Candlemas 2026: Bless you - what does that mean?

James 1: 12 - 18

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first-fruits of all he created.

Luke 2:22-40

22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29 “Lord, now let your servant depart in peace: according to your word. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people: 32 to be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and to be the glory of your people Israel.”

33 The child’s father and mother marvelled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

Bless you.

What does that mean?

We often say 'bless you' when we wish someone well.

So, for example, when someone has sneezed, or when someone has said something endearing – 'bless you!'

We also speak of seeking someone's blessing', or 'giving our blessing', and by that we mean approval is being sought, or being given.

In times past in order to marry a young man earnestly requested the blessing of the father of his intended bride, and we still speak of not giving our blessing to things we disapprove of.

Then there is the religious context, where a blessing is a prayer of consecration, for example, when the Priest blesses the bread and wine of communion.

To bless seems to mean several things, to wish someone well, to give approval, to offer a prayer of consecration – but none of these are what is meant by 'blessing' in the bible passages we heard.

In Luke 2 we heard, “Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

The New Testament was written in a form of Greek, the word for blessing used here is, 'eulogeō', meaning to 'speak well of.'

“Eu" meaning well or good, and "logos" meaning word or speech.

We have a similar meaning now in the word, 'Eulogy' – which means to speak well of someone, particularly at a funeral, but here Simeon is speaking of the future, not the past.

Simeon blesses Mary and Joseph, and he then speaks to Mary in broad terms concerning the future for Jesus, and for herself. There is in eulogeō, to speak well of someone, something of the modern sense of a blessing, that is to wish someone well, but Simeon's vision of blessedness is disturbing – a divisive and troubled future for the child, soul piercing sorrow for both Jesus and Mary, and no apparent place in that future for Joseph.

Presumably these remarks are addressed to Mary alone as Joseph will have no part in the child's future - tradition tells us Joseph did not live to see Jesus grow to maturity, and certainly he is not mentioned in the bible again after this passage.

That's a curious blessing, 'to speak well of' - was Simeon not very good at blessing?

There is another word for blessing in the New Testament, that is 'makarios' – meaning happy. We heard it in our first reading, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial...”, again a curious blessing - while it is no doubt good to persevere under trials and tribulations, surely a better blessing would be, 'blessed is the one who wins the lottery', or 'blessed is the one sunbathing on a Caribbean beach'?

Makarios, meaning happy, is also the word Jesus uses in the Beatitudes.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted,” and so on.

A literal translations is, “Happy are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Happy are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

The Beatitudes show that 'blessed' in the New Testament does not mean approval.

The blessings of the Beatitudes are counter intuitive - it is not a state of happiness to be bereaved, or to be persecuted, or to yearn for righteousness.

When we now speak of blessing to mean, 'to give our approval', we are not using the word 'blessing' in the New Testament sense.

Blessings in the New Testament are not primarily about good fortune, or material prosperity, or health, or worldly success, they are a prayer that seeks to clear away the deceptive weeds of this world, and enable the seeds of the Kingdom of God to grow.

The Beatitudes have a now and future structure, each follows the pattern of 'are they' - 'for they will', to describe a hidden seed of spiritual truth that will come to fruition.

“Blessed are those who suffer persecution for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

The pattern is innocent suffering, or righteous discontent, followed by blessedness.

The travails of the present may bring future wisdom, or healing, and ultimately it is the will of God that they will yield to blessedness.

There is also reassurance in knowing that in innocent suffering, or righteous discontent, that God is with you – that your trials are not because God has turned against you.

The 'happy - blessed' state is the Kingdom of Heaven, not gathering up the things of the Kingdom of this world.

This transformation from 'are they' to 'for they will', draws you nearer to the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is not just located in heaven, the Kingdom is anywhere in this world, or the next, that the good and perfect will of God is done - so this transformation may happen either in this world, or in the next.

Would you bless a thief?

How would such a prayer work out?

Would it imply approval of the thief's way of life?

Would it be a prayer for the thief to prosper, and not get caught?

A blessing for a thief would cause them to turn from their ways, and follow the ways of God. It may well be a blessing for a thief to be caught, to go to prison, and as a result of this to determine to leave behind his life of crime.

How would a prayer of blessing work out in your life?

It is God in His wisdom who decides how a prayer of blessing prayer is realised. When I say a prayer of blessing for a congregation I know there is much in our lives that is not worthy of approval, but I also know God will use that prayer to grow the seeds of His Kingdom in our lives.

The Beatitudes proclaim that God is with those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn, the merciful, the persecuted —because in the Kingdom of Heaven the first will be last, and the last first. Those who seem blessed in this world, those who we rate as lucky, the rich and powerful, the famous and admired - their spiritual poverty is revealed by the Kingdom, while the poor and lowly will be lifted high – that's how New Testament blessings work.

Simeon's blessing spoke the truth, the life of Jesus did prove divisive and troubled, and full of soul piercing sorrow for both him and Mary, but the life of Jesus was a blessing for all humankind; the resurrection showed that God's mighty power can bring life out of death, hope out of despair, and light out of darkness.

God's blessing bring consolation and hope both to innocent suffering, and righteous discontent, and it brings the potential for Godly reformation in our lives.

As we heard in James 1: 12, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”