“What
is the Benediction?”
Rev.
Michael Brown
(Originally published as “Grace Gets the Final Word” in
the Presbyterian Banner, August 2005)
Click here for printable PDF
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.” These are words, taken from 2 Corinthians
13.14, which the minister regularly says with raised hands
as he pronounces the benediction upon the congregation
at the end of a worship service. But what exactly is the
benediction? Perhaps we have asked this question of ourselves
but felt intimidated to ask it in public for fear of appearing
ignorant. Perhaps we have been content to think of it merely
as the way a service ends, sort of a reverent and worshipful
way of saying, “That’s all folks.” Perhaps
we have wondered why the minister raises his hands. We
may ask, “Should I bow my head in prayer or should
I look at the minister during the benediction?” If
you have asked questions, you are not alone. It may be
helpful, therefore, to give a short explanation of this
ancient practice, especially since it is an important element
of our worship service.
The benediction, from the Latin benedictio,
meaning “blessing,” is
a pronouncement of God’s blessing upon his people.
In the first place, we should recognize the benediction as
biblical. While the practice of pronouncing blessings goes
as far back as Melchizedek to Abraham (Gen 14.18-20), Isaac
to Jacob (Gen 27.26-29), and Jacob to his sons (Gen 48-49),
the primary source is that of the Aaronic blessing found
in Numbers 6.22-27:
This blessing placed God’s covenant name LORD (Yahweh)
upon the people of Israel. Every time they received the benediction,
God’s people were reminded of the fact that they were
a people called by God into covenant with him and that they
had the awesome privilege and responsibility of bearing his
name. The Aaronic blessing is significant because it is the
blessing that was used to Abraham’s descendents throughout
the Old Covenant, but is the same blessing that even the
Gentiles have come to receive: “that in Christ Jesus
the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that
we might receive the promised Spirit through faith…And
if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring,
heirs according to promise.” (Gal 3.14, 29).
For this reason, the ancient church, as well as the
Reformers of the
sixteenth century, used the Aaronic benediction with
great frequency.
But we also find benedictions at
the end of nearly every New Testament epistle. Especially
significant
is Paul’s
benediction in 2 Cor 13.14 due to its explicit Trinitarian
nature. It is into the name of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit that the Christian is baptized,
and it is in
the name of God that he or she is blessed. According
to Calvin, the blessing which God gives in the benediction
is himself.
In giving us his name, he brings us into his care
and gives us a share in the household of faith. When
we receive the
benediction in faith, God brings us into his presence
and there, in his presence, we know that we are at
peace with
him. The Triune blessing, indicating the divine work
of each person in the Godhead, communicates this
beautifully.
We should also know that, historically,
the minister has given the benediction
with uplifted
hands.
This too is
based on biblical precedent. Evidence
of this appears from Aaron’s
blessing of the people in Leviticus chapter nine, where we
read of Aaron offering sacrifices to the Lord on behalf of
the people. In Lev 9.22, we read that after the offerings
were made, “Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the
people and blessed them.” The lifting up of hands in
the parting blessing seems to have been the ordinary practice
amongst Old Covenant priests, of which history testifies.
But the most profound evidence is found in the parting blessing
of our Lord himself in Luke 24.50-51: “Then he led
them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed
them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was
carried up into heaven.” Here we have a clear
picture of Christ as our faithful High Priest and
his fulfillment
of the entire Levitical priesthood.
For this reason, the Reformers
believed that the biblical gesture which was to
accompany
the benediction
was
not the sign of the cross, but the
lifting up of the hands.
As Christ’s
ambassador, the minister raises his hands to pronounce the
benediction upon God’s people at the end of the service.
He does not do this with some sort of mystical or magical
powers, but as Christ’s appointed and ordained
representative.
We should also understand that
the benediction is necessary to the worship
service because
of the dialogical
nature
of our worship. By “dialogical” we mean that God’s
people are in dialogue with God during corporate worship.
God speaks, and we respond. This is vertical conversation,
not horizontal. We speak to God in the invocation, the corporate
singing of psalms and hymns, prayer of confession, prayer
of intercession, and confession of our faith, and God speaks
to us in the call to worship, salutation, reading of the
law, declaration of pardon, sermon, Lord’s Supper,
baptism, and the benediction. For this reason, the Reformers
understood the benediction not as one Christian’s
prayer for other Christians, but rather as the bestowing
of the
covenant blessing, the blessing that God gave Abraham
and that we as the spiritual descendents of Abraham
receive by
faith.
When we understand this dialogical
nature of worship, we also see
how God gets
the first
and final word
in the worship
service. After the call to worship
and invocation, the service begins
with God’s blessing or salutation, which is
God’s response to the cry of his people and
his divine covering of the whole service. All the
elements of the whole
liturgy now come to a head and are summarized in
the solemn words of Numbers 6:24-26 or 2 Corinthians
13:14. Thus, the
salutation and the benediction are like divine bookends
to the holy activity of corporate worship which takes
place
in between.
The benediction, therefore, is
an important element of our worship.
Not only does
this practice connect
us with
the
ancient church and the covenant
people
of God all the way back to Aaron,
but it gives us
the opportunity
to hear
these words of blessing and grace
pronounced upon us.
The benediction
is hardly the time to begin putting
on our coat or collecting our
things in
preparation to leave.
This
is God’s final
word to us in the covenant assembly of worship that,
for those who belong to him, we are not under his
wrath, but
the objects of his love and mercy. It is his holy
announcement that we are sealed with his name and
our whole life is covered
by his grace. May we give God thanks and praise for
providing us with the opportunity in our worship
services for his grace
to get the final word in our service of worship.
