Gesundheit!
by Colleen Fitzpatrick
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[Pharaoh said,] ‘Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me’ (Exodus 12:32).
Read Exodus 12:29–39
My dad used to respond to a sneeze with a resounding ‘Gesundheit’ – a delightfully onomatopoeic word that means ‘Good health’. If there were multiple sneezes, the response was sometimes the rhyme, ‘One for a wish, two for a kiss, three for a letter, four for something better’, which can be extended to ‘Five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never to be told’. Or how often have you sneezed and someone says, ‘Bless you’? To me, this is a form of invoking God’s blessing on the sneezer.
I’m not sure whether Pharaoh was hedging his bets when he asked for a blessing as he sent Moses and Aaron on their way. And I guess he was not working up to a sneeze! But it seems to me that it was an odd request. Maybe it was born out of anguish for the losses that he had suffered, including that of his firstborn. We don’t know how Moses and Aaron responded to Pharaoh’s request.
Sometimes, people who aren’t usually associated with the church or profess not to have any faith ask for prayers when things go wrong. When I mentioned this to one of my friends, they responded, ‘I think it’s fine for us to be a “first aid station.” Sometimes, people start regular care once they’ve experienced emergency care, and that’s a good thing, too.’ I love that explanation!
I encourage you to be bold and offer prayer support to your friends, neighbours and family members who may not be part of a church community. I have offered prayer support to many people, and it has never been rebuffed.
In the meantime, let’s continue blessing the sneezers in our community! I’m sure there’ll be lots of opportunities as winter takes hold.
Our prayer is the Aaronic Blessing that was given to Moses, handed to Aaron and has even been passed down to us today – and maybe (but probably not) Aaron pronounced this blessing over Pharaoh.
May the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.
Colleen Fitzpatrick is retired and lives in Adelaide. She enjoys reading and writing. She particularly likes listening to people’s stories and learning from them about who they are and what they do. She loves nature and the beauty of God’s creation.
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