The gift-receiving part of the worship service

I sometimes worry that people treat the blessing at the close of the worship service as just a fancy way to say “Good bye, see you next time.” In reality, these are powerful words God invites us to receive as coming directly from Him. As you receive the blessing before you leave, God affirms that you do not go out alone: He is with you to guide and strengthen you in everything that lays ahead of you in the upcoming week.

I love the article that Pastor Lee Eclov wrote entirely about the blessing (a.k.a. benediction) in which he describes it as “sort of an uber-promise:”

[The blessing] doesn’t tell us what God will do for us, but what God is doing ever and always for his people…  I wonder if the best analogy would be that it is God’s wedding vow spoken to his people. It’s his way of saying, “I take you for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, and death will never part us.” The benediction is like God renewing his vows to us.

This is more powerful than someone just wishing you well before you leave to go somewhere. It’s also much more appropriate than ending the service with a command to obey. As The Worship Sourcebook warns, a command at this point in worship could “imply that the Christian life is only about working hard to earn God’s favor” (p. 367). No. Instead of this, God pronounces His unfailing love to you.

At Trinity Christian Reformed Church, I invite everyone to respond to the blessing by saying “Amen” in unison. It’s a way of the congregation declaring “This is indeed so. We receive God’s blessing.” I’ve seen people hold their hands out during the blessing, palms up. This is very appropriate, too, as it shows how God’s blessing is something to be received. Like a gift our gift-giving God is eager to give.

Blessings, of course, need not be reserved only for worship services. May I leave you with two right now? The first is one Dr. Neal Plantinga regularly spoke at Calvin Theological Seminary chapels when he was president there. The second one is likely the most famous one in the Bible from Numbers 6.
–

God go before you to lead you,
God go behind you to protect you,
God go beneath you to support you,
God go beside you to befriend you.
Do not be afraid…
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
–

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.
–