The Bible is full of stories of blessing, from the patriarchal blessing of children, to God's blessing of his people, Israel, to our text today. The central message of scripture seems to be wound around this theme; and it seems to some to be the main job of the church, of god's people, to offer blessings on his behalf.

Ask any pastor - so much of what we do involves the giving of blessings: from Sunday worship, to baptisms, weddings and funerals - people feel the need for blessing, especially at important crossroads of their life. Even thoroughly secular people feel this need. I don't know how many times I've been asked to offer a blessing over everything from graduations, to Rotary Club meetings, to Memorial Day celebrations. I've even been asked to bless people's homes - and their animals.

A blessing can be a powerful thing. God, we are told, blessed Abraham, and he became the father of our faith. The blessing caused him to leave the comfort of home to search out a new land and his promised heritage. He passed on that blessing to his son, Isaac, who passed it on to Jacob, who passed it on to Joseph, who passed it on as well, and the blessing grew in the passing, until it encompassed a whole people - until it informed the dreams and vision of a nation, and gave them a self-awareness that they were both blessed and chosen - until they, like their father Abraham before them, left the home of their ancestors to seek the place promised to Abraham.

The blessing was passed on - until it became our blessing, announced in water and Word, in bread and in wine. These are the instruments of our blessing, and they are powerful. Paul says, in Ephesians 1:3,4:

Before the advent of time, he says, God determined that you were to be his own, that all that he has would be yours, that you should be his holy, special child, the object of his affection and love. This is the gift of your baptism - the sign of your blessing. Who could ever imagine such a thing, except that it comes from the mouth of God himself.

It is an amazing thing to be so blessed. Have you ever had someone who put a blessing over your life, who held, for you, a vision of what you might be, who told you that you were special and loved, who held up an image of God dwelling within you? Such a blessing is a special and rare thing. But God himself has told us this - in our baptism, when we hear his voice calling us into our life in Christ, in those waters where we are born again of the Spirit, where we are told that we are God's child - special to him; and also in the eucharist, when we eat and drink his flesh and blood, when our life is united to his and to one another's, when he tells us that his future, his life, and all the gifts of eternity are ours. God himself speaks to us in such a way, to so bless us not only with his presence, but with his life. To be blessed as we have been blessed is a wondrous thing.

But there is another part to being blessed. Abraham received his blessing only in giving it away. As he passed it on to his son, Isaac, the blessing not only remained alive in him, but also grew - it extended itself. And as Isaac passed it on, it continued growing - until it encompassed a whole people. And even Israel was called to extend the blessing, to become a light to the nations - that the blessing might continue to grow and bless them. That is always true of blessings - we cannot hold them for ourselves, or they become like stale wine. It is in the giving away of the blessing that we are most deeply blessed. That is true of the blessing Paul speaks of today as well - our blessing - it is in giving it away that it continues to grow in us. That is the nature of a blessing - it is not merely ours to keep, like a thing which we can put on a shelf and admire. It only works in the giving away of it to others.

Here at St. Andrew, I think we have found that out - at least I suspect so, since we call ourselves "The Caring Church." In caring for others, in blessing them with God's love, given through these human hands, through this congregation, we find our own blessing. And I think that is one reason why this church is growing as it is. God has blessed us mightily - that we know. Those who founded this church, who struggled to keep the doors open in its early days, desired to pass God's blessing on to you, and to those who come after you. And you have caught their vision - the vision of a caring church, a church that is a blessing to not only those who are members, but also to the community that surrounds us; you have remained faithful to that vision, so that God has blessed us.

Have you blessed another? It is a wonderful thing to be the vehicle of God's blessing. It is a wonderful gift that God gives to us, to be able to be blessing-givers. God tells us that the gift he gives his people is to see the world through his eyes, to see the possibilities that lie in a human life, to be able to see what a human life, or a community, may be - to see the Kingdom of God in possibility. Have you ever held up before a person a mirror of God's grace, to help them see what possibilities God is opening for their life, to help them see what they might become, to help them see themselves through the loving eyes of God? Have you been a blessing-giver?

Today we bless God for all that he has done for us - blessing, you see, is also a two-way street between us and God. God blesses us, but we also have the privilege of blessing God. Paul begins this section saying: "Blessed be the God and Father of us all…." So today it is also our privilege to bless God for his goodness to us. We wish for him that his kingdom may come into our hearts, and that his will may be done, both in his church and in our hearts. We wish for him hearts that are open and eyes that will see him at work in the world. We bless him for his work - gathering, sanctifying and enlightening his people. And we pray that he may make us instruments of his grace and mercy.

Finally, blessing take place in a real place and in a real time. Today, as the forefathers of our faith did, we will dedicate a place of blessing. Today, as we dedicated a piece of ground as a worship area, we remember how Moses removed his sandals in God's presence and declared that he was on holy ground; we remember how David danced before the Arc of the Tabernacle in the streets of Jerusalem; we remember how the prophets set up altars, consecrating places where people might find blessing. Today we bless God, thanking him for what we have received, and for what we will receive from his hand. We ask that we may be faithful to our blessing - to our baptism - to the grace that has been offered there to us. May his blessing be upon us, opening our hearts to one another and to those around us, and opening our eyes to see him at work around and within us. Like the patriarchs of the faith, like the people of Israel, like the apostles and saints before us, may his blessing cause us to search for a new home - a new kingdom - the Kingdom of God - where at last our hearts may rest in his everlasting blessing. Amen.