 |
|
Pastoral Position
Paper - Mike Ferguson
Introduction:
One of the greatest blessings of my Christian life was attending a
church that was thoughtful and intentional about it's liturgy.
Learning that there are reasons for the things we do in worship
brought a great sense of purpose to corporate worship. We often
experience seasons when the doors of the Kingdom of Heaven are
opened up to us in a special way. It is like the childhood game
where we ask, "May I take one baby step forward?", and God
graciously says to us, "No you may not, you may take two giant
steps forward", and newness of life is breathed into our nostrils.
Jesus said in John 17:3 "And this is eternal life, that they may
know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast
sent". I believe that what we do in the corporate worship of the
Church is one of the primary means for learning about the nature
and character of God and the nature and character of the life of
faith. As Peter Leithart has said that when we are at the Lord's
Table, we see life as it ought to be; a feast,(1) so William
Willimon more broadly notes that "In the liturgy, we are enabled
to see things as they really are."(2) This is not to say that all
liturgies convey truth about God and life, but they always
teach something, so we must be ever reforming and seeking to be
biblical in our liturgies.
One
particular aspect of liturgy, the benediction, has been a source
of confusion and questions for me. This is partly due to different
experiences in different churches. One church did not have a
benediction, in another it was delivered from the back of the
church, in another church the pastor was in the front with
outstretched arms. But more than the logistics of it, the question
that kept coming up concerned the actual words or verses used in
the benediction. Why is it that sometimes I'm the receiver as in "The
LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon
you, and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon
you, and give you peace." (Num. 6:24-26), and other times I'm
affirming something about God, as in "Now unto the King
eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and
glory for ever and ever. Amen" (1Tim. 1:17). Judging from the
various postures of others in the congregation, I would guess that
there are a few different perspectives on what is taking place.
Doxology and Benediction:
One thing that may be helpful is to acquire a better understanding
of the difference between doxology and benediction. Doxology is
from the Greek doxa meaning "glory". It is an ascription of praise
to the three persons of the Trinity. The Gloria Patri is probably
the most common doxology, "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost: As it was in the beginning, is now and ever
shall be, world without end. Amen." "Praise God from whom all
blessings flow" is another common doxology.
A
benediction, on the other hand, is an act or pronouncement of
blessing. The Aaronic Blessing above, and what is often called
it's New Testament parallel in 2 Cor. 13:14 are the two primary
benedictions in the Bible. Unlike a prayer in which the Minister
or leader speaks to God on behalf of the people, in the
benediction the Minister acts as the representative of God in
pronouncing a blessing upon the congregation. I believe that
sometimes doxologies such as 1 Tim 1:17 above are mistakenly used
as benedictions. There are other passages used in the benediction,
which appear to be a mixture of doxology and benediction. A good
example of this is found in Hebrews 13:20-21, "Now the God of
peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great
shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting
covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will,
working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through
Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
Interestingly, Matthew Henry and John Calvin both consider this as
Paul's prayer for the people. I would not go so far as to say that
this type of prayer should not be used as a benediction, only that
the Numbers and 2 Corinthians passages are clearer and true
benedictions using the definitions I've provided.
The Reality:
I think that the considerations I've raised above are worthwhile,
but the weightier matter is this: If we see life as it really is
through the liturgy, what is the reality of the benediction? Isn't
it just something "nice" to close off the service with? The fact
is, we are dull, and when we walk by sight alone, we become
blinded to the wonder and glory of actually having an audience
with the King of the universe. If God ever descended upon us in
His glory cloud, we would probably summon the deacons to get the
exhaust fans going so that we could see what was going on. Some
have said that Americans just don't get it unless you show us
pictures, and the problem in the American Church is that we are
Scripture illiterates and ignorant of Biblical imagery, the
pictures of the Bible. The elements of the liturgy are pictures of
realities such as; "Having been justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have
access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in
hope of the glory of God." (Rom. 5:1-2) Experiencing this truth
week after week through the liturgy, should fill us with a sense
of incredible joy and wonder. "Wait a minute" you say. Experience.
Joy. Wonder. "You must be one of those "Reformed Charismatics".
Sadly, when the Church takes a "lowest common denominator"
approach to it's liturgy, you don't see things "as they really
are". You see a story that is full of gaps. This pared down
picture doesn't give us a sense of joy, and wonder, and fear, and
in order to fill that void, along come the isms, like
emotionalism, and sentimentalism.
Back to
the benediction, let me give you a picture. The worship service is
about to conclude. The Pastor raises his arms to give a
benediction and suddenly all the elders and deacons rush forward
to get their "Magic (holy) Markers" and they begin to write
"Father, Son, and Holy Ghost" on the foreheads and hands of the
members. (Now you're probably asking, "What are they doing to
those poor Greyfriars?"). There is an action taking place here and
the people are the recipients. The key to the benediction is found
in Numbers 6:27, "So they shall put My name on the children of
Israel, and I will bless them." The minister acts on behalf of
God, and God blesses His people. And what is the importance of
this act? God has called us into His presence. We confess our sins
and He forgives us. We ascend spiritually into His throne room and
are seated at His table in peace and feast on the Word and
Sacrament. But this is a foretaste of glory and we must go back
into the world. One writer, when being asked about worship
described it this way: "We gather the people, tell the story,
break bread, and go home."(3) We do usually go home, or to
someone's home after the worship, but that liturgy loses the
sending forth. The last thing that Jesus did on earth was to give
what we call the "Great Commission" to His disciples, and Luke
records that right after that, Jesus "lifted up His hands and
blessed them" and was carried up into heaven. Jesus' last act on
earth was a benediction. God gives us work to do and He sends us
forth. The reality of the benediction is that we go with His
blessing, with His power to fulfill our calling, with His name
upon us. We go to make disciples of all nations. There are giants
in the lands, and we dare not go unless He, His name, and His
power go with us. In baptism God placed His name upon us and
marked us as His. He is our God and we are His people. He will
bless us with every spiritual blessing in Christ and we will have
no other gods before Him. The benediction is a microcosm of God's
goodness to His people.
Conclusion:
Let the liturgy be a tool for renewing your mind. Consciously
recognize that God puts His name upon you and makes His face shine
upon you and blesses you and keeps you and gives you peace. Let
your life flow from that well-spring of joy and so endeavor not to
take His name in vain.
1
Lecture at the Connecticut Valley Conference on Reformed Theology,
1995
2 Willimon, William H. Worship Old and New (Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan, 1982)
3 Andrew Greely, Quoted in Robert Webber, Renew Your Worship (Peabody,MA,
Hendrickson, 1997) |