At the outset of the new civil year, let us recall the ancient priestly blessing, the great expression of hope and grace that transforms us into “name bearers” of God. The blessing of the LORD guards us from illusion, directing our hearts to focus on what matters most; His radiance changes us, revealing the miracle of grace. As God “lifts up his face,” he discloses his Presence within all things, and imparts to us his healing peace. God’s Name is “put upon” us so that we become vessels that carry redemptive love and healing to the world. We are endowed with divine energy to be made fruitful; we are empowered to serve God in the truth. The consciousness of our blessedness touches every moment, and we begin to see all of life as sanctified, sacred, full of wonder and meaning.
Note that the text of this great “priestly blessing” (i.e., birkat kohanim) begins with three words, is comprised of three parts, invokes the divine Name three times, and is therefore quite appropriately called “the three-in-one blessing.” Note further that each of the three phrases begins with the Hebrew letter Yod (י), suggesting the threefold hand of YHVH (יהוה) that touches you: the Father blesses you (יְבָרֶכְךָ); the Word of God shines upon you (יָאֵר), and the Spirit of God lifts you up and carries you in the way of life (יִשָּׂא). The threefold blessing is One, of course, just as Adonai echad: יְהוָה אֶחָד, the LORD is One (Deut. 6:4), and the essence of the blessing is to partake of healing and wholeness as expressed in the Hebrew word shalom (שָׁלוֹם). Amen. Without oseh shalom, without peace made within our hearts, any other blessings are only apparent and without substance…
It is tragic that so many people go about their lives as if God doesn’t exist… Instead of soberly acknowledging that their days are numbered in this world, they subconsciously assume they will live forever, and they steadfastly ignore any idea of judgment to come. Yeshua warned us, however, that “nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light” (Mark 4:22). We should tremble before such words. Each of us will give account for what we have done with the time given us (Heb. 9:27; 2 Cor. 5:10; Matt. 12:36). Moses therefore prayed to God: “Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Each soul is given a finite amount of time in this world, and therefore Moses asked God to teach us how to live in light of our ultimate end… For this we need wisdom, which primarily consists of knowledge of the holy (דַעַת קְדשִׁים) and the experience of the awe of the LORD (יִרְאַת יְהוָה, Prov. 9:10). Note then the connection between learning to “number our days” and apprehending the sacredness of life. As we learn to esteem our days, so we discover wisdom for our sojourn to eternity. Reflecting on the brevity of life awakens us to consciously reflect upon the course of our lives and to distill the ultimate concerns of our hearts.
The Book of Lamentations is an acrostic (i.e., alphabetical) poem that begins with the Hebrew letter Aleph (א) in the word “eichah” (אֵיכָה), which also marks the Hebrew name of the book. “How (eichah) lonely sits the city that once was full of people!” (Lam. 1:1). The sages note that this word “how” (i.e., eichah) could also be read as “where are you?” (i.e., ayeka: אַיֶּכָּה), God’s first word spoken to Adam after he broke covenant in the Garden (Gen. 3:9). Note that God’s question is often our own: “Where are you? Where are you, God? Are you here, in the midst of this tedious moment? Do you know my loneliness, my ache for love? Do you understand the troubles of my heart?” And yet how many people have faith that God’s call is one of comfort and restoration? God uses our loneliness (“how lonely…”) to search our hearts, asking each of us, ayeka – “Where are you?” “Why have you turned away from me and chosen a state of exile?” Our haunting sense of God’s absence impels us to seek for him… God awaits our only possible response, “Hashivenu!” — an imperative (urgent appeal) for the grace to repent: “Turn us back to yourself, O LORD, so that we may return to you; renew our days as of old” (Lam. 5:21).
Though the world system corrupts the message of the birth of Messiah for the sake of avarice and greed, take a moment to reflect on its ongoing spiritual significance, namely, that God emptied Himself (κένωσις) of His regal glory and power to become your Savior and High Priest, able to fully sympathize with your weakness, frailty, shame, and chronic sinfulness (Heb. 4:15-16; Phil 2:7-8). Almighty God, the Presence of Love, the Heart of Reality, clothed himself in human flesh and bone to become Immanu’el (עִמָּנוּ אֵל) – “God with us” – so that we could be touched by Him, healed by Him, and redeemed by Him… In light of this, it is only fitting we should join the refrain of heavenly host: “Glory to God in the highest, and upon earth peace, good will among all people!” (Luke 2:14). Amen! Yeshua is the Eternal Sign and Wonder of the LORD God Almighty…
Surely our great need is to have heart, to find strength, resolution, and steadfast determination to walk boldly during these heartless and depraved days (2 Tim. 3:1-5). We are not without God’s help, of course. Yeshua told us that the Ruach HaKodesh (רוּחַ הַקּדֶשׁ) would be “called alongside” (παράκλητος) to comfort us on the journey. The English verb “comfort” literally means “to give strength” (from com- [“with”] and fortis [“strong”]), an idea similarly expressed by the verb “encourage,” that is, to “put heart [i.e., ‘core’] within the soul.” In Hebrew, the word courage is expressed by the phrase ometz lev (אמֶץ לֵב), meaning “strong of heart,” denoting an inner quality of the will rather than of the intellect. Ometz lev means having an inner resolve, a passion, and a direction. The sages say “the mind is the eye, whereas the heart is the feet.” May God be our Light and Salvation as we walk through the surrounding darkness…
According to midrash (i.e., ancient Jewish commentary), just before 
An honest person is a humble person, since honesty compels the soul to confess the truth that it is profoundly ignorant, incapable of understanding even the simplest matters of life, and entirely powerless to heal itself… People argue over words, concepts, and abstractions, inflating their opinions above even the Reality they purport to define, but the humble soul acknowledges that he doesn’t really know much about anything… And if “all the efforts of the human mind cannot exhaust the essence of a single fly,” then how is it that people get puffed up and proud regarding their supposed knowledge of God Himself? Far better to approach God in deep reverence, wonder, love, and childlike trust than to profess a theology based on pride and illusions…
God’s Name is “I-AM-with-you-always,” imanu-El (עִמָּנוּ אֵל) – always in the midst of you, your heart, your Center (Matt. 28:20; Isa. 41:10, Psalm 23:4, etc)…. The LORD is so named because he is never without his own, and we are who we are in relation to his presence in our lives. Yeshua is not simply the Lord of the past or the Lord of the future, but the Lord of this moment, this “here” and this “now.” He is the same yesterday, today, and forever – the breath of life, our sustaining hope, the Shepherd of our souls… Whatever else may come of this day, this is the day that the LORD has made, and we find peace in God’s Presence… Let us look to Him in this hour!
(Originally published Dec. 20, 2020)
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