I’m glad you are here! Receiving and giving blessings
photo on Unsplash by Erika Giraud
This blog is dedicated to our 2HC 2023-2024 cohort, but we invite all our readers to listen in! For ten months we have slowed our pace and grown in friendship. We’ve explored how to integrate vibrant communion with God, authentic community, and sustainable mission. At the end of last year’s cohort, our 2HC facilitators shared blessings for cohort members: To be still, and still moving: second-half of life blessings. In this blog, we do something similar, although our 2HC facilitators also share stories of receiving blessings. But first, let us share some reflections on what it means to bless others, as described by Ronald Rolheiser in his book Sacred Fire: A Vision for a Deeper Human and Christian Maturity. [i]
Rolheiser writes that the crowning glory of mature discipleship[ii] is the capacity and the willingness to bless others, just as God does. God did this at creation in an original blessing when he looked on all that he had done and saw that it was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). At the baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:17), God also spoke words of blessing over and delight in Jesus. Rolheiser notes that these words spoken over Jesus could be rendered, “This is my blessed child, in him I take delight!” He also notes that “the concept captured inside the English verb ‘to bless’ takes its meaning from the Latin benedicere, literally meaning ‘to speak well of’ (as in bene – meaning well or good, and dicere – meaning to speak).”
Rolheiser offers three components of a blessing.
As seeing someone with a gaze of true recognition, in “such a way that he or she, in word or in body language, says, ‘I am glad you are here! You bring something special into my life! You are not a threat but a delight in my life.’”
As speaking well of someone, experiencing his or her presence and energy as a gift and expressing in words (as well as in body language and attitudes) our pride and delight.
As giving away some of our life so that someone else can have more life. “To bless another person fully is to give away some of one’s own life so that another might be more resourced for his or her journey.”
Thank God, you are here!
Several years ago, my wife (Joan) read about a Benedictine greeting. When receiving a visitor at their home or monastery, they greet the visitor who knocks on the door with a hearty, “Thank God, you’re here!” At the time we were living on a small 10-acre campus with international students and refugees who were studying at local institutions. We decided we would start greeting new students and residents in our International House with the Benedictine exclamation, “Thank God, you’re here, we’re so happy to meet you!”
Their smiles warmed our hearts, and the greeting postured our souls in deep gratitude for the new person joining our international community. Something happened in us as well – we sensed God showing us how much he longs for us to receive the “Thank God, you’re here” exclamation from Him! I now imagine Him saying that to me when I sit in silence, in solitude, and in fellowship with him – it so warms my heart and brings a smile to my face!
As I reflect on this cohort, and the 10 months we’ve had together, I can only say, “Thank God, you’re here!” Thank God, you heard His voice to join the journey, the adventure into the depths of our souls. Thank God, you blessed us with your presence and shared with us the presence of God “presencing” Himself in you. And thank God, we are now walking on the journey together as we live from inside-out in Christ. ~ by Ed McManness
You are a delight in my life!
Ronald Rolheiser's phrasing, "You are not a threat but a delight in my life," makes me wince, as I think of how frequently I have felt threatened by the strengths of others—by strengths I could have experienced as a "delight in my life" if only my ego-mechanism wasn't so busy comparing myself to them. But that wince transforms into a warm, reflective glance upward as I remember when a particular 2HC cohort member went out of his way to send me a message and have a face-to-face conversation to affirm the "teaching gift" he saw in me. How was he so unthreatened? How was he able so open-handedly to bless me without feeling like something was being taken away from him in the process? I suppose he was in touch with God's non-zero-sum economy in a way that I am marveling at in this moment. Thank you, dear friend, both for the kind words and for inspiring me to bless others as you have blessed me. ~ by Andrew Richey
Welcomed in
Years into our time in a South Asian city, a friend named Akhlaq—whose name means “virtue”—invited me to his ancestral home. I helped his family pick and pack mangoes from their mango orchard at harvest time for the vegetable market. At first, the larger family was leery of me, having never had an outsider join in this very family affair. But over time—picking mangoes from the trees, hammering nails to make a crate (and sometimes hitting my thumb!), laughing as I learned the 17 ways to eat mangoes—I was welcomed in. The vulnerability of sleeping on a charpoy with a stranger, sharing proverbs, and the grace of an extended silence were all gifts. I've felt much the same way during this 2HC cohort. Warm welcome when we met near Chicago. Deep sharing in virtual Campfires. Comfortable silences that honor shared experiences. Interceding for each other and our kids. We have gathered around shared orchards to harvest grace and companionship as we journey together into our second halves. I bless you on your journey with courage and love. ~ by Dano
May extravagant love pour into you to overflowing!
What an honor and joy to meet every one of you in person in Illinois! I have such wonderful and warm memories of that week we spent together. Our Campfire times have been rich and wonderful, and I have so appreciated the openness to God and vulnerability in our sacred times together. The stories of your lives have ministered to me beyond words. You are all forever friends. I was praying in Ephesians 4 for the whole 2HC cohort on the day that I was asked to write a blessing. I cannot think of a better blessing than this: I pray that the “life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life…that you would be empowered to discover…the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions…deeply intimate and far-reaching…enduring and inclusive…endless beyond measurement…transcending understanding…and that this extravagant love would pour into you until you are FILLED to overflowing with the fullness of God.” Bless you to overflowing, BELOVED 2HC family! ~ by Carol Weaver
I have been spreading news of your goodness far and wide!
When my wife Cindy and I were in Indonesia, we hired a woman who worked for us on weekdays to help with shopping for food and cooking our meals. But “Mrs. Ray” (as we called her) gave to us many other intangible blessings, as we would grow to understand. After Mrs. Ray reached her 25th year working together with us, Cindy sat down with her to reminisce, with the help of questions she had prepared to draw out their story together. Cindy shares, “I asked, ‘Help me remember how our friendship across cultures grew so rich in love and respect!’ At the close of this wonderful three-hour conversation, we stretched in our chairs and smiled and were quiet. We were done… or so I thought!
Suddenly, it seemed that Mrs. Ray desired to tell me something very important. Her face changed. It was as if she was weighing whether to speak or not. I gave her my full attention. Then she revealed to me a stunning secret.
She said, ‘You foreigners arrive with good intention, and you think by working hard that you will bring change. But there is something you don’t understand: You don’t need to strive for leadership influence— I have provided it for you! Have you ever wondered why you have been successful in places you had not cultivated? It is because all this time, while you have been loving and honoring me in this smaller, personal context, I have been spreading news of your goodness far and wide! Your good name is a pleasant fragrance upon the breeze. This is why you are warmly welcomed in places you’ve never been before.’
I was speechless, absolutely stunned at her generosity, and humbled too.
I realized that this faithful woman friend was the sponsor of my good name, and as such, she was the sponsor of my success.”
So, dear 2HC friends, allow me to spread news of your goodness and honesty and faithfulness over these ten months. Thank you for what you have given me! May doors be opened to you, friendships strengthened, and your belovedness calling be continually renewed! May the Lord give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed (Psalm 20:4)! ~ by Jamey (and Cindy) Lewis
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[i] Ronald Rolheiser, Sacred Fire: A Vision for a Deeper Human and Christian Maturity. New York: Image, 2014, pp. 211-242.
[ii] Rolheiser distinguishes “mature discipleship” (defined as “the struggle to give our lives away”) from an earlier stage of faith that he calls “essential discipleship” (defined as “the struggle to get our lives together”). This stage of “mature discipleship” fits in many ways what we long for our lives in the second half of life as we remain active in mission. Rolheiser also briefly describes a final stage, “radical discipleship,” which he defines as “the struggle to give our deaths away.”
