Links for today’s readings:
Mar 23 Read: Ecclesiastes 11 Listen: (1:40) Read: Psalms 66-67 Listen: (2:42)
Scripture Focus: Psalm 67.1-2
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us—
2 so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
Reflection: Redeeming “Blessed”
By John Tillman
“Live, Laugh, Love” is an example of meaning being lost through overuse followed by commercialization. ”Blessed” has followed the “Live, Laugh, Love” trio on the path to meaning melting into marketing.
Stores catering to Christian customers plaster these phrases on decorative driftwood, doormats, dog bowls and anything else that might take up space in the kitchen, or on mantles, side tables, shelves, or walls.
“Blessed” needs redemption.
“Blessed” is contaminated by messages of grinding work, competition, and winning. Cultural Christianity made “blessed” a brag, a curse of pride and greed. To use it, we must intentionally detach it from those meanings. To redeem and reclaim “blessed” remember and express what it means and doesn’t mean. Psalm 67 can help.
How are we blessed?
We are blessed by grace, not because we deserve it. (v. 1) We are blessed by God’s presence, not by wealth or achievement. (v. 1) We are blessed by obeying God and praising him, not by “grinding” and not by “gains.” (v. 2-3)
Why are we blessed?
We are blessed to help others, not ourselves. (v. 5) We are blessed to make God’s ways and his salvation known. (v. 2) We are blessed to make nations glad and joyful. We are blessed to create a world of equity and wisdom. (v. 4) We are blessed to cultivate, not harm, the earth. (v. 6) We are blessed to create respect for God to the ends of the earth. (v. 7)
God’s purpose for blessing us is to bless the world through us. If that isn’t happening, we are neglecting or misusing our blessings.
In the Asia Bible Commentary on this psalm, Federico Villanueva reflects that his nation, the Philippines, is the only Christian nation in Asia, yet is the poorest in the region with corruption that directly perpetuates poverty. Filipino overseas workers bless other nations by sharing the gospel, but at home, corruption, instead of blessing, dominates their lives.
Villanueva longs for his nation to live up to their potential to be blessed and bless others: “Let us pray that the Lord will bless us so that God’s ways may be known among our people. This is my own prayer for my country.”
Don’t say “blessed” like culture means it. Echo Villanueva’s prayer for your country. Ensure that our use of the word “blessed” reflects God’s purpose and definition.
If you aren’t blessing, you aren’t blessed. When you say “blessed,” say it like God means it.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Bless the Lord, you angels of his, you mighty ones who do his bidding, and hearken to the voice of his word.
Bless the Lord, all you his hosts, you ministers of his who do his will.
Bless the Lord, all you works of his, in all places of his dominion. — Psalm 103.20-22
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.
Read more: Blessed are the Troublemakers
Blessed are the troublemakers who demand justice. We should have the humility…to consider whether the source of trouble might instead be our own hearts.
Read more: Jesus, Our Blessed One — A Guided Prayer
Jesus is the Blessed One, whose leaf does not wither. We are merely grafted in branches…