The Renovating Reverend

I’m blogging during my lunch hour, today. It’s cold and flu season in cubicle land, here at work. With sneezing going on all around, I often hear people say “Bless you!” Sure, it’s meant as anything from an expression of goodwill to a full blown religious statement, but the concept has always seemed just a little odd to me, nonetheless. It sounds as though we feel God won’t bless someone unless we wish it, or as if God’s blessing hasn’t already been poured out on a person. Odd, when viewed this way, isn’t it?

When I first heard the Wiccan or Neo-Pagan parting expression “Blessed be”, it made me think–not just because of the old English word order in the expression, but because of the slightly different shade of meaning this word order can convey. Just as the Christian scripture encourages followers of Jesus to “pray without ceasing,” to be aware of our constant connection to the Divine, I find the traditional Pagan expression “Blessed be” to be a reminder that God is in us, with us, and for us. In other words, it is a reminder to behave as if we are blessed, as if we are in God’s presence. After all, if we know that we are already blessed by God, already welcome to a constant, loving connection with the Divine, then we should let that fact sink deeply into our hearts and minds, so deeply that we live out the blessing in our daily lives.

The next time you hear someone say, “God bless you,” may you be reminded that you don’t have to wait for the blessing. You are already blessed, already welcome to live each moment in the loving presence of the Creator.

Blessed be.