The Act of Blessing

Right before I went on my sabbatical, I visited a member of our congregation who was in the hospital. We had a nice visit and we talked about my upcoming pilgrimage. Before I left I asked the parishioner if I could pray for him, and I did. But then, as we looked up, he took both my hands, and looked me right in the eye, and with kindness and sincerity he said, “Joe, may this pilgrimage be a blessing to you and to your family. May this time draw your family deeper together. May you be strengthened and renewed. And may God be with you.”

To feel the gift of that… In that moment I felt strengthened and renewed already. His words were an offering. They were a blessing in the truest sense.

The Irish poet and philosopher John O’Donohue says, “A blessing is a circle of light drawn around a person to protect, heal, and strengthen. A blessing awakens future wholeness. It is an invitation to growth – to become more than you have been, to transform loss into presence, and to allow what is false to fall away. At the gates of time, blessing waits to usher toward us the grace we need.”

Think about this. How many of us have received spoken words of blessing from others? How many of us had inspiring, encouraging, or affirming words spoken to us, even years ago, about our worth, our value, our future? Reflect for a moment about how those words impacted you. I know many people carry those words around with them their entire lives. 

I just wonder, I wonder if there might be people in your life who need to hear a blessing from you…

Gracious God, you have formed us from the dust of the earth, breathed into us the very breath of life, and then when you looked at your creation you pronounced it very good. Thank you for your unconditional love and grace. And, thank you for calling us to follow Jesus as he shares that love and grace with others. Amen.