On one particular Sunday this year, a grade three student burst into the classroom and said, "I cannot wait for the blessing today!" Each week he crosses his arms, leans eagerly over the rail and waits to hear the priest say words that affirm his belovedness. His desire for the blessing is instructive to me, more than anything he wants to hear words that call forth what is most true about who he is. Amongst all the other competing, demanding, distracting voices in a week, this voice of blessing is the one he longs for.
In his book, The Life of the Beloved, Henri Nouwen says this of blessing:
"In Latin, to bless is benedicere. The word, "benediction" that is used in many churches means literally: speaking (dictio) well (bene) or saying good things of someone. To give someone a blessing is the most significant affirmation we can offer. It is more than a word of praise or appreciation; it is more than pointing out someone's talents or good deeds; it is more than putting someone in the light. To give a blessing is to affirm, to say "yes" to a person's Belovedness."
One of the Hebrew translations for the word Bless is 'barak' which means to praise, to congratulate, to salute. It can also be translated 'esher' which is translated as happiness, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields fruit in its season, whose leaf does not wither and whatever he does prospers." If you remember when we we looked at Beatitudes this year we used the words, "God is on the side of..."instead of "blessed" to get a fulsome understanding of the word Blessed in that context. In the Bible 'to bless' carries with it a number of connotations but it is never a weak word. For our purposes we will share words with one another that affirm our Belovedness, God's work in us, the unique gifts that each of us have.
Here is a further excerpt from The Life of the Beloved by Henry Nouwen, on blessing:
Not long ago in my own community, I had a very personal experience of the power of a real blessing. Shortly before I started a prayer service in one of our houses, Janet, a handicapped member of our community said to me: "Henri, can you give me a blessing?" I responded in a somewhat automatic way by tracing with my thumb the sign of the cross on her forehead. Instead of being grateful however, she vehemently protested, "No that doesn't work, I want a real blessing." I suddenly became aware of the ritualistic quality of my response to her request and said, "Oh, I am sorry... Let me give you a real blessing when we are all together at the prayer service." She nodded with a smile and I realized that something special was required of me. After the service when about thirty people sitting in a circle on the floor, I said, "Janet has asked me for a special blessing." She stood up and walked toward me. I was wearing a long white robe with ample sleeves covering my hands as well as my arms. Spontaneously Janet put her arms around me and put her head against my chest. Without thinking I covered her with my sleeves so that she almost vanished in the folds of my robe. As we held each other, I said, "Janet, I want you to know that you are God's Beloved Daughter. You are precious in God's eyes. Your beautiful smile, your kindness to the people in your house and all the good things you do show us the beautiful human being that you are. I know that you are feeling a little low these days and that there is a sadness in your heart, but I want you to remember who you are: a very special person, deeply loved by God and all the people who are here with you."
As I said these words, Janet raised her head and looked at me; her broad smile showed me that she had really heard and received the blessing. When she returned to her place, Jane, another handicapped stood up and said, "I want a blessing too."... The most touching moment, however, came when one of the assistants, a 24 year old student, raised his hand and said, "And what about me?" "Sure, " I said, "Come." He came and as we stood before each other, I put my arms around him and said, "John it is so good that you are here. You are God's Beloved Son. Your presence is a joy for all of us. When things are hard and life is burdensome, always remember that you are loved with an everlasting love." As I spoke these words he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "Thank you, thank you very much."
That evening I recognized the importance of blessing and being blessed and I reclaimed it as a true sign of the Beloved. The blessings that we give each other are expressions of the blessing that rests on us from all eternity...
(from pages 69-72)
Let us bless one another this week and celebrate that we are all God's beloved children. For younger students in Grades 1 and 2 I think it might be appropriate if each student had a large heart shape or if they made a card with their name and a drawing on the front. Perhaps we could write the blessing from Numbers 6:24-26 on each heart or card:"The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you, the Lord be gracious to you and give you peace." Then children can write something that they appreciate about each person on their heart/card. Perhaps it would be good to brainstorm a number of phrases for blessing then students can pick from that list what they want to say about each person.
Here are some examples:
You are joyful
You are kind
You are a good friend
You are funny and you make people laugh
You think of other people and make everyone feel welcome
You are fun
You encourage me
May God be with you this summer
May you have a peaceful summer
May you have joy playing outside
May you have peace in your house
In the older grades some direction might also be helpful; you might want to have the students make cards with their names and a drawing on the front and on the inside they can write blessings - something that they appreciate about each person and a prayer of blessing for the summer ahead:
May God watch over you and keep you
May you know the love of God for you
May you have peace this summer
May you have joy doing ________
If you come early you might want to write a few words of blessing for each student; you may even want to read your blessings aloud to the kids at some point in the morning. Do this only if you have one for every student and if a new student comes you will have to be prepared to write out a blessing, in this case you could write out the blessing mentioned above from Numbers.
After you have finished your cards of blessing you may want to take time to share about summer plans. Ask the children to share about what they are looking forward to and what they are feeling a bit nervous or uncertain about as they head into the summer months. Some children who are going to summer camp may be feeling excited and still a little unsure about being away from home. For other children being home all summer might be weighing on their minds particularly if their friends are going away - summer can be lonely for some kids. I am always mindful that while summer holidays is greatly anticipated by some, for others it is not so carefree. Please take the time to pray for one another in your classes. Our Grade six students are writing PAT exams and they will certainly appreciate prayer for the upcoming week. Please give students the opportunity to share and to pray for one another: you may do this out loud or you may pray as you draw together writing each other's names, writing words or symbols and using colour to express your thoughts you can use the paper on your tables or alternatively I can provide you with paper. It is up to you!
Feel free to bring treats that everyone can share. Please contact me if you have questions about allergies in your class. Alternatively if there is a craft or activity you would like to do to wrap up the year, let me know I will happily get you the supplies you need.
I hope this morning will be a lovely time of blessing and celebration!
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