read the psalm, we heard that those who can ascend the hill of the Lord, that is, those who can go up to the temple, are supposed to have clean hands and pure hearts. In the Hebrew Bible, faithful people became clean and pure by bringing offerings to the temple and offering praise to God, and being committed to telling the truth.

So when the followers of Jesus began preaching to the gentiles, they had to address the problem of how the gentiles could be made clean and pure, so they too could receive God's blessing. Our epistle reading is on page 192. Listen for the word of God as we find it in the letter to the Ephesians 1:3-14.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.

5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory.

This ends our reading of God's word.

The Greek word we translate as ‘bless' literally means to speak well of someone, or praise them. So when we bless God, we speak well of God.

The word can also mean to bestow a gift. Who are we to think we have anything of worth to give to God? We are God's adopted children, the recipients of God's lavish grace. There's nothing we can do to repay God for Jesus Christ, for grace, for the work of the spirit. So we have to give up on the whole idea of repayment, of settling our debts with God, and instead we have to settle for what we mortals can manage: praise. We praise God, and are ever thankful.

Theologian Paul Tillich said, “Faith is our acceptance of God's acceptance of us even though we know we are unacceptable.”

Often when we speak of blessing someone, we mean we hope the best for them; we pray for their welfare, and convey our good wishes to them. In the Roman Catholic tradition, priests have the power to bless. But our reformed tradition emphasizes the priesthood of all believers, so we all have the power to bless others. The benediction at the end of the service is a blessing, and sometimes the pastor does it, or the worship leader. A Georgian pastor wrote that we do “have it in our power to bless one another—not as magicians or dispensers of cheap grace, but as agents to one another—mirrors of God's indispensable approval.” 1

We do have the power to bless and there is power in approval. Each of us wants to know that we count. “It is the common gift of all to bless, to claim, to celebrate, and share the blessing which God has already pronounced upon all people.” 2

After reading those words, I realized that for today, I want to bless you. I have learned much these last nine years. You have given me the privilege of inviting me to your homes and your hospital rooms, where we have felt the spirit move in joy, in grief, in astonishment and even in despair we felt the presence of the holy.

I know many of you are worried about the months ahead, about what church will be like. You will discover new ways to do church. There will be some things that will be undone because I am gone, but there will be many other things that will be done because I am gone. I trust God to continue to lead you.

I ask God to bless you with discernment for the challenges ahead. Make Christ your focus. In my darkest days, when I tried to do that, I felt Jesus saying to me, “I will be with you.” Jesus will be with you, too. We all owe God everything; sometimes we find that obligation so overwhelming we deny it or ignore it; but really, all we have to do is respond with praise; it's enough to start each day saying thanks.

I ask God to bless you with strength as you minister to people most of us find difficult or challenging. Those people need ministering to the most. But as you minister to them, may you find a sanctuary here, in this church, so it is a place of safety, where you can encounter God's presence, feel God's power, and share God's love.

I ask God to bless you with courage to stand against those who bully others out of their own weakness, against those who urge you to do what is easy instead of what is right, against those who claim to know the one true and only way to worship, interpret, and preach; and courage to stand with our Savior Jesus Christ, who tells us of blessings when “ I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”

I ask God to bless you with wisdom as you choose, out of all possible ministries, which tasks to undertake for this community; and discover your spiritual longings and your spiritual gifts.

I ask God to bless you with hope as you begin a ministry without a called pastor to shepherd you, as you look for resources within and without so you can answer the call to serve Jesus Christ, trusting that the spirit who blows where she will, will bring you to the place God calls you.

I ask God to bless you with joy, as you continue to experience God's blessing, Christ's example, and the Spirit's outpouring of holy love.

Thank you for blessing me these past nine years.

Silence

God of all blessings,
Every moment, we have the chance to breathe in your goodness and grace;
every hour, we have opportunities to share your love and hope;
every day, we have occasions to rest in the comfort of your heart.
In you, we discover the fullness of time, Delight of the Ages.

In every challenge we face, we can find the strength to persevere;
in every person we meet, we can find the blessing you have sent;
in every need we encounter, we can find the help you would have us offer.
In you, we discover the fullness of life, Companion of our days.

In every conflict of our lives, there is your healing we can offer;
in every brokenness we experience, there is that reconciliation we can receive;
in every difficulty which makes us stumble, there is that dance of hope you would teach us.
In you, we discover the fullness of faith, Promised Spirit.

God in Community, Holy in One, in you we discover the fullness we long for,
even as we pray as we are taught, saying,
Our Father . . .

(c) 2009 Thom M. Shuman

1 Enniss, P.C. “The Power of Approval,” Journal for Preachers, Easter 2009, p. 15.
2 Enniss, P.C. “The Power of Approval,” Journal for Preachers, Easter 2009, p. 16.