[Sermon preached on 27 May 2018, Holy Trinity Sunday / 3rd year, ELCF Lectionary]
Today, I would like you to turn to the Old Testament text. Here we find the benediction which I use to bless the congregation at the end of our worship service. As you can see, it is not a blessing that I made up myself. It is not something that Martin Luther gave us. It is not the result of a worship planning committee meeting. It is straight from the Bible.
Last Sunday in the coffee hour, someone suggested that we could sometimes use another blessing—one that we can sing as a congregation. In particular, she suggested an Irish blessing that can be found in the Finnish Lutheran hymnal—in English, for sure.
I have nothing against that. It is good to bless one another. Jesus told us to bless and not to curse. That is a commendable thing. Because when we bless people, we wish them well. And we can only do that if we think well of others. A blessing can change the person who blesses just as much as it can change the one who receives the blessing. So in the future, we will sometimes use the Irish blessing. But still I would like to hold on to the biblical blessing that God gave to Moses to give to Aaron and his sons, who were the priests of Israel.
As Christians, we use the word “blessing” very generously and freely. For us, it is often a Christian way of greeting each other, especially when we say our goodbyes. We sign our letters and e-mails not with the words “Kind regards” or “Faithfully yours”, but with “God bless you” or “Many blessings” or something like that. It often feels a bit superficial, to be honest.
But the blessing that God gives to Aaron to bless the people of Israel is not just a superficial greeting. In many ways it is very special. It was never meant to be taken lightly or even to be paraphrased. It was meant to be recited or sung word for word before the people with hands raised high above the head. That was a symbolic gesture to remind the people that the blessing came not from the High Priest but from above, from God himself.
In the Bible there are several words that are translated in English as “blessing”. There are ten Hebrew words in the Old Testament and another eleven Greek words in the New Testament that are all translated as “bless” or “blessing”.
The Hebrew word used here in Numbers 6 is “barak”. It is used more than 200 times in the Bible. It may seem a bit ironic, that the first appearance of the word is in Genesis 1:22. There God blesses the fish in the sea and the birds in the air, and commands them to be fruitful and multiply. Then, a few verses later he bestows a similar blessing on mankind whom he created in his own image. And the third time that God blesses is in the beginning of Genesis 2, where God blesses the seventh day and makes it holy, a day of rest.
The word “barak” is used mainly as a sign of God’s favor. When blessing his people Israel, God promises prosperity and health, fertility and a large offspring, success in work and trade, victory in battle and much more. In Deuteronomy, Moses says “The Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.” That is not wishful thinking: it is a promise to Israel—be it a conditional one. It is dependent on their faithfulness, as the context of Numbers 6 clearly indicates. And it is backed up by God’s power and his covenant of faithful love. When God blesses, things change for the better.
What is remarkable, though, is the original meaning of the word “barak”. It literally means “on bended knee”. It refers to the position, in which a person kneels before another on one knee. Think of the good old days when a man went down on his knee to propose to a woman or ask for her hand.
You have probably seen movies about days gone by long ago, where a king or knight goes out to conquer his enemies. Those who decide to follow the conquering hero, demonstrate their loyalty to him by kneeling down before him on one knee. That is barak, to bless.
Perhaps, you have seen the movies “The Lord of the Ring”. In the third sequel: “The return of the King”, there is a scene where Aragorn is crowned king of men. When he meets the four hobbits, what does he do? Does he demand them to show loyalty and submission to him? No, he himself, the newly crowned king, kneels down before them as his sign of loyalty to them. It is actually a very touching scene in the movie.
And that is exactly what God’s blessing of his people expresses: God himself kneeling down before his people; God offering to come to his people “on bended knee”—that is, to come to serve us, to love us, to share himself with us.
A little girl once described her experience in an elevator. She said, “I got into this little room and the upstairs came down.” God comes down to meet us on the level where we are. He did so at Christmas in the person of Jesus, his Son. And he did so at Pentecost in the person of the Holy Spirit. Such is the love of God, that he bends down to bless us because we are unable to reach out to him.
The first stanza of the High priestly blessing says: “The Lord bless you and keep you.” What does keeping mean?
The word used here is “shamar”. It is related to “shamiyr” which means “thorn”. The picture that God uses here is that of a shepherd. When the shepherd was out in the wilderness with his flock, he would construct an enclosure of thorn bushes to protect the sheep from the wild animals at night. It prevented wild animals from outside to reach the flock to do them harm. But at the same time, it was also effective in keeping the sheep back from leaving the pen and going astray, away from the protecting care of the shepherd and an easy prey for the wild animals.
God promises to protect us like a shepherd protects his sheep in the desert. The thorn bushes can be painful when we try to leave the flock and go astray, but they are basically there not to hurt us but to keep us together, close to God and to one another, and on a safe distance from the danger that is all around us. In John 10 Jesus says: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”
The first blessing contains God’s promise to take good care of us: he kneels down before us to provide us not only with what we need, but with plenty of it. And he builds a fence around us to protect us from all harm by keeping us close to him.
In the second blessing Aaron is to tell the people: “The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.” What does that mean: to make his face shine upon you?
Maybe we can get a first hint from the history of Israel during their forty-year adventure in the desert. Moses was the only one who was allowed to go up to the holy mountain and speak with God. He was not allowed to see God’s face, because it would kill him. After all, God had said, “No-one shall see my face and live.” But then, when Moses came down from the mountain, his face was shining so much—reflecting the glory of God—that he had to cover it when turning to the people.
The radiance of God’s face tells us about his glory. We cannot see that glory face to face. But we can sense it when God comes to us and speaks to us. God’s radiance is in his word—most profoundly in the Word that became flesh: Jesus himself. When Jesus went up on a high mountain one day with two of his disciples, his appearance was transformed, and his face shone more brightly than the sun. And God’s voice came down from heaven saying, “This is my Son, my beloved one, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
When God’s face shines, when God speaks, we must listen and be obedient. We cannot receive God’s blessings except when we stay in his presence.
The prodigal son in the story of Jesus was in a far land feeding pigs in order to survive. He was out of range of his father to receive help. Only when he returned to his father’s home, his father could bless him, organize a big welcome party, and provide the care and protection that his son needed. The father’s face shone with joy when the son came home. In the same way God’s face turns into a big smile when we turn to him for repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation. That is what the Bible calls “seeking God’s face”.
John writes in the first chapter of his gospel:
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.”
The grace of God, which the second blessing proclaims, is the practical implication of his face shining upon us. In Psalm 80 the psalmist prays three times: “Restore us, o God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” Salvation, as we know, is not something we deserve. It is only by grace that the people of Israel were finally given the Promised Land after forty years of rebellion against God in the desert. It is only by grace that the prodigal son was welcomed back in the home of his father, whom he had so rudely rejected. It is only by grace that we can receive the gift of eternal life, as we focus on the cross of Christ.
The third blessing promises that the Lord will turn his face toward us and give us peace.
The picture here is that of a ruler in Old Testament times. When somebody came to meet him, asking for a hearing or pleading for a cause, the ruler made his decision known by either turning his face toward the person as a sign of approval or turning his face away as a sign of rejection.
In 2 Chronicles 30, for example, King Hezekiah sends out a letter to the disobedient people of Israel urging them to return to the Lord. He ends his letter with the words:
“The Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.”
God wants to look upon us with approval. When we return to him with a contrite heart, he will not turn his face away from us. Instead, he will look us in the eye, his eyes full of love, grace, compassion and joy.
Paul reminds us in the letter to the Romans that God does not receive repentant sinners back as slaves or paid workers but as adopted sons.
“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”
In the last verse of our Old Testament text, God says that, by receiving the blessing of God, the Israelites will put on God’s name. That same promise is valid for us, the spiritual Israel, “heirs of God and co-heirs of Christ”, as Paul writes. As a seal of that promise, God has given his Holy Spirit, the Spirit of sonship, and the Spirit of peace.
I wonder if anyone of you has ever seen Walt Disney’s movie Toy Story from 1995? It is the story of toys that come to life as soon as the kids and their parents are away. The story has two heroes. One is Woody, a toy cowboy. The other is Buzz Lightyear, a toy astronaut. These two heroes are constantly confronting one another.
At one point, when Woody is angry with Buzz, he tries to hurt him, so he shouts to him,"You're not a space ranger! You're an action figure—a child's plaything." Later, after a failed attempt to fly, Buzz realizes that Woody is perfectly right. Full of sadness and resignation, he complains, "I'm just a stupid, little, insignificant toy."
Later on, Woody tries to set things right and lift Buzz up again. So he tells him about the boy who owns all the toys and the two of them. He says, "You must not be thinking clearly. Look, over in that house, there's a kid who thinks you're the greatest, and it's not because you're a space ranger; it's because you're his." And then Buzz lifts his foot, and he looks at his shoe. There is a label glued to the bottom. And on the label, there is the name of the boy to whom he belongs. And when he sees that, Buzz starts smiling and is happy again. “…not because you're a space ranger; it's because you're his."
We are God’s own, and he blesses us like a loving father blesses his children, letting us share in his abundant riches, and protecting us from danger and evil.
In Christ he speaks to us, lets his face shine on us, and bestows his grace on us, as we turn to him in repentance.
Through his Spirit he turns his face toward us in acceptance, making us whole—that is what peace, or shalom, really means.
And in all that he reminds us with the words of Isaiah 43:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”
Amen.
