September 6 — Psalm 128

“Happy is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways. You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD. The LORD bless you from Zion. May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. May you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!”

I’m so blessed.”

We hear this phrase often in our culture. In fact, we hear it so often I am not sure that it means the same thing for every person. I am not so sure that it’s a genuine feeling. In other words, I wonder what exactly it means to be blessed. For instance, you rarely hear people use this phrase when they are enduring severe health issues or a family tragedy. In most instances, to say that we are blessed simply means it is just another word for happy. It’s a word that we use to describe the feeling of getting more than we expected. Again, the issue is not the usage of the word, but rather, how we don’t use the word. You see, if we fear and love the Lord, yet, struggle with some kind of suffering, are we still blessed?

The Hebrew word translated blessed is bârak. We are literally commanded to bârak, to bless the Lord. This Hebrew words means we are to kneel in adoration. So, understood in its original context, the person who fears and loves the Lord should bless the Lord through our worship — which we do with gladness. The blessing will be found in the act of worship. Let that sink in. Bowing low to our Lord IS the blessing, which we return to the Lord because the Lord has blessed us.

In this case, it is right to conclude that prosperity leads to happiness which leads to worship. Suffering leads to joy which also leads to worship. The common denominator is blessing the Lord. The blessing itself is found in the act of our souls bowing to our Lord in humble adoration. The blessed understand how the Lord has blessed us, and as such we offer our blessings in return, through worship and praise and prayer.

Let us Pray:

Gracious God, giver of life in its fullness, you take no pleasure in human want but intend your bounty to be shared among your children. Let your church be a fruitful vine, raising up sons and daughters who care for others and cherish the earth, for the sake of our children’s children; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

September 5 — Psalm 127

“Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved. Sons are indeed a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them. He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.”

“Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.”

Psalm 127 reminds us to reflect on the type of work we do and why. A lot of understanding is wrapped up in these few words. In the Christian tradition, we have seen it expressed as the great debate on the nature of grace, the debate between faith and works. Catholics, Lutherans and others now say together that G-d’s grace is the beginning of everything, but that we people are called to respond to G-d’s invitation by doing the works of G-d. Grace is not reliant upon how much we do, but Grace is what we respond to every day through our works. In is a response to the immense love G-d has for all. So yes, the Lord builds the house but, as the psalmist recognizes, there is a human laborer involved, as well. That would be you or me.

So what is our labor? What house are we building? The most important work for any of us would be developing relationships — our relationship with G-d and our relationship with our neighbors, both formed and founded in G-d’s love, which we then labor, build, cultivate and nurture. It is in our families, in our relationships with friends and neighbors, where we see the work we do bring forth blessings for the Lord. It is here where we are called, simply yet profoundly, to love one another. That is the most important work we can do for the Lord.

Let us Pray:

O God, you made your home with us in Jesus, your beloved child. May our earthly households be built on the rock of your steadfast love, that our work and our rest, our times together and our times alone, may be centered in you and enjoy your blessing; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.