Blessings have always confused me. Growing up, I watched as priests blessed the shrimp fleet by sprinkling holy water from a bridge as the shrimps boats passed under, and I wondered what was really happening in heaven as this went on. Was power going out of the priest or the water and showering protection in the boats, or was it on the men?
And what about our favorite southern expression, "Bless her/his/other heart"? A Pulmonologist friend of mine heard someone saying that as their family member was in ICU on a ventilator and commented, "Bless his lungs!"
I like to look at these situations in this way: are people bestowing the blessing, or are they asking God to bless whatever it is that they would like to get a little boost from above?
Healthy lungs probably are a blessing from God.
A safe voyage is probably a blessing from God.
But is a rainbow crosswalk celebrating and promoting homosexual behavior a blessing from God? Well, in Canada's Diocese of Niagara they want it to be. From Anglican Samizdat ,
"In the spirit of blessing everything that has nothing to do with Christianity, The Reverend Jody Balint, rector of St. James and St. Brendan’s Parish, Port Colborne has bestowed her ecclesiastical benediction upon the town’s new rainbow crosswalk; in the hope that all who step on it become a little gayer."
Priests bless a lot of things, but some of those things are not blessed by God.
How can you tell?
READ THE BIBLE! If something is condemned, it ain't blessed by God. Humans can bless it all they want, but don't confuse us lowly pewsitters and try to make us think otherwise. Something about millstones comes to mind.
When I was a teenager, I had a record titled, "D-DAY Plus Twenty that chronicled the landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944. On it was this song which sums up my skepticism about certain blessings.
Bless 'Em All!
Posts
In my experience, the Southern "Bless her heart!" is satirical. And the Rev. Balint, above, isn't conveying God's blessings, that's for sure.
ReplyDelete