![]() And please (!) don’t analyze how the pastor raises his arms. Maybe you don’t count the organ pipes or how many times the pastor adjusts his glasses. Maybe this Sunday you don’t pack up your stuff during the blessing. The end of the service, when your pastor raises his hands in imitation of Christ, that is a special moment, and I hope you grow to love it. This is the glory of Ascension Day: the blessing of God comes to us in the nail-scared hands of our ascending Lord.Īnd yup, you are reminded of it every Sunday. Christ raised his arms in blessing on Ascension Day because he had already spread them in sacrifice on Good Friday. The Bible tells us that as Jesus was carried up into heaven he lifted up his hands and he blessed his disciples, no doubt with the high priestly blessing of Numbers 6.Īnd while Jesus’ hands were not covered in blood they did carry the scars of his bloody death. When your pastor gives the blessing, it is not so much in imitation of Aaron the high priest on the edge of the altar, but in imitation of Jesus the great High Priest ascending into heaven. The symbolism is awesome, isn’t it? The blessing comes to the people on the basis of the blood of atonement, substitutionary sacrifice for sin.īut it gets better. ![]() And then, before he stepped down, he would turn to the congregation-from upon the altar with his hands covered in the blood of atonement-and give the Numbers 6 blessing. Leviticus 9:22 tells us that Aaron the high priest would offer sacrifices for the sins of the people while standing up on the edge of the altar. The common blessing from Numbers 6 goes like this: the Lord bless you and keep you, the make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his face toward you and give you peace. Some close their eyes, others look me in mine. Some hold out their hands in a gesture of receiving, others pull their loved ones in close. For some people it is just the marker that we are almost done they are packing up while I speak.īut I see other people smile, or even cry a bit as the blessing is given. From the front, I can see how the congregation receives it. Now that this kid has grown up and become a pastor, I get to give the blessing at the end of the service. Did he go for the canoe-carry, a 90-degree arm bend? The straight arm morning stretch approach, or did he go for the arms forward lets play Patty Cake position? I was also interested in how the pastor raised his arms for the end of the service blessing. Or how many times a particular visiting pastor would push up his glasses while he preached. When I was a little kid bored in church, I used to count organ pipes. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And lifting up his hands he blessed them.
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