Every Greeting a Chance to Bless

Scripture: Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed* Pharaoh, Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?” And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.” Then Jacob blessed* Pharaoh and went out from his presence. Genesis 47:7-10

Observation: When Jacob meets Pharaoh, the passage says that Jacob twice blesses Pharaoh, which seems a little odd given the difference in their status in Egypt. However, the *footnotes clarify the interpretation of the term 'blessed' here. These two uses may more correctly indicate that Jacob "greeted" Pharaoh, then "bid farewell" to him. Obviously, these two actions make perfect sense.

That said, it is interesting to think about the way Jacob greets Pharaoh. One traditional Jewish greeting to this day is 'shalom' or 'peace' ... declaring or offering peace upon a person, which clearly would be a blessing in any culture. As an alternative, it would have been in character for Jacob to invoke the Lord in his greeting, saying something like "thank you for receiving me, may my Lord bestow favor upon you" as either the greeting or the farewell, or even more plainly "I greet you in the name of the Lord", whereby just invoking Yahweh was considered a blessing. Either way, using the term "blessed" implies more than a simple head bow and "hello" and "goodbye", but rather indicates a very kind, very meaningful pronouncement made by Jacob and directed to Pharaoh, that declared a positive hope for Pharaoh's day if not his life.

Application: How would our world change if this was the manner and spirit in which we greeted one another? If we didn't say "hello" but instead said, "peace be upon you and your home today" ... if we didn't say "goodbye" but instead said, "may the Lord give you a wonderful day."

Yes, there are times we give each other an extended greeting or bid farewell in a way that states we hope someone has a good day or good fortune. These types of interactions often involve friends, and these types of farewells may be used when we know someone has a difficult situation awaiting them. However, imagine a world where this was just how we greeted strangers. What would happen if, upon being introduced to a stranger for the first time, I said something like, "Mike, I greet you in the peace and comfort of Jesus Christ," and when departing I said something like, "May the Lord grant you good fortune in all you do today."

I would like to say that, if everyone did this, the world would be an amazing place. The truth is, the world would look at me like I was odd, and likely even react with negative emotion over invoking Jesus and God into a conversation. This is how "the world" reacts to Jesus.

Still, it would be nice if we all just "blessed" each other as a normal course of conversation ... if our hellos and goodbyes were declarations of hope and peace and comfort and joy. It feels like that would change the course of everyone's day, every day.

Prayer: Lord, I am reminded today that just meeting people offers the opportunity to express your love and your hope simply by how I greet them. I would like to remember that and try that. Amen.