The Blessing
Knox (Westport) Presbyterian Church
Father’s Day, Sunday, June 20, 2021
Hello Everybody!
Welcome to the Online Service of Worship for Knox (Westport) Presbyterian Church on this Father’s Day Sunday, June 20, 2021.
As you know, the restrictions under the Emergency Measures Act in the Province of Ontario regarding the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus have been changed again this week to move in-person worship from Step Two of the proposed Re-Opening Plan to Step One. This allows churches to resume indoor services of worship to a maximum of 15% capacity starting on Sunday, June 11 – last Sunday.
One year ago, after three months of restrictions imposed at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, churches were allowed to resume in-person worship service on Sunday, June 14, the Sunday before Father’s Day. We resumed in-person worship services at Knox one week later on Father’s Day, June 21. We are doing the same thing again this year with our first in-person worship service since Easter to be held on Father’s Day, June 20.
With this Sunday being Father’s Day, we are particularly mindful of this special day in the life of our families, our churches, and our community. As a result, we have decided to pre-record and offer this special Father’s Day Service online in addition to the in-person service at Knox Church. I am recording this service and message from my home in order to continue to engage people in worship and learning and to share with you and anyone who cares to join us online. Don and Barb Warren are providing the musical selections for our worship that they are also recording from their home.
We want to thank you for joining us and we hope that this time will inspire and challenge you to seek the great, good possibilities of life where faith in God can make a significant difference in your daily living.
If you haven’t already done so, get vaccinated so we can enjoy the fellowship and partnership of all God’s people.
Stay safe and be well.
A Moment for Quiet Reflection
On this Father’s Day Sunday, I want you to think for a moment about family traditions or practices that were important enough that you have tried to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.
“What family traditions or practices make you feel unique and special?
“What family traditions or practices are you passing down to your children?”
I am going to be exploring one of the most important things a father can give his son or daughter; a grandfather can give his grandson or granddaughter. There is an ancient Biblical practice known as “The Blessing” and I am going to tell you all about it.
Don and Barb are going to play a brief musical selection to give you a moment to think about this.
Call to Worship – Psalm 103 – The Message
The Call to Worship is from the Psalms as the psalmist celebrates the many ways that God blesses his people. I am reading The Message translation of Psalm 103:
1-2 O my soul, bless God.
From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name!
O my soul, bless God,
don’t forget a single blessing!
3-5 He forgives your sins—every one.
He heals your diseases—every one.
He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.
6-18 God makes everything come out right;
he puts victims back on their feet.
He showed Moses how he went about his work,
opened up his plans to all Israel.
God is sheer mercy and grace;
not easily angered, he’s rich in love.
He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold,
nor hold grudges forever.
He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve,
nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.
As high as heaven is over the earth,
so strong is his love to those who fear him.
And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
he has separated us from our sins.
As parents feel for their children,
God feels for those who fear him.
He knows us inside and out,
keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.
Men and women don’t live very long;
like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,
But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
leaving nothing to show they were here.
God’s love, though, is ever and always,
eternally present to all who fear him,
Making everything right for them and their children
as they follow his Covenant ways
and remember to do whatever he said.
19-22 God has set his throne in heaven;
he rules over us all. He’s the King!
So bless God, you angels,
ready and able to fly at his bidding,
quick to hear and do what he says.
Bless God, all you armies of angels,
alert to respond to whatever he wills.
Bless God, all creatures, wherever you are—
everything and everyone made by God.
And you, O my soul, bless God!
Praise and Worship
| Bless the Lord O my Soul
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord. |
Don and Barb Warren will lead us into the presence of God in praise and worship. Please sing along where lyrics are provided.
Prayers of Adoration and Confession
Holy and gracious God, source of life and love, we gather in your presence and wonder at the beauty and complexity of all you have made, acknowledging how small and insignificant we are, each on our own.
Yet you love us with a promise that gives us significance and restores our purpose in the midst of the creation you love.
When we are overcome by forces around us, you speak words of peace.
When trouble or sorrow sets in, you give us the strength we need to persevere in our witness to your love.
In this time of worship, O God, we remember all you have been, all you are and all you will be; offering you all praise and honour, love and loyalty, with our lips and with our lives to the end of our days.
Mighty and Merciful God, source of hope and wholeness, we confess that we fail you far too often.
You call us to serve in the footsteps of Jesus, but we look to our own interests first.
You call us to love our neighbours, but we are so good at finding fault in others and withholding our love.
You call us to do justice and care for the vulnerable, but we prefer to be silent rather than take a stand for those at risk.
Forgive us.
Open wide our hearts to our neighbours in need, as we put our trust in your mercy — for us and for them.
Hear us as we pray the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples and us to pray.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins as we forgive sinners. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. AMEN.
Scripture Reading – Luke 15:1-32 (The Message)
One of Jesus’ best know parables or stories is about the Lost Son. I am going to read this story from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 15 to give us a context for what I want to explore with you in today’s message. I am reading from The Message translation:
The Story of the Lost Son
11-12 Then he said, “There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, ‘Father, I want right now what’s coming to me.’
12-16 “So the father divided the property between them. It wasn’t long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to feel it. He signed on with a citizen there who assigned him to his fields to slop the pigs. He was so hungry he would have eaten the corn-cobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any.
17-20 “That brought him to his senses. He said, ‘All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I’m going back to my father. I’ll say to him, Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.’ He got right up and went home to his father.
I want you to see something that is very important for us to understand as we explore the meaning of “The Blessing”. Before the returning son could finish his spiel about no longer being worthy to be called a son, look at what the father did and said:
20-21 “When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: ‘Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son ever again.’
22-24 “But the father wasn’t listening. He was calling to the servants, ‘Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a prize-winning heifer and roast it. We’re going to feast! We’re going to have a wonderful time! My son is here — given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!’ And they began to have a wonderful time.
What was happening there with the robe and the ring and the fattened calf? The father was giving his son “The Blessing”
This parable or story of life takes a well-known practice in Jesus’ day to tell his hearers that Father God is that kind of Father - that He is quick to bless His children even though they may not be worthy.
That’s what we are going to learn about today.
A Moment for Quiet Reflection
- Revisited -
In the Moment for Quiet Reflection I asked you to think about these two questions:
What family traditions or practices make you feel unique and special?
What family traditions or practices are you passing down to your children?
You see, family traditions and practices can make a huge difference in how we see ourselves. This is especially true for children where the approval of parents and grandparents and significant others in the family circle affects how they view themselves and their ability to pass that approval along to their children, spouse and friends.
It’s also true in your life and mine as we carry those views of others into our relationships with our children, our grandchildren, our partners and friends.
Today’s Message
The Blessing
A Father’s Blessing
In the Biblical story we have an ancient tradition or practice that was important in the lives of families.
I want to tell you the story of two brothers. It’s a sad story of parental favoritism, but it illustrates the importance of the blessing. It’s the story of Jacob and Esau, the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah and it is found in Genesis chapters 25 through 27. Rather than read the whole story, I’m going to tell it to you in an abbreviated form.
Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah. He prayed hard to God for his wife because she was barren. God answered his prayer and Rebekah became pregnant. But the children tumbled and kicked inside her so much that she went to God to find out what was going on. God told her that two nations were in her womb, two peoples butting heads while still in her body. One will overpower the other, and the older will serve the younger.
There is no explanation given in the story why these two boys should have very different identities and destinies.
When her time to give birth came, sure enough, there were twins. The first came out reddish, as if snugly wrapped in a hairy blanket; they named him Esau (Hairy). His brother followed, his fist clutching tightly to Esau’s heel; they named him Jacob (Heel). Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.
The boys grew up. Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman. Jacob was a quiet man preferring life indoors among the tents. Isaac loved Esau because he loved his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
One day Jacob was cooking a stew. Esau came in from the field, starved. Esau said to Jacob, “Give me some of that red stew — I’m starved!”
Jacob said, “Make me a trade: my stew for your rights as the firstborn.”
Esau said, “I’m starving! What good is a birthright if I’m dead?”
Jacob said, “First, swear to me.” And he did it. On oath Esau traded away his rights as the firstborn. Jacob gave him bread and the stew of lentils. He ate and drank, got up and left.
That’s how Esau shrugged off his rights as the firstborn.
Many years later when Isaac had become an old man and was nearly blind, he called his eldest son, Esau, and said, “I’m an old man and I might die any day now. Do me a favor: Get your quiver of arrows and your bow and go out in the country and hunt me some game. Then fix me a hearty meal, the kind that you know I like, and bring it to me to eat so that I can give you my personal blessing before I die.”
Rebekah was eavesdropping as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. As soon as Esau had gone off to the country to hunt game for his father, Rebekah spoke to her son Jacob. “Your father just told your brother Esau to hunt and find him some game and fix a hearty meal so that he can bless him with God’s blessing before he dies.’
Rebekah immediately put in motion a scheme to steal Esau’s blessing and have it bestowed on Jacob instead. She told him to get two young goats. Pick the best and we’ll prepare them into a hearty meal, the kind that Isaac loves. Then Jacob will take it to his father, he’ll eat and bless him before he dies.”
But Jacob knew there were many things that would give away their scheme. His brother Esau is a hairy man, and he has smooth skin. If his father touches him. he’ll bring down a curse on him instead of a blessing.”
Rebekah took the dress-up clothes of her older son Esau and put them on her younger son Jacob. She took goatskins and covered his hands and the smooth nape of his neck. Then she placed the hearty meal she had fixed and fresh bread she’d baked into the hands of her son Jacob.
He went to his father and said, “My father!”
“Yes?” he said. “Which son are you?”
Jacob answered his father, “I’m your firstborn son Esau. I did what you told me. Come now; sit up and eat of my game so you can give me your personal blessing.”
Isaac said, “So soon? How did you get it so quickly?”
“Because your God cleared the way for me.”
Isaac said, “Come close, son; let me touch you — are you really my son Esau?”
So, Jacob moved close to his father Isaac. Isaac felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” He didn’t recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s.
But as he was about to bless him, he pressed him, “You’re sure? You are my son Esau?”
“Yes. I am.”
Isaac said, “Bring the food so I can eat of my son’s game and give you my personal blessing.” Jacob brought it to him, and he ate. He also brought him wine and he drank.
Then Isaac said, “Come close, son, and kiss me.”
He came close and kissed him and Isaac smelled the smell of his clothes. Finally, he blessed him,
Ahhh. The smell of my son is like the smell of the open country blessed by God.
May God give you of Heaven’s dew and Earth’s bounty of grain and wine.
May peoples serve you and nations honor you. You will master your brothers, and your mother’s sons will honor you.
Those who curse you will be cursed, those who bless you will be blessed.
Right after Isaac had blessed Jacob and Jacob had left, Esau showed up from the hunt. He also had prepared a hearty meal. He came to his father and said, “Let my father get up and eat of his son’s game, that he may give me his blessing.”
Isaac asked, “And who are you?”
“I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”
Isaac started to tremble, shaking violently. He said, “Then who hunted game and brought it to me? I finished the meal just now, before you walked in. And I blessed him — he’s blessed for good!”
Esau, hearing his father’s words, sobbed violently and most bitterly, and cried to his father, “My father! Can’t you also bless me?”
He begged, “Haven’t you kept back any blessing for me? Don’t you have just one blessing for me, Father? Oh, bless me my father! Bless me!” Esau sobbed inconsolably.
The ancient story is a sad one about failing to understand the importance of the blessing until it is too late. When Esau was hungry after a day of hunting, he willingly, even eagerly, traded his birthright to his brother for a bowl of stew. Now, as a result of Jacob’s scheming, he was also going to lose his father’s blessing – the transmission of an identity and a promise that would give meaning and purpose to his life, his relationships, his own family.
Can you feel the anguish in the cry, “Bless me my father! Bless even me, O my father”?
This same painful cry and unfulfilled longing is being echoed today by many people who are searching for their family’s blessing, men and women whose parents, for whatever reason, have failed to bless them with words of love and acceptance.
A Father’s Blessing
The key issue to understand in the Blessing is:
No matter your age, the approval of your parents affects how you view yourself and your ability to pass that approval along to your children, spouse, and friends.
Before we explore the actual elements of The Blessing, let me offer three qualifications:
- Biblically = father’s blessing of the first-born son.
In the Biblical tradition of the Blessing as in the life of Esau or Jacob, it was the father’s responsibility to pass on to the first-born child, the identity and inheritance of the family. This was reserved for the first-born son. Everyone else in the family – daughters and other younger sons – were to find their identity and inheritance in the first-born son. This blessing would be transferred to the first-born son at the moment in time when the Patriarch of the family determined that his successor was mature enough and responsible enough to hand the affairs of the family. In a very real sense, this conveyed the sense of confidence and approval that the father had for his son.
- Culturally = father’s / mother’s blessing of sons and daughters
In the culture we live in – no longer a Patriarch society, even though there are lingering examples of misogyny and the mistreatment of women – this blessing is a shared and mutual responsibility of both the father and the mother to bless their sons and daughters.
- Personally = not a model parent in this regard; not too late
You might be thinking that you have not been a model parent in passing the blessing on to your children. In fact, you may not even know what is involved in passing on a sense of approval and self-worth to your children that conveys to them a positive and helpful identity. To be completely honest, I certainly didn’t know this principle when my wife and I were raising our children. But understand that it is not too late. No matter your age or the age of your children and grandchildren, your approval affects how they view themselves and their ability to pass that approval along to their children, spouse, and friends.
It's not too late!
The Blessing – What is It?
Gray Smalley and John Trent, in their book entitled, “The Blessing” define the blessing in these words:
A family blessing begins with meaningful touch. It continues with a spoken message of high value, a message that pictures a special future for the individual being blessed, and one that is based on an active commitment to see the blessing come to pass.
Each of these elements are essential in a family’s blessing.
The Five Elements of the Family Blessing
Each of these elements are of sufficient importance that I could explore theme one-at-a-time in a message on each one of them. Actually, in a summer series at Knox (Westport) Presbyterian Church before I was appointed as half-time Stated Supply, I did precisely that.
What I want to do briefly is look at each of these elements to see how they applied in Isaac’s blessing of Jacob and how they can be similarly applied in our own families with our spouses, partners, friends, children, and grandchildren. In fact, these elements can be applied to every significant relationship in in our lives as we express our affirmation and acceptance of others.
- Meaningful touch
Both of these words are essential to the blessing. “Meaningful” means that this is not a casual thing. The touch needs to communicate warm, personal acceptance and affirmation. It could take a variety of forms from a full embrace to a hearty handshake. It could involve the laying on of hands upon the person’s head or shoulders. It could be a kiss on the cheek or forehead or hand. The touch also needs to be “meaningful” for the person being blessed. If the person is not a hugger, then a full embrace would not likely be received warmly and affirmatively. Though this touch is physical, it must not be sexual in any way.
In Isaac’s blessing of Jacob we read, 26 Then Isaac said, “Come close, son, and kiss me.” 27He came close and kissed him and Isaac smelled the smell of his clothes.
- A spoken message
Simply being present is not sufficient. Sometimes we assume that people know how we feel towards them – even the people closest to us like our spouse and children. There are many ways we can communicate to others our acceptance and affirmation, but this is not one of them. Silence communicates confusion. We need to verbalize our message. Good words are necessary to provide genuine acceptance.
And just what needs to be said? The next two elements of the Blessing explain what needs to be said.
- Attaching high value to the one being blessed
This principle of attaching high value is so important. When we bless someone, we are deciding that he or she is important to us. This is what the psalmist is telling us in Psalm 103 that we used in the Call to Worship.
1-2 O my soul, bless God. From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name! O my soul, bless God, don’t forget a single blessing!
The King James Version is probably more familiar:
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
When we bless the Lord, we are actually recognizing God’s intrinsic worth and attaching high value to Him. He is worthy of our honour.
To value something or someone means to attach “honour” to it.
In Isaac’s blessing of Jacob, he used a word picture as a powerful way of communicating high value:
27-28 “Ahhh. The smell of my son is like the smell of the open country blessed by God. May God give you of Heaven’s dew and Earth’s bounty of grain and wine. May peoples serve you and nations honor you.”
Telling your children today that they “smell like a field” would probably not be seen as a compliment! But Jacob knew what his father meant. Isaac also pictured his son as someone that other people should honour and serve which brings us to the next element.
- Picturing a special future for the one being blessed
What kind of future do our words picture? Communicating a special future to a child is such an important part of giving the blessing. When a person feels in his or her heart that the future is hopeful and something to look forward to, it can greatly affect his or her attitude on life. A sense of security in the present provides confidence to grow to serve God and others in the future.
We do this by encouraging the person to set meaningful goals; pursue tasks and accomplishments that will be worthwhile and honourable. Point out that the gifts and character traits they have are attributes that God can bless and use in their future.
In Isaac’s blessing of Jacob, he pictured the blessing of God upon him that would give him fruitful harvests and the honour and respect of family and nations.
One final element that can easily be missed.
- An active commitment to fulfill the Blessing
These four elements of meaningful touch, spoken words, expressing high value, and picturing a special future are the building blocks of the blessing. But the mortar that holds them all together is an active commitment to fulfill the Blessing.
What do we mean by “active commitment”, and why is it such an important part of the Blessing?
Words of blessing alone are not enough. They need to be backed up by the commitment to see the blessing fulfilled.
This principle is what James wants us to understand in his letter to the church:
Faith in Action
14-17 “Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup — where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?” (James 2:14-17 – The Message)
In strong contrast to speaking empty words to our loved ones, an active commitment to our children, spouse, or others need to involve two things:
- Commit the person being blessed to the Lord
When Isaac blessed Jacob he said, “May God give you of Heaven’s dew and Earth’s bounty of grain and wine”.
Years later, when Jacob was running away from his brother, God spoke to him:
13-15 “I am God, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. I’m giving the ground on which you are sleeping to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will be as the dust of the Earth; they’ll stretch from west to east and from north to south. All the families of the Earth will bless themselves in you and your descendants. Yes. I’ll stay with you, I’ll protect you wherever you go, and I’ll bring you back to this very ground. I’ll stick with you until I’ve done everything I promised you.” (Genesis 28:13-15)
Isaac and Jacob were sure of their relationship with God and that certainty was to ask the Lord to bless their children through them.
- Commit our lives to their best interests.
We need to do everything possible to help the one blessed be successful.
Wise parents will realize that each child has his or her own unique sets of interests, abilities and needs. We can spend years under the same roof with our spouse and children and not know the other person’s reals desires, needs, goals, hopes and fears. We need to take the time to understand the unique aspect of those we wish to bless.
- Expect to pay a price.
If you are serious about committing yourself to blessing those you love, expect to pay a price. Not in monetary terms necessarily. Rather think in terms of the time, energy, and effort you will need to invest to see the blessing become a reality in their lives.
It takes hard work to provide the blessing to another person. One day, perhaps years later; that blessing will return as your children, your spouse, the significant people in your life will rise up and bless you. What’s more, your joy at seeing another person bloom and grow because you have been committed to their best is a blessing in itself.
There’s one more thing to note to underline the importance of this principle of The Blessing in the significant relationships in our lives. I’m going to read two passages from the Gospel of Matthew:
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:13-17)
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:1-5)
In these two passages we see Father God blessing His Son, Jesus. The dove descends and lands on Jesus to convey the meaningful touch. Father God speaks over His Son and conveys a message of high value and a special future. Father God commits Himself to the fulfillment of the blessing in the life of His Son.
If it is that important for God to bless His Son in such a way, do you think this ought to be important enough for us to learn about and do in the significant relationship in our lives?
I hope you will do two things: Let God restore you to an intimate relationship with Him in Jesus the Messiah; and ask God to bless those you love through your commitment to Him and them.
Prayer of Response
Let’s pray:
Gracious God, our Heavenly Father, on this Father’s Day Sunday we acknowledge that our families have not always be sources of blessing.
Our prayer today is to first acknowledge and honour You, our Father God who blesses us like Jacob –
“I am God, the God of Abraham and of Isaac. . . . . All the families of the Earth will bless themselves in you and your descendants. Yes. I’ll stay with you, I’ll protect you wherever you go, and I’ll bring you back to this very ground. I’ll stick with you until I’ve done everything I promised you.”
In that confidence and faith, we pray for that blessing to flow to us and through us in Jesus, your Son, so that those we love will know its fulfillment.
Thank you, Jesus. AMEN.
Closing Hymn – “When It’s All Been Said and Done / Make Me a Blessing”
Don and Barb are going to lead us in our closing hymn. Please sing along.
Thank You
I want to thank you for letting me join you wherever you are to share in this time of worship and learning. I will continue posting these online services and messages until the last Sunday in June in order to complete our exploration of chapter 9 in the Book of Acts. We hope you will be able to join us on this exciting journey of faith and life in the Book of Acts.
Please consult our website or Facebook page for details about upcoming services and events.
Benediction – Adapted from Numbers 6:22-26
"May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace in your going out and in your coming in; in your lying down and in your rising up; in your labour and in your leisure; in your laughter and in your tears until you come to stand before Jesus in that day when there will be no sunset and no dawning."