Mar 23 2020 Genesis 49: 1-28

All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, blessing each one of them with a suitable blessing.


We continue the long narrative of Jacob and his 12 sons. By now, Joseph has been through his technicolor drama, and Jacob is very old. He has run through each of his sons and offered them a blessing. To be clear, they weren’t all stellar. To his eldest son Reuben, he tells him he will no longer excel because of Reuben’s transgressions. Simon and Levi are denounced as angry, and Jacob curses their anger. Some of the blessings are neutral, just stating facts – Issachar is as strong as a donkey, Ascher shall provide royal delicacies, Gad shall be raided. Joseph and Judah receive the most positive blessings. But Jacob goes through each one and says something to each, fitting for each. He offers his blessing on his sons before his death.

Two years ago, I was honored to be present for my father-in-law’s death. Dying of terminal liver cancer and beset with challenges from mini-strokes, he opted to take advantage of Oregon’s death with dignity law, allowing terminal patients in sound mind, with at least two doctors’ consent to end their life, legally.

He arrived at my home with his wife of over 50 years. Because he had planned this, family had arrived from all over – four generations gathered in my kitchen. Before he died, he did the same thing that Jacob did – he offered his blessing on each of the family members in the room. To some grandchildren, he offered one last bit of advice, to others, to his children he offered his thanks for their particular contribution in his life.

It was a lovely time, with extended family and friends. It was a lovely way for him to pass on his parting wisdom, in a beautiful and poignant moment. And it was a moment afforded him because of the particular way he died. Many of us do not have the luxury of having that planned of a farewell party.

But that doesn’t mean we cannot offer our blessings. Maybe they aren’t our literal parting thoughts, but we can and I think should, offer others our thoughts and blessings, lest we get to a place where we cannot. I’m not talking about offering the negative or snotty things. Skip the curses. But if someone has been good to you, if you’ve learned from someone, if a particular action touched you, why not tell them?

This morning I’m thinking about Jacob’s blessings on his children, and how we could learn from this ancient story. We could take the time, especially now that many of us are confined to our homes, to write or call or even text someone and tell them how they’re a blessing to us, in specific ways. Today, I’m going to add some specific time in my day to think about the people in my life who are blessings, in big and little ways.