First the Blessing (Matthew 5: 1-12)

My friend Milia Islam-Majeed is a very busy person.  As the executive director of SCIC, the South Coast Interfaith Council, she always seems to have ten plates that she’s trying to keep spinning in the air.  Since I served three years on the interfaith council’s board of directors, I got well-acquainted with the many programs and events hosted or sponsored by SCIC, and Milia is the one ultimately responsible for making sure they all take place.
Some of those programs include Religion 101 educational forums, summer Interfaith Cafes, several big banquets each year, a number of interfaith concerts and celebrations, beach cleanups, and an interfaith bike ride.  Programs of the interfaith council include Centro Shalom, the Harbor Area Farmers Markets, Good Samaritan Counseling Center, the Long Beach Religious Leaders Association, CROP Hunger Walks, the Environmental Priorities Network, and Congregational Athletic leagues.  In addition, SCIC partners with numerous other programs and events, like the California Conference for Equality and Justice, Habitat for Humanity build days, and so much more.  And, of course, there are the interfaith worship services, like the one we hosted here at Bixby Knolls Christian Church last fall.
One of Milia’s primary responsibilities is securing both funding and volunteers to make all these programs happen.  I have received many emails from Milia asking for my help, especially when I was on the board of directors, and usually, emails that are asking me to do something are not ones that I look forward to.
But I always look forward to Milia’s emails.  Usually, I know even before I open them that she’s asking me to help out in some way, and those are the kind of emails that I normally don’t open with much eagerness.  But Milia’s emails, I do look forward to opening.
Why is that?  Why do I look forward to opening her emails even when I know that they are going to ask something of me?
Because her emails always start with a blessing.
Something like, “Dear Danny, I hope this day is going well for you and your family,” or, “Dear Danny, I hope this day is filled with blessings for you,”  or “Dear Danny, thank you for all you’ve done and all you do on behalf of the interfaith movement.”  The sentiment is real.  It’s sincere.  And it is always very welcome.
And, usually, as a result, I’m all too happy to say yes to whatever it is she’s asking of me; in fact, I look forward to the opportunity to say yes.  All because of a kind word or two.
In the gospel according to Matthew, Jesus goes up on a hill and preaches a sermon to his disciples and the crowds that followed him.  It’s known as the Sermon on the Mount, and in Matthew’s gospel it stretches out over three chapters.
Jesus says a lot of important things in the Sermon on the Mount; things like, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  Things like, “love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.”  Things like, “this is how you should pray:  ‘Our Father, who art in heaven…’”  All these teachings, and so much more, are a part of the Sermon on the Mount.
These teachings are the heart and soul of a life of faith.  And not just Christian faith.  It is said that Gandhi found the Sermon on the Mount to be such an important guide to faithful living that he read it every day.
With these teachings, Jesus asked a lot of the crowds that followed him … and he asks a lot of us today.  An awful lot.
But when Jesus started his sermon, what did he do?
He started with a blessing.  Before he asked anything of the people, he gave them a blessing.
The crowds who gathered to hear Jesus were poor in spirit.  They were worn out by Roman oppression and the hardships of life.
Jesus said: blessed are the poor in spirit.
The crowds who gathered to hear Jesus were in mourning.  They mourned the loss of their land, their property, their nation; all of this had been taken over by Rome.  And, in many cases, they mourned the loss of family members as well.
Jesus said: blessed are those who mourn.
The crowds longed for the world to be put right again.  They hungered and thirsted for this right-ness.
Jesus said:  blessed are those who hunger and thirst for what is right.
Because Rome was so powerful, the people were made meek in comparison.
Jesus said: blessed are the meek.
And then he said:  “You, my friends – yes, you, meek and poor as you are – YOU are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.”
For Jesus, these blessings come before the instructions, before the admonishments, before the teaching.  They certainly come before the correction and the pointing out of sins.  In fact, if you read scripture, you’ll notice that Jesus’s harshest criticism is directed at those who insist on pointing out other people’s sins without offering them any sort of blessing…
The blessings come first, because they express God’s love and kindness and compassion.  Everything else that comes from God flows out of this: it all flows out of God’s love, God’s kindness, and God’s compassion.
It all flows out of the fact that, as a child of God, you are blessed.
And perhaps the best thing we can do for one another is remind one another that we are blessed.
Because it is so easy to forget; and the reminders are few and far between.
Every time you communicate with another person, you have the opportunity to offer a blessing.
Every time you greet someone at home:  when you walk in the door or when your parent or your sibling or your child walks in the door, you have the opportunity to offer a blessing.
Every time you speak to a friend, a classmate, or a co-worker, you have the opportunity to offer a blessing.
Every time you get online, and post a comment or send an email, you have the opportunity to offer a blessing.
And what a rare thing that is.
Because usually, the first word of greeting we receive and the first word of greeting we give is not a word of greeting.
It’s more along the lines of, “Where have you been?”  “Why aren’t your chores done?”  “What is wrong with you?”
And the emails we get are more along the lines of, “dude, you messed up.”  It’s so easy to get riled up and fire off an email to someone and criticize them or complain to them about something they did and tear them apart for a mistake they made.  We do it all the time.
And sometimes, what happens is even worse.
We know about bullying in schools, and bullying online, and such things are very real.
And for many people, their workplace is a place where they are constantly degraded as a human being, a place where they are constantly told that their work is never fast enough, come on, come on, you’ve gotta work faster, you’ve gotta be more efficient, because if not, there’s a whole stack of applicants just waiting to take your place.
And yeah, maybe some of us do need to be motivated to work faster and stop being so lazy.  Right?
But even more than that, we need a blessing.
Now, maybe this isn’t a problem for you, but I know it’s something I need to practice.  I will skip over the blessing and go straight to the criticism, the admonishment, the complaint.  If there is work to be done, and other people are involved, I’ll jump right in, and forget to offer a blessing or even a greeting.
At least, until I get an email from Milia.  Or a kind word from a friend.  Or a thank you note.  Then I remember.  And I vow, once again, to be better at offering a blessing to others, first, before anything else.
And I remember how Jesus, with all the important things he had to do, and all the important things he had to say… he started with a blessing.
We underestimate the value of a kind word or blessing.  Really, such things are probably the most underestimated things in our society, because they are in fact so powerful.  They are so easy to neglect.
I mean, when you’re tired and standing in the checkout line at the grocery store, and the person ringing you up is tired and just wants to finish their shift and go home, it’s so easy to say only what’s essential… “I have a coupon… I brought my own bags… please check the price on that…” but the most important thing we could say, the most essential thing, is a word of blessing.  Even if it’s nothing more than “Good afternoon.”
And when you’re a patrol leader, and it’s time for KP, and you need to get the new scouts in your patrol to do the camp dishes, it’s so easy to say only what’s essential… “you’re doing it wrong… you missed a spot… why are you running off, you haven’t finished yet!”  …but maybe you could start with a blessing.  Maybe you could start with something positive.  Something like, “I’m sure glad my patrol got the best new scouts in it!  Here, let me show you how we do KP…”
Just try it and see how much difference a blessing can make.