You Are Blessed!
What does it mean to live a blessed life?
by Ketan Alder
Suitable for Whole School (Sec)
Aims
To encourage us to recognize that God’s favour is distributed widely.
Preparation and materials
- None required.
Assembly
- From movie stars to musicians, from sports figures to influencers, we often regard money, fame and glamorous lifestyles as things that we should value. They capture our attention and set out one idea of a blessed life.
Blessed are the wealthy, for they own the coolest stuff.
Blessed are the glamorous, for everyone desires them.
Blessed are the influencers, for we want the life in their selfie.
If we had travelled from the past, we might think that they were our saints, living a blessed life. - Let’s unpack this a little. First, I’d like you to turn to one another and discuss what lifestyle and values you think of when you hear the term ‘blessed’.
Pause to allow time for discussion in pairs or small groups.
I would imagine that the word means something different to each of us. There is no right or wrong answer. - Historically, blessing something meant that someone was consecrating it, or making it holy. Later, the meaning shifted to a more general sense of making something happy, prosperous or fortunate, due to its similarity to the unrelated word ‘bliss’. Being blessed meant that someone was in good favour.
- In the sayings of Jesus, also called the Beatitudes, Jesus uses the term ‘blessed’ to indicate God’s favour. For example, in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus says, ‘Blessed are the poor.’ In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’
- Why is this idea of being blessed important? Well, Jesus isn’t saying that people should be happy if they’re poor, or happy if they’re in danger and constantly having to make peace.
Instead, he means that God’s gifts are with those people. Jesus walks with them. - So, apart from the poor and peacemakers, who else does God favour? In Matthew’s Gospel, the Beatitudes proclaim, ‘Blessed are the meek. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the clean of heart. Blessed are those who suffer persecution for justice’s sake.’
This might shock us. It can be easy to think that blessing or favour is beyond the reach of ordinary people. We might feel that the powerful, the privileged and those who live a life of celebrity are blessed or favoured. We might not think of ourselves in the same way. - However, Jesus’ teaching implies that he favours young people who may be finding classes difficult; who may feel unhappy or worried about the future; who are struggling with their mental health; who are worried about their grades or sports; who are suffering because of bullies; who have poor relationships with teachers; who face discrimination; or who are dealing with disadvantages. That puts a different perspective on life!
Time for reflection
At the start of the assembly, we considered what lifestyle and values we would regard as blessed nowadays. Jesus was talking within a very different culture and to a different audience from today. Yet his blessings contain possibilities for us all, in the present.
Let’s take a moment to reflect on this. What blessings do we see around us? Where do we think God’s favour is in our world?
Prayer (taken from the Beatitudes in Matthew 5.3-10)
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Amen.
