The tents went up, the craft cabana was bustling with eager young artists, the storyteller was decked out in 1st Century garb, Dan and Jared, 2 of our youth, set out the orange cones for some “recreation”- Well, I called it “ordered chaos”-, the snack tables were set and the engineer had her train whistle and pink conductor’s cap on. You guessed it, Vacation Bible School was ready to begin!

I had the honor of wearing the Engineer/Conductor cap and gathering all the children together for a welcome and introduction to the mission country they were going to visit each day. It was exciting to see around 70 kids all together in one big place eager for the VBS activities to begin. On morning, prior to the starting of this gathering, I was standing up front just watching all the groups in (and sometimes out!) of their tents, when all of a sudden, one child came over and hugged me and then plopped down and did the “cling” on my leg. You’ll know what the “cling” is don’t you? It’s where a child clings to your leg so tight that if you walked, you bring her with you! I don’t know if it was just the day or what, but in walks a parent and the same thing is happening to her! The death grip from her son migrated from her neck to her leg! I was laughing with some of the adults who were standing around me at this point, indicating that this was a perfect illustration to begin my sermon- So, here we are talking about the “cling” and the death grip. Why? Because we certainly see Jacob doing the “cling” with a unidentified “man”, whom we know is God, in our scripture lesson this morning. Talk about death grips! Jacob was clinging for dear life, not just for a morning gathering and welcome, but for a whole night. The cling was still in full force when God struck him on the hip and put it out of its socket. Can you imagine that scene? Was Jacob yelling in pain? How did he manage to hold on with a bum hip? It seems like it is a life or death grip, because after a whole night of the “cling”, God yelled “enough already”, but still Jacob clung!

Thankfully, the child on my leg got bored and off she went to her friends in her tent. Bored or not, Jacob would not let go. Why?? Why in the world would Jacob endure excruciating pain, exhaustion, a sleepless night, muscle spasms, numb fingers and everything else that goes with clinging onto something in one place foe so long. Why did he not let go?? What would be so important that he would suffer through all this agony? Do you think it was a test of his courage or did he make a bet with someone that he could do it?

No, the simple fact was that he wanted a blessing from God before he let go. A Blesssing! It sounds like such a wimpy excuse to do the “cling” for so long. What does it matter if you have a blessing or not? Aren’t blessings some formulaic thing that every once in a while are done out of church tradition? Well, yes, blessings are an important part of our church tradition—We bless our confirmands every year when parents, mentors and pastors lay their hands on them and pray for them. We bless our Elders and Deacons for their ministry to and with this congregation upon their ordination and instillation. We bless that infant babe everytime we do a baptism here at FPC. There is just something about a blessing that moves, changes or helps us garner the mental and spiritual hardiness that we need to grow in God, or get through a difficult time or become the person we are called to be.

Blessings in the Bible are powerful “God moments”. In fact, all throughout the Bible, people are blessing each other or God is blessing someone to fulfill their purpose in life. It starts with God pronouncing “it is good!” in creation, moves to the patriarchs and matriarchs of history, to the prophets, to the apostles and then to all believers. There is just a Blessing Festival going on almost all the time!!

In his book, The Book of Blessings, Dr. John Garr gives us a thought about blessings:

God’s concern for blessing has always been the same, from beginning to end. God blessed humanity from the moment of creation, God continues to bless humanity now and God’s final act for humanity will be blessing. And God has always blessed the ones he has chosen so they could bless all God’s children. (p. 23)

No angry God here! Over and over again, we see not only a God of grace, but a God of blessing. And God does not want to be the only blesser. God’s intention is that we will go forth and bless others.

One way to think of a blessing is that it marks you or marks the moment in some way. Another way to think of blessing, is what we do in church every Sunday at the end of each worship service- the Benediction. A “good word” is said to bless us so that we can take that “good word” to others we meet.

No matter who you are, our lives are filled with the yearning to be blessed and to be a blessing to others. I am not specifically talking about church ritual blessings, although these rituals can be powerfully transformative. I am talking about everyday relational blessings. I am talking about the “cling” from a child on my leg—it might be a bother to some, but from someone who has no kids, I see it as a blessing! A sweet affirmation that warms the heart. I’m talking about how a youth feels when they know their mom and dad are proud of them. Who here has watched the new T.V. program called “Brat Camp”? Its about teenagers who have become so out of control that their parents don’t know what to do. These kids have either harmed others in their family, are failing in school or are destructive in one way or another. The parents have placed them in this wilderness camp environment with counselors to help them deal with their issues. As the weeks have passed, you can see, one by one, that these teens just want to be loved and affirmed for who they really are.

As breakthroughs occur with these kids in this new T.V. program, blessings abound. Unfolding before our eyes is the redemptive process. It is about being known and feeling deep down that your life matters, that there is purpose, forgiveness, transformation. Just like Jacob who found new identity with his name change and blessing, so too it is with these kids. As the beaded necklace goes around their necks with the counselor giving a blessing, those teens are transformed. It is a blessing exposed and a sacred moment for all.

This blessing thing is all well and good, but how can we practice it in everyday life.

Bill and I celebrated our 20 year wedding anniversary while I was on sabbatical. We made it a big celebration with all our family present and culminating with a vowal renewal. As we worked on the service, we knew we wanted it to be a time of renewal for all as well as an emerging worship experience. We commissioned our niece, Kallie, who at 14 is already a genius with words, to write a poem about love and had her share it in the ceremony. My 2 “cute as buttons” younger nieces threw flower petals as we walked on the Caribbean sand. And my two nephews read the scriptures. But one of the most sacred moments, beside writing and saying our vows, came when Bill and I gave out family medallions. I have a visual aid this morning to show you what they looked like. (hold up scrapbook page)

These are simple homemade necklaces with each persons name on it. We had prepped everyone beforehand to start thinking about an affirmation for their spouse and kids, if applicable, or sibling in the case of my two younger single siblings. At a certain point in the ceremony, we split into our smaller family units and each spouse “blessed” the other with words of affirmation as they put the family medallion necklace around each other’s neck. Then they “blessed” their children doing the same thing. There erupted spontaneous hugging and kissing after that! (Presbyterian order was not at all maintained!) It was a sacred moment for us all to receive a blessing from a family member.

As I look at this scrapbook page, I am reminded how those cheap, simple-to-make family medallions are symbolic of the blessings received that day.

Over and over again in our Bible, we are asked to bless others or be a blessing to them. Like Jacob who knew the power of a blessing, we can be transformed by blessings too.

So, how can we incorporate blessings into our everyday life? I have a top ten list to help us start blessing others.

#10 Make a family medallion for each person in your family and put one on each empty dinner plate. Instead of grace, have each person “bless” with one affirmation, the person whose medallion is on his or her plate. If you are single, call someone up and invite them to dinner and do the same.

#9 If you have a grandparent, send them a note, photo or drawing of your favorite moment with them. If you are a grandparent, do the same for your grandkids!

#8 Make a “Love Tree”. Find a pot or bowl and a dried tree branch. Stick the branch in the pot with clay to hold it upright. Give each person in your family 5 slips of paper and everyone write a reason why you think each member of your family is special. Toll the slips up like a scroll and tie them onto the branch. Find a time everyday to take one off the tree and read it.

#7 By a big foam die. Write a bible verse for each number on the die. Give the die and Bible verses to a friend with a note of thanksgiving. Ask her or him to roll the die every morning and read the appropriate verse corresponding to the number rolled! This is great to give single friends as well as families.

#6 Invite an older person to a family trip to the local ice-cream parlor. Tell him or her what he or she means to you.

#5 Make a “leaves of love” poster for someone who is ill. Get your Sunday School class or small group to draw a tree with branches on a poster board and have 10-20 die cut leaves ready. Write words of encouragement on leaves and tape them onto the tree. Bring to the person who is ill.

#4 Send a card of encouragement for no obvious reason!

#3 Write a love note on the toilet paper.

#2 Youth, hug your parents and tell them you love them!

#1 Start a “red plate” tradition. Buy a red plate or other color plate and when someone needs a boost that day, serve him or her dinner on the red plate. Use this plate only as a blessing plate so the person who gets it knows they are being blessed!

All of us need a “good word”. Jacob had to wrestle to get his, but I think God wants us to be intentional about generously giving a blessing to others.

May the Lord bless and keep you now and forever! Amen.