Benediction

“‘“The Lord bless you

    and keep you;

 the Lord make his face shine on you

    and be gracious to you;

 the Lord turn his face toward you

    and give you peace.”’ Numbers 6 24-26

When my daughter was younger, in her days of choir, she sang this benediction and it was included on a CD for parents to keep.  I remember many car trips with the calming music settling peacefully into otherwise busy stressful days.

It is such a beautiful benediction, and on days when the sun comes out, which in Michigan in late winter is a rare treat, I will turn my face to the sun and let its warmth spread over me, and the music will come to my mind. 

God gave us alll of creation to understand him and his wonderful qualities and the sun is particularly important.  Before Christ’s resurrection and the spread of Christianity, The  varous sun gods were the dominant gods to be worshipped in non jewish cultures as people had it on their hearts to worship something greater than themselves and so they created gods to represent what they desperatly longed for.  

Think of it, the sun with its power and energy, recognized by every living being, needed by every living being to sustain life. It gives light and warmth and life-giving energy. 

It is so powerful that we cannont look directly at it.  People feel more joyful on brigh and sunny days. We are dependent on it for our very life.  By it we create our circadian rythmes, the earth maintains seasons dependendent on it. 

It is both in the heavens and experienced on earth. There are so many qualities of the sun that point to the creator.  It is steady and stable and we are the ones that circle it though we sometimes mistakenly believe that it circles us.  

People make rituals out of watching it rise and watching It set, often just to be filled with a sense of wonder and awe.

It wasn't long after Christ's death and ressurction that the mythological gods lost their power. When the true God was revealed many eyes were opened and there was no longer a need to worship creation or the gods who represented it. What was hidden was made known.

As sun shines and so does our God shines upon us. So the next time the sun comes out turn your face to receive it’s warmth it's light and goodness and remember this verse. 

And if you know a musical version of it you can let the music flood your soul. I think you’ll find below a peaceful, grounding piece of music that lifts your spirit and connects you to the one who created the sun and helped us know about Him more through it’s design.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0h-9KY6j1M

This has been a Five Minute Friday post!