This morning, I wanted to talk to you all about a very important topic. As most of you can guess, I am classified generationally as a millennial. And while millennials are often blamed for whatever ails society, millennials also have lots of really awesome things to offer to society.
One of those really awesome things is hashtagging. Hashtagging is something you should know about. So, if you know what hashtagging is, awesome. If not, here is a brief overview: on social media sites online (like facebook, twitter, or Instagram), the pound sign (or hash) turns a word or group of words that immediately follow it into a searchable link. This allow people to organize content and track discussion content based on those keywords. So if you wanted to post about an episode of Game of Thrones, you would include #gameofthrones in your tweet to join in the conversation. Simultaneously, you can click on a hashtag to see all the posts that mention the subject in real time.
And while the hashtag as a practical use of organizing content, a lot of people actually use it more like footnotes, or another way of making some additional comments. For example: If I posted a picture online of me and my family and the beach, I might caption it “Family Vacation” followed by #fun #toesinthesand
In fact there is one hashtag in particular that has been trending a lot lately—the people using this hashtag often do awesome stuff, like going to the spa, walking white tiger cubs on leashes as pets, sharing tapas with Oprah, all under the same hashtag?
What could the common denominator be? Any guesses?
#blessed
This hashtag has become the go-to way to talk about all the ways in which life is going well.
In fact, I did a little research. As of Saturday afternoon, there were 77, 077, 841 posts using #blessed.
Here are some of the most recent posts on Instagram with #blessed:
“We skied in speedos and got matching scratches. #tryguys #ski #snow #blessed”
“Nothing like gamedays boy! I’ll tell ya! Another opportunity. #preseasongame2 #dallasvlosangeles #cowboysnation #blessed”
“On Thursdays we go sightseeing! #sightseeing #exploring #love #somuchlove #blessed.”
Over the past 10 years, “being blessed” has become a full-fledged phenomenon here in America. Drivers can choose between the standard, mass-produced “Jesus is Lord” novelty license plate or adding “Blessed” to it for $16.99 in tasteful aluminum. We see Americans getting “blessed” tattooed on their bodies. We see Americans boast about how well their doing on Thanksgiving when we see #blessed on their Twiiter.
Now, I don’t want to hate against these people that are posting about these exciting things that are happening in their lives, but I do want to suggest that somewhere along the way, we might have forgotten the deep meaning of what it means to be blessed. What does it mean to be blessed?
And as we have been exploring this series on the Psalms, it turns out that they might have something to offer us as we think through what it means to be blessed.
As we have been talking about all throughout this series, the Psalms functioned among the Israelites as the ancient prayer book of the temple—filled with prayers for all occasions—lament, thanksgiving, and praise, used in the communal setting of worship. The Psalm we read this morning in particular is a psalm of thanksgiving and praise that uses some of that “blessing” language and beckons us to think about what that means.
Our Psalm starts out this morning by saying, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me.” The Psalmist then follows by listing all these benefits, these wonderful attributes of the Lord.
The Lord forgives all our sins, redeems our lives from the Pit, heals us from all our diseases, crowns us with steadfast love and mercy, and satisfies us with good as long as we live.
And if you’re like me, you might wrestle a little bit with this statement. There are times in which we experience goodness and healing, but what about when we don’t? Does that mean we aren’t getting something right? How are we to understand this?
The truth is that this kind of thinking and dilemma gave way to what is known as the prosperity gospel. Prosperity gospel thinking originated as an offshoot of Pentecostalism during WWII. And while it started in local congregations and tent revivals, it gained a larger following with the rise of radio and television, and became firmly entrenched during the 1980s with the rise of “televangelism.” The prosperity gospel claims that as faith increases, so will health and wealth. Health and wealth are the automatic divine right of all Bible-believing Christians. Today, some of the best-known prosperity teachers are T.D. Jakes and Joel Osteen.
And while I’m sure those men are sincere in their faith, the truth is that type of thinking is dangerous and hurtful. It is true that Jesus game for us to live life and live it abundantly—but that abundant life that Jesus longs for us to have is independent of circumstances. A diagnosis of cancer, a stock-market crash, a child’s rebellion cannot diminish the abundant life that we have in Christ—that abundance is found in grace God continually offers as a free gift.
Pain-free lives are NOT God’s reward for the righteous. Jesus said we would experience pain in this life, and frequently, Christ asks us to do things that are hard and difficult. This thought of thinking that we will live pain free has undermined the ability of the church to deal with pain and suffering—it becomes hard to express our pain and often times, we as the church don’t like to make room for that. We find it easier to hand over the microphone to those who have stories about God’s healing, while those who continue to suffer are shamed into to silence.
Healing story from healing homiletic.*** Or my own healing story from college**Or just simply mentioning that I am standing behind the pulit because my knee is in pain.
And is this what blessing is? Something only some of us are fortunate to experience? Something we have to be perfect to earn?
The word “blessed” is a loaded term because it blurs the distinction between two very different categories: gift and reward. It can also be a term of pure gratitude, which is how we see it today in the Psalm we have read. In fact, the Hebrew word for “bless” is barak. And in this particular Psalm, it means “to bless God” or “to adore with bended knee.” It is an action verb, and it is something that the Psalmist is offering to God—thanksgiving. “Thank you God, I could not have secured this for myself.” But sometimes we when talk about blessings and we post our #blessed captions, they end looking more like something we think we deserve: “Thank you, me. For being the kind of person who gets it right.”
And these things feel terrible to look at, which is probably why a lot of folks are annoyed by and make fun of the #blessed tag.
There is this book that was recently turned into a movie you’ve probably heard of called “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” The story follows an ordinary 11 yr. old named Alexander and a particularly bad day he was having. In the beginning, we discover that he feels left out by his older brother, older sister, baby brother, and parents. That morning, as they are sitting around the breakfast table, it seems like everything is going right for everyone except for Alexander. Let’s take a look:
Movie clip.
We all know that feeling, when it feels like other people are excelling and we are not. Or when people like to speak about being #blessed as a sort of humble-brag. But the truth is, this is not what it means to be #blessed.
Even though we often want our good works and good deeds to earn us favor with God, the reality is that we ALL are the recipients of God’s blessing—the unmerited gift of goodness and grace.
The blessing we receive from God is not something we earn. In fact, the Psalm we read today mentions that that is something for us to be immensely grateful for, that is, that God does not deal with us according to our iniquities.
God doesn’t deal with us according to our sin. God doesn’t deal with us according to our merit. God only deals with us in goodness. Like a loving parent, God offers us that steadfast love. That word “steadfast” comes from the Hebrew word cased, meaning “faithfulness.” This love doesn’t end. God longs for us to taste and see it and seeks to renew our lives in goodness by extending that everlasting love, day after day, week after week, year after year, and heck, God will even do us one better and remember that we are dust that we are mortal for this life, so God will extend that love into eternity and invite us to be a part of it. This is what it means to be #blessed. To know that amidst our sickness and disease, amidst our grief and pain, amidst our stress and addiction, amidst it all, there is a God extending love to you that isn't contingent upon you having your stuff together. But that love, oh that love longs to make you whole and healed—not that everything would magically fall into place and be better, but that your soul would be at peace. Blessing is God’s grace and goodness.
And God extends this blessing to everyone—offering unique care for those that are marginalized and oppressed. Our Psalm today says, “The Lord works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.”
Jesus, too, speaks of blessing and grace acting uniquely for the marginalized and oppressed. In fact, if Jesus had an Instagram and posted his sermon on the mount to it, it might sound something like this:
#blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven;
#blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.
#blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth,
#blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled,
#blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy,
#blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.
#blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God
#blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
#blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
My friends, we are people who are blessed that are called to look out for the blessed among us, particularly those blessed saints that are oppressed and persecuted.
And particularly on this morning, the mantle of preaching feels heavy. Friday night at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, hundreds of white nationals marched with lit torches chanting, “You will not replace us.” Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia, a “Unite the Right” rally was held at the site of the statue of Robert E. Lee the city had recently voted to dismantle. Those present protesting its removal were white nationalists, neo Nazis, and members of the KKK, and these groups clashed with counter protestors including anti-fascists groups and Black Lives Matter activists. The visuals were disturbing as Nazi symbols intermingled with Confederate flags. Video footage shows counter protestors and protestors brawling in the streets. Just as things were calming down, a white nationalist plowed his car into a crowd of counter protestors, killing one person, and injuring at least 19 others.
My friends, Unite the Right with its conviction that white nationalists need to take the country back sits not only on the wrong side of history, but also on the wrong side of the gospel. Bearing Nazi flags, the symbol of an evil dictatorship that killed more than six million Jews, countless Romani people, homosexuals, and others they deemed inferior, is taking our country back to the lynching days, the burning cross, hate crimes—not forward to the vision of freedom from violence and hate our God longs for us to know intimately.
When we come to the waters of our baptism, we promise to “renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of our sins.” We accept the freedom and power God gives us to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves,” and we “promise to serve Jesus as our Lord, in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations and races.”
Our calling as children of God who receive God’s blessing (that is God’s grace and goodness) is to extend it and to especially work to be an ally with those who are marginalized. What happened in Charlottesville is a result of the persistent sins of racism and fear that the church has chosen to remain silent about for far too long. And we as the church today can no longer be silent.
We have to name this for what it is. Discrimination in all forms is sin—because we are all united in Christ, who crosses all boundaries of race, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, socioeconomic status. The letter to the Galatians reminds us, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”
And how do we unite amidst the middle of this? We pray. We listen to people who have different opinions. We listen to people who have been marginalized. We listen to people who look different from us and have different stories. We wake up each day asking how to serve and love our neighbor
We are a #blessed people that receive the steadfast love of the lord from everlasting to everlasting. And we are blessed to extend blessing, to extend God’s grace and mercy. Our God redeems our lives from the Pit and renews us with goodness, as the hands and feet of Christ, as the church, may we seek to do the same. May God’s blessing sanctify us, giving us the courage and wisdom to stand against evil and hate, giving us the words and deeds that encourage, inspire, and heal. May God’s blessing pave the path to peaceful and life-giving action. May God’s blessing bring unity and clarity. May God’s blessing bring about peace and community- a community richer for its diversity, a community in which we listen to and lift up one another, a community that recognizes and rejects fear and division, a community that seeks to move forward together rather than backwards in fragmented discord. May God’s blessing bring forgiveness for the injustices we do to one another.
We are all God's children. We are all our brothers' and sisters' keepers. We are all #blessed, and for that, may we be grateful