They shall receive a blessing from the Lord
This morning I’m thinking about blessings. In my tradition, priests are ‘ordained’ or authorized to give blessings on behalf of God. When priests are ordained into Holy Orders, the bishop and other priests lay their hands on that person, and ask the Holy Spirit to be on that person and make them a priest in God’s church. And in our creed, when we pray for one apostolic church, apostolic refers to the fact that the bishops have had hands laid on them from bishops who’ve had hands laid on them from bishops… all the way back to the original apostles, who had hands laid on them by Christ himself.
There have been a few times when I’ve felt especially blessed, after a blessing by a priest – a few times out of hundreds. In one church, the priest offered a blessing for health, by laying hands on you if you asked. During those blessings, I genuinely got warm and tingly inside, especially my ears. Maybe it was my introvert awkwardness kicking in, but I don’t think so. To be clear, after these sickness blessings, I didn’t immediately recover. But I did have a greater sense of peace.
Sometimes, I’d get my husband to church for a special blessing on the anniversary of our wedding. With our hands held, and wrapped up in the priests stole, we received a blessing for the coming year. My ears didn’t get tingly for this, but I did feel blessed to be with the man I love, in a community I love.
Within the past few months, I have some personal challenges that remain challenging. Some days, I can’t help but bring that messiness to work. One day, I was on the phone in the kitchen in my office, huddled over a counter, having a difficult conversation. My boss the bishop walked by, and with his thumb, made the sign of the cross on my forehead. This blessing might have induced tears. I am blessed. I am loved. Not by the bishop. By God. I needed that.
And every week, at the end of a regular Sunday service or mid-week communion service, the priest stands and offers a blessing over the people, holding up their arm and making a big sweeping cross as the blessing is pronounced. These blessings have rarely felt special as the recipient. It has felt like the ending movement of a morning of worship. Until..
As a deacon, I don’t offer these blessings, but I do get to stand behind the altar when they’re pronounced at the end of the service. One priest I worked with had the kindest, most loving, mother-hen look in her eyes as she said her blessing. She clearly looked on her gathered people with love, and deep appreciation. When she raised her arm and made the sign of the cross to bless the gathered, it was clear she meant it. Every time. She deeply intended to pass on a blessing of God’s love to all.
I don’t know if the gathered people knew that or could sense it. But I could because I had a front row seat.
I don’t believe God’s blessing only happens when words or motions are uttered by ordained priests in an apostolic tradition. I think God can bless whoever and whenever and however God wants to. But I do believe that God’s blessing is surely and certainly passed with the words and motions of priests ordained in an apostolic tradition. So while it’s not the only way, it’s one the only ways I know I’m blessed.
Today, I will watch for God’s blessings coming from the priests I encounter. I will sense God’s blessing in the personal and corporate blessings they offer. I will also watch for the incidental blessings of God that occur throughout my day. Even if it’s in a stranger’s response to a sneeze.
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