If you’ve joined us (or watched online) for a number of Sundays, you’ll notice that we do something at the end of our service each week, called the benediction. Now this can be odd sounding to some, sounding simply like a more pious way to tell everyone that they are dismissed.
However, a benediction has biblical roots and serves a very special purpose. The benediction is God’s good word to us. That’s essentially what benediction means. It is a compound word from Latin: bene, which means ‘good,’ and dicere, which means ‘to speak.’ From that comes the Latin word benedictio, which means “blessing.” It is a pronouncement of God’s blessing upon his people. When we read the Bible, we see a number of times a benediction is used. Most notably, when the Lord commanded Aaron to say the following to the Israelites “‘“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”’ (Numbers 6:23-26). We don’t see this practice just in the old testament but also in the new testament, particularly in the epistles. Some of these are: Ephesians 3:20–21: “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us…” Or Jude 24–25: “Now to Him who is able to keep us from stumbling and to present us blameless before His presence with great joy…” Or 2 Corinthians 13:14: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” Even Jesus blessed his disciples before ascending to heaven in Luke 24.
So while it is certainly biblical, why do we choose to do it at All Nations Church? For many people a Sunday morning service is an oasis in the midst of a busy, crazy life. At the end of the service, we all head back to our homes with leaky faucets and bills, relationships that are challenging and work with looming deadlines. Benedictions allow us (as pastors and elders) to speak a final blessing as you go into our life. Benedictions give us God-sized expectations for our week, blessings for everyone that matter to our every day life.
So next time you’re with us on a Sunday morning, take the benediction and go out into your week with the blessing it conveys.
Allow me now to electronically speak this benediction over you for this week from the book of Romans. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Amen!
