Earlier this week I came across some old Dwight Pryor cassette tapes. Dwight passed away last year but was a legendary teacher of the Hebraic roots of Christianity. As I held the seemingly ancient artifacts in my hand, it occurred to me that there was a cassette player in my 91′ accord. Someone had given me, blessed me actually, with the car a few years ago and of course I’ve never used the cassette player. So on the way home from work I popped in the cassette and let it play.
The wurr of the cassette deck brought back memories, and I had to listen closely to hear what Dwight was actually saying over the buzzing. Every now and then the tape would speed up making Dwight sound like one of the Chipmunks, actually he sounded more like a goat than a chipmunk, but eventually it would slow down again. I was paying more attention to the fact that I was listening to a cassette tape than I was what he was actually saying when suddenly he asked a series of questions that got my attention.
Discipleship happens first and foremost in the home. Husbands, when was the last time you placed your hands on your wife’s head and recited the blessing of the virtuous wife? Fathers, when was the last time you placed your hands on the heads of your daughters and your sons and pronounced a blessing?
Then the cassette sped up again, and I got distracted by the billy goat sound of Dwight’s voice, but those questions have been lingering in my mind. When was the last time I had done those things? And for that matter was there ever a first time I had done those things?
I told Trisha about it, and a flattered look came over her face as though the mere suggestion of a husbandly blessing had itself been a husbandly blessing. Then she said that I should be listening to more Dwight Pryor tapes.
So I trudged downstairs and read through Proverbs 31v10-31, and then rummaged through my shelves and found a book that someone had given me by Dwight Pryor’s wife Keren: A Taste of Torah. I thought I’d open it up to see what, if anything, she had written about blessing, but before I even got to the table of contents I stopped because there on the inside cover was a blessing written to me by the people who had given me the book.
Such kind words from two very thoughtful people. Then I looked at the next page and saw that my daughter Braylen had gotten hold of the book long enough to leave a blessing of her own.
A little pig from the angry birds stickers Braylen had gotten for Christmas. She and Clara like to get into my office when I’m not home and play library. They drag all the books off the shelves, put stickers in them, and then leave them lying all over the floor. I like to think that the stickers they leave are their way of blessing me.
To bless someone is to impart something of yourself and something of the God in whose image you’re made into the life of another. Life giving, life affirming words or presence. And when I think about the way words are usually used around our house-Dad! Clara antagonized me twice! Dad! Clara’s not scooting over so I can sit there too! Hey! It’s my turn! Clara’s not letting me have a turn! Clara, stop antagonizing your sister! Braylen stop tackling your sister. You didn’t make her cry? Really? Then why is she crying? Everybody just be quiet! We lay hands on one another around here but not often for the purpose of speaking blessings.
So this week we’re going to practice putting our hands on one another, looking each other in the eyes, and speaking blessings, imparting something of the God in us to each other rather than the anger and impatience. As husbands and fathers, men have the chance to name the precious gift that their wives and children are to them. Wives have the chance to name the gift that their husbands and kids are to them, and to have your wife place her hands on your head and tell you that you are indeed a gift is a tender thing. And as for your kids, you need only watch because for all the noise they make, you’re kids are blessing you too, if only you have the eyes to see it.
