The service is almost over. In a moment your pastor will raise his hands for the Benediction. The words he will speak are the same as those the Lord first instructed the high-priest Aaron and his sons to use as a blessing for the Israelites some 3500 years ago! Well not exactly. Back then, those words were spoken in Hebrew, but they carry just as much meaning and power when we hear them in English today.
“The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with favor and + give you peace.” (Christian Worship 93, Service of Word and Sacrament, page 37)
Think of it! We’re sent out those church doors and back into our everyday lives with the three-fold blessing of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!
But maybe we haven’t thought much about the Benediction lately. Maybe, because we’ve heard these words so many times over the years, we’ve allowed them to become little more than the obligatory “Amen” that signals the end of our worship. And if the service is running a smidgen long--because of the pastor’s 7-part sermon-- maybe we even sneak a peek at our watch, as we worry, “I hope I can still make the all-you-can-eat Sunday brunch buffet at Bubba’s, because it only goes till 1:00 pm.”
Well, maybe Bubba’s will keep the buffet open a little late for us. And if Pastor actually did preach a 7-part sermon, I pray every word was anchored firmly in God’s Word and seasoned liberally with God’s grace. Because then Pastor’s message—as well as the Scripture readings for the day, the prayers, the hymns, the choral anthems, and the liturgical responses have all prepared us for this mountain-top moment. The Aaronic Benediction!
That Benediction is so much more than an “Amen” that punctuates our worship. So much more than having the Lord, like a kindly grandpa, wave farewell from the porch of heaven as we wave back, jump in our car, and head home. You see, when the Lord gave Aaron and his sons these words of blessing, our God also explained exactly what these words mean.
“In this way they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them." (Numbers 6:27)
That means the Benediction is kind of like a Christening! It’s a powerful reminder of the new names we first received when, through water and the Word, God’s Spirit washed away the filth of our sin and instead gave us pure, clean clothes “in Christ.” (Galatians 3:27) Then “in one Spirit we all were baptized into one body.” (1Corinthians 12:13). Then we were declared “fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household.” (Ephesians 2:19) Through baptism, our Lord adopted us as his own, and he gave us the priceless name, “Christian.”
The Benediction reminds us of that miracle of grace. It reassures us that we leave God’s house with the promise our Lord once shared through His prophet Isaiah. “But now this is what the LORD says, the LORD who created you, O Jacob, the LORD who formed you, O Israel. Do not be afraid, because I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1) We don’t need to face Monday alone, empty, and afraid. We don’t need to be consumed with worry over whether the next mass shooting will be in our town, or God forbid, even our church. For with the Benediction, our Lord has served notice to the devil himself. “This one is mine! Marked with the blood of Christ. Hands off!”
This is the lasting comfort that is ours, when our pastor raises his hands for the Benediction, and once again our Lord puts his name on us.
Privileged to serve,
Rev. Glenn Schwanke
“The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with favor and + give you peace.” (Christian Worship 93, Service of Word and Sacrament, page 37)
Think of it! We’re sent out those church doors and back into our everyday lives with the three-fold blessing of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!
But maybe we haven’t thought much about the Benediction lately. Maybe, because we’ve heard these words so many times over the years, we’ve allowed them to become little more than the obligatory “Amen” that signals the end of our worship. And if the service is running a smidgen long--because of the pastor’s 7-part sermon-- maybe we even sneak a peek at our watch, as we worry, “I hope I can still make the all-you-can-eat Sunday brunch buffet at Bubba’s, because it only goes till 1:00 pm.”
Well, maybe Bubba’s will keep the buffet open a little late for us. And if Pastor actually did preach a 7-part sermon, I pray every word was anchored firmly in God’s Word and seasoned liberally with God’s grace. Because then Pastor’s message—as well as the Scripture readings for the day, the prayers, the hymns, the choral anthems, and the liturgical responses have all prepared us for this mountain-top moment. The Aaronic Benediction!
That Benediction is so much more than an “Amen” that punctuates our worship. So much more than having the Lord, like a kindly grandpa, wave farewell from the porch of heaven as we wave back, jump in our car, and head home. You see, when the Lord gave Aaron and his sons these words of blessing, our God also explained exactly what these words mean.
“In this way they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them." (Numbers 6:27)
That means the Benediction is kind of like a Christening! It’s a powerful reminder of the new names we first received when, through water and the Word, God’s Spirit washed away the filth of our sin and instead gave us pure, clean clothes “in Christ.” (Galatians 3:27) Then “in one Spirit we all were baptized into one body.” (1Corinthians 12:13). Then we were declared “fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household.” (Ephesians 2:19) Through baptism, our Lord adopted us as his own, and he gave us the priceless name, “Christian.”
The Benediction reminds us of that miracle of grace. It reassures us that we leave God’s house with the promise our Lord once shared through His prophet Isaiah. “But now this is what the LORD says, the LORD who created you, O Jacob, the LORD who formed you, O Israel. Do not be afraid, because I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1) We don’t need to face Monday alone, empty, and afraid. We don’t need to be consumed with worry over whether the next mass shooting will be in our town, or God forbid, even our church. For with the Benediction, our Lord has served notice to the devil himself. “This one is mine! Marked with the blood of Christ. Hands off!”
This is the lasting comfort that is ours, when our pastor raises his hands for the Benediction, and once again our Lord puts his name on us.
Privileged to serve,
Rev. Glenn Schwanke
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