May the blessed bless

“’I will bless you…. and you will be a blessing.’ The meaning is that the power of blessing is conveyed to us.  the  power of blessing is the power to draw more of the Light into the world, and this power is now in our hands.

                                                                Beatrice Bruteau

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it is everywhere

every where

every where

it is seen in the militant flag of Christ

it is heard in the words

“God bless us” (but not them)

it is present in the “power over” model of the church

where those in the pulpit manipulate and use

the people in the pews (or theater chairs, as the case may be)

it is in the attitude that God is for ME

God will bless ME

God will side with ME

Somehow we seem to think

that God works the way we people do

for us it is all about winning

controlling

overpowering

perhaps even

diminishing

but the sacred does not work the way we do

if Jesus taught us nothing us

he should have taught us that

and he was born in manger not a palace

as he taught in a field, not an auditorium

as he mingled with the poor not the affluent

as he entered Jerusalem on a donkey not a fiery steed

as he died on a cross

without resistance

Jesus repudiated the old way of power

and replaced it with the new way of power

love

and we haven’t gotten it

instead we sing about Christian Soldiers

and we act very much

as if Christ had never come

and taught

and broken bread

and washed feet

and died

we ooze arrogance

and judgment

and instead of making the world a better place

we often make it worse

more angry

more violent

less tolerant

less compassionate

but we can reclaim the gospel

we can reclaim the way of Jesus

the way of the beatitudes

the way of the cross

by simply changing our concept of power

and realizing the only true power

comes

when the blessed

bless