“All generations will call me blessed” (Luke 1:49)

Note: two week’s time, 20^th September will be our harvest worship.

Call to worship (from Psalm 84)

Blessed are those who dwell in your house, O Lord, they are ever praising you.

Blessed are whose strength is in you, Lord, those who have set their hearts on pilgrimage to you.

The Lord God is my sun and my shield.

He bestows favour and honour.

O Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.

Hymn

Of praise to the Lord: Bless the Lord, O my soul (10,000 Reasons, Matt Redman) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSxocnIaN0A

Prayer

Come, let us praise the Lord and rejoice in the Rock, our Saviour.

Let us come and give thanks in his presence and greet him with prayers of praise.

Come, let us adore him, let us worship the Lord, our maker and sustainer.

O God, you are my God, I seek you,

My soul thirsts for you as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

I have beheld your power and glory.

Because your steadfast love is better than life itself,

My lips will praise you.

I will bless you as long as I live.

I will lift up my hands and call on your name.

We recall our sinfulness and frailty before God, who loves us just as we are but who calls us to so much more.

Silence

Blessed are you, Lord our God,

Giver of life and forgiver of sins.

At the opening of the day

You call us out of darkness and into your marvellous light.

Blessed are you for ever and ever.

We say the Lord’s prayer together.

Bible readings

Numbers 6:22-27 – the priestly blessing (as Moses was working with God to create the nation of Israel from a bunch of frightened disorganised bunch of runaway slaves)

Luke 1:39-49 – Mary visits Elizabeth when she finds she is pregnant

What links these readings? What will the third reading be?

Matthew 5:1-12 – the beatitudes

Word

The Biblical word 'blessed' is the Greek word makarios. It describes a person who enjoys a special privilege of some kind, a desirable position that we recognize as a good reason for happy feelings. Some translate it “privileged, fortunate.”

Watch the way someone uses makarios, and you see what they believe about the key to happiness.

The ancient Greeks described their gods as makarios because they lounged around Mount Olympus enjoying all the privileges of divine power. The word was also used to describe the rich, living free from the usual cares and worries of life.

In the ancient Greek worldview, you would be happy if you had: possessions, a marriage partner or bachelorhood, intellectual understanding, fame, children, freedom from life’s problems. Modern Western people might well agree with most of these!

That is not how the Bible (especially the NT) uses the word.

We can translate it as “happy,” as some of the modern translations do (GNB) as long as we recognize that it means more than just a frothy feeling of well-being or a transient good mood.

“Blessed” is also a good translation as long as you don’t visualize it as a priest sprinkling holy water and intoning a formal prayer: “Bless you, my son.” Makarios is much more down to earth, much more powerful.

Perhaps we can better understand the word if we think of it as being fully satisfied.

The ancient Greeks were very self-satisfied when they achieved all those I listed a moment ago.

But in the New Testament, it indicates the state of the believer in Christ. God lives in the believer by his Holy Spirit and as a result is fully satisfied.

Makarios differs from transitory happiness because happiness describes a person who has good fortune, good luck. In the biblical sense, makoarios is nothing to do with luck - a blessed person is one who God makes fully satisfied, not because of favorable circumstances, but because he indwells with the person, in the person.

Ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, contrasted makarios to endeis - the needy one. Someone who has majarios, is blessed, is not needy - his satisfaction come from God and not from favourable circumstances.

so when Mary says she is blessed, she is not saying she has everything she could ever want in the world – far from it – her situation and the life she could see before her were not going to be easy at all. Nor is she saying she is blessed because she has done something to deserve it. No, she is blessed because she has said yes to God and allowed his indwelling by the Holy Spirit. And she is satisfied.

This understanding of blessed or happy makes reading the Beaititudes a very different thing. Instead of thinking, "If I can summon up those attitudes, I will receive mercy or see God or be good or whatever." Now, when we read the Beatitudes, we can see that it says, "Because I am indwelled by God and therefore blessed and satisfied, I can now act out what is found in me." I can be merciful because I am blessed/indwelled. I can be comfort for I have been comforted. I can feed others because I have been fed. I can be a peacemaker because I am at peace. I can be all of these godly things because God dwells in me and works through me.

God's desire is for us to be blessed, at peace, filled with joy, satisfied. If happy is a result of those, great, but a true Christian is blessed as a state of their being, not as a result of their circumstances. Paul put it well when he said, “It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20) and I would add “acts through me.”

So, whenever I hear God’s blessing said over me now, I am reminded to be different – to think differently and act differently - to be grateful and content, and to remember that God loves me so much he has chosen to live in me through his Holy Spirit. I am blessed. I am satisfied.

Now I need to go act out what he has placed in me! And as I go, may God’s blessing, his indwelling Holy Spirit, go with me! Amen.

Prayer

We will now have a time of prayer as we listen to John Rutter’s version of God’s blessing on his people from Numbers. As you listen, place yourself in God’s hands – he wants to bless, you, he wants to dwell in you by his Spirit, he wants to be one with you, he wants to work with you for the salvation of creation. He is calling you to ever greater union with him. How do you respond? Tell him. Ask him how you can use his blessing for the greater good of his people and all creation. Talk to him about what is on your mind, what is troubling you. How is he asking you to respond in his name?

John Rutter – The Lord bless you and keep you (2:41)

Silence

Dismissal and blessing

God of generous undeserved blessing,

May the love of the Father enfold us,

May the boldness of your indwelling Spirit transform us,

And may the way of your Son lead us on.

May we be channels of your blessing in the world,

And as go may your blessing go with us. Amen.

UK Blessing – as done by Makaton users:

I know you have probably heard this song several times now, including at last week’s worship. But this version is particularly special. It’s by Makaton users.

Today over 100,000 children and adults use Makaton symbols and signs, either as their main method of communication or as a way to support speech. In addition to children and adults with communication and learning difficulties and the community around them – for example, teachers, health professionals, friends, public service bodies etc. Makaton is increasingly used by the general public to aid communication.

So as we finish worship today, let us show we are willing to receive God’s blessing for ourselves and let us ask God’s blessing to be upon one another, as we learn the sign language version of this song based on our Bible reading from Numbers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va048-XxFTI

(Fade at about 3:21 after the second text screen has come up.)