Blessings

“And when you are desirous to be blest, I’ll blessing beg of you.”

Hamlet III: 4

There once was a priest who loved God very much. The way she showed her love for God was by blessing God’s people. When someone built a house she would bless the hands of the builders, and when it was finished she would bless the front door and pray that the people who lived there would be safe and warm. When someone was going to have a baby she would bless the mother’s belly, and when the baby was born she would bless the crib and pray that the child would be healthy and strong. Whenever anyone wanted to try something new she would put her hand on their head, anoint them with oil, and give God’s blessing to them. She knew that people who had been blessed could then go out and bless everyone else.

She spent many years doing this in her small country parish, and the people to whom she ministered flourished and were joyful. The bishop saw how much good she was doing and decided to send her to a bigger parish so she could bless even more of God’s people.

The priest’s new parish was in a city, and there were many different kinds of people there. They were all different colors and many of them spoke different languages. Some of them were very rich and lived in mansions, while others were so poor that they didn’t have anywhere to live

When she arrived the priest didn’t know anyone there. Her first friend was a young man who lived next to the rectory. He did not go to church, but he was a good neighbor. Sometimes he would invite the priest over for a meal, sometimes he would help her plant flowers in her garden, and sometimes they would just sit together and watch the clouds.

She soon began getting to know the people of new parish. She had to look hard to find ways to bless them because life in the city was very different from life in the country. Sometimes people had big parties in the street, so she would go out and bless the musicians, and pray that as people danced together they would learn to love one another. Sometimes people would make big meals for those who had no homes, so she would go to the kitchen and bless the cooks, and pray that the poor would always have enough to eat. She still blessed children and homes and anointed people, but she was also very excited by all the new ways she was finding to bless God’s people.

Sometimes people would ask her to bless things that she had never blessed before, and sometimes she wasn’t sure if she should. When she wasn’t sure she would ask the bishop. But the bishop always told her that she must decide, because she knew these people, and because blessing was her special ministry. So she gave God’s blessings freely, and the parish flourished and was joyful.

One day as her neighbor was helping her plant some lilac trees, she noticed that he was sad. She asked him why, and he told her that he had fallen in love. She was puzzled. Love usually makes people happy. He told her that his family didn’t approve of the person he loved. She asked him why, and he told her that his beloved wasn’t a woman, but another man. She listened as he told her how angry his parents were, how his brothers and sisters wouldn’t talk to him anymore, and how his friends all made fun of him. The priest felt sad too. Her neighbor asked her if she had ever blessed people who were in love. She said that she had. He asked her if she would bless them. She told him that she had never blessed two men who loved each other before, and asked if she could think about it.

She thought about it all day, and that night she couldn’t sleep because she was still thinking about it. She was very sad that the man’s friends couldn’t bless his love. She was very upset that his family wouldn’t bless his love. She thought about how she would feel if she fell in love and no one would bless her. She thought all night long, and she prayed that God would help her know what to do.

The next morning the priest got up early and went to her neighbor’s house. She said to him “love is what God does best. It’s so much a part of who God is that we even say God IS love.” She told him that if God had given them the ability to love each other, then she would be happy to bless that love. This made her neighbor very happy. She told him that she would have to ask the Bishop first, but that he never said no.

While they waited for the day when they would be blessed, the neighbor and his beloved began to go to church. Many of the people in the parish had never seen two men in love before. Some were surprised, some were confused, but everyone could see how much they loved each other. The priest watched as everyone came to love the two men, and she knew she had made the right decision.

The next time she saw the Bishop the priest told him about the two men and how everyone loved them. When she told him how they were waiting to be blessed the Bishop was not happy. “You can not bless them,” the Bishop told her, and he was very stern. The priest was surprised. She had never heard the Bishop speak like this before. She asked him why she couldn’t bless them, and he told her that some people in the church were like her neighbor’s parents and wouldn’t approve. She told the Bishop how everyone in the parish loved the two men and how everyone was looking forward to a special day to bless them. The Bishop still said no.

The priest was very sad. She too had grown to love her neighbor and his beloved. She knew that they would be disappointed when she told them. She knew that the entire parish would be disappointed. When she got home she went to her neighbor’s house and told him what the Bishop had said. She told him how sad she was, and how much she wanted to bless their love. Her neighbor said that he was accustomed to people who couldn’t bless his love, and he thanked her for trying.

That night the priest couldn’t sleep. Again she spent the whole night thinking. She thought about all the people and things she had blessed. She thought about how much it meant to them when she put her hands on them and prayed, or anointed them with oil. She realized that she had never before refused to bless anything or anyone.

The next morning was Sunday. The priest came to the church like she did every Sunday morning. She put on her robes and prepared to celebrate the Eucharist. During the procession she noticed that her neighbor and his beloved were in their usual spot. She was surprised. She thought they would stop coming to church now that they couldn’t be blessed. She was happy that they were there, but seeing them made her sad as well. She thought about how much they loved each other. She knew that this love was something wonderful. She wondered how she could bless anything if she could not bless love.

Finally the time came for communion. She stood behind the altar and everyone waited for her to pray over the bread and the wine. There was a long silence. People began to look at each other and wonder why it was taking her so long. Still she did not place her hands over the elements or begin the prayers. She didn’t move or speak for a very long time. People began to whisper and ask each other if maybe she had forgotten the words. No one knew why the priest couldn’t bless the bread or the wine, no one, that is, except her neighbor.

As the church began to fill with the voices of confused parishioners, the priest’s neighbor stood up and asked for silence. “Our priest blesses us every Sunday,” he told them. “She has blessed our homes. She has blessed our families. She has blessed everything we asked her to bless. Maybe she has run out of blessings. So I think today we need to bless her.” The neighbor and his beloved walked up to the altar and laid their hands on the priest. As they began to pray others from the congregation joined them. Soon everyone was standing behind the altar, laying their hands on the priest, and blessing her.

Something changed that day. After that whenever anyone met the priest they wouldn’t say hello, instead, they would lay a hand on her and bless her. God’s people had learned how important a blessing could be. They also discovered that, like the priest, they were called to give blessings. People continued to ask the priest to bless their homes and children, but now they began blessing each other as well. They found many different ways to bless each other. Sometimes they laid hands on someone. Sometimes they cooked a meal for someone. But always the way they blessed each other was special to the person being blessed. The priest was happy that so many people were finding ways to bless each other. And they all gave God’s blessing freely, and they flourished and were joyful.