Journeying

Today we catch up with Isaac as he journeys. Isaac, like his father, Abraham, commands his son Jacob not to marry a Canaanite woman, but to return to his family’s people for a wife:

“… So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him and said to him, “Don’t marry one of these Canaanite girls. Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather[a] Bethuel, and marry one of your cousins—your Uncle Laban’s daughters. God Almighty bless you and give you many children; may you become a great nation of many tribes! May God pass on to you and to your descendants the mighty blessings promised to Abraham. May you own this land where we now are foreigners, for God has given it to Abraham.” (Genesis 28 1-4)

God bless you is such a common English expression specifically used to wish a person blessings  wills the good of another person. In other ways it is a response to a sneeze, and also, when parting or writing a valediction. The phrase has been used in the Hebrew Bible by Jews, and by Christians, since the time of the early Church as a benediction, as well as a means of bidding a person Godspeed. Many clergy, when blessing their congregants individually or as a group, use the phrase "God bless you".

Another way of thinking of Blessing is as the projection of good into the life of another. It isn't just words. It's the actual putting forth of your will for the good of another person. It always involves God, because when you will the good of another person, you realise only God is capable of bringing that. So we naturally say, "God bless you." You can bless someone when you will their good under the invocation of God. You invoke God on their behalf to support the good that you will for them. This is the nature of blessing. It is what we are to receive from God and then give to another.

At age 16 Andor Foldes was already a skilled pianist, but he was experiencing a troubled year. In the midst of the young Hungarian's personal struggles, one of the most renowned pianists of the day came to Budapest. Emil von Sauer was famous not only for his abilities; he was also the last surviving pupil of the great Franz Liszt. Von Sauer requested that Foldes play for him. Foldes obliged with some of the most difficult works of Bach, Beethoven, and Schumann. 

When he finished, von Sauer walked over to him and kissed him on the forehead. "My son," he said, "when I was your age I became a student of Liszt. He kissed me on the forehead after my first lesson, saying, 'Take good care of this kiss--it comes from Beethoven, who gave it to me after hearing me play.' I have waited for years to pass on this sacred heritage, but now I feel you deserve it."

Our Heavenly Father, we ask for Your blessing upon us; we thank You that we have this great power, this wonderful wisdom, this deep insight, this flow of abundance surging through our lives, blessing us in every way and, through us, helping and serving mankind. Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.