Seasons and Saints is a weekly devotional blog by the Reverend Susan Montague-Koyle Drawing on liturgical notes and the commemorations of the saints, Rev. Susan offers teaching and inspiration for Anglicans across Algoma and beyond.
A Liturgical Note for You
This week continues our reflection from last time…
Blessing People
People often believe that to be blessed means to receive something from God. That’s sort of true—but not in the way we might think.
Have you ever wondered how we could possibly bless God? We say it often in our liturgies, but what do we mean by it? The Hebrew word for blessing, barak, means “to kneel.” That might sound like a strange connection, but it comes from what the Hebrew people did on their knees—they adored God. (Among other prayer postures, since standing was actually more common!)
So, to bless is to adore.
We adore God—we bless God.
And if that’s true, then receiving blessings from God means something profound: God adores us.
“Blessed are the poor” … Adored by God are the poor!
It’s enlightening—and inspiring—when we understand what it truly means to be blessed.
In love, God lavishes gifts upon us, but it would be a mistake to think of those gifts as material things. Money doesn’t buy happiness, right?
The most famous Jewish blessing is known as Aaron’s Blessing:
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”
— Numbers 6:24–26
This was God’s instruction to Moses and Aaron on how to pass along God’s blessing—God’s adoration—to the Hebrew people.
An important part of this blessing is not the blessing itself, but God’s explanation of it:
“So they [Aaron and his sons] shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” — Numbers 6:27
Putting God’s name on the Israelites was the same as putting God’s presence on them. The blessing was a way of giving God’s presence to carry with them.
It’s powerful stuff, this blessing! It’s a connection with God—a request for protection, kindness, guidance, and peace—all because God is actually with us.
Wow… so, God adores us and is always with us. This is something we know, but have we connected it to what it means to be blessed by God? Now you know.
Blessings and Curses
Perhaps this makes you wonder what it means to be cursed.
If being blessed means to be adored by God and to live in God’s presence, then being cursed must mean the opposite.
To be cursed doesn’t mean bad things will happen to you—just as being blessed doesn’t mean you’ll be showered with wealth. The Hebrew word we translate as “curse” means to think of something—or someone—as insignificant, a trifle.
So, this is all about relationship.
To be blessed is to be adored by God—to be in relationship with God.
To be cursed is to be without God, thought of as trivial, not in relationship with God.
Which one we are—blessed or cursed—is always our choice. God is always ready to love (to bless) all who turn to Him.
For Your Devotions
Thursday, October 23 – James of Jerusalem, Brother of Jesus
There are a few by the name of James in the New Testament. This one is the brother of Jesus. Despite his early misgivings about Jesus’ ministry, James became hugely important to the young Christian Church and was martyred around 62 AD for confessing his faith in Jesus as the Messiah. He was thrown from a parapet of the Temple and then stoned to death—his martyrdom even appears in historical records outside the Bible!
More: For All the Saints – p.314
In Christ,
Rev. Susan Montague-Koyle