Dear friends in Christ,

At the end of every service I send you out with a blessing.  It is a combination of the blessing of Aaron found at the end of the 6^th chapter of Numbers and of the classic, Christian blessing in the name of the Trinity:  “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace now and evermore.  And the blessing of God Almighty; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be upon you now and evermore.”

What you may not know is that, for me, this is a very tender, intimate blessing.  It is the same blessing I use when I put my children to bed at night.

Parents have the right and the responsibility to pray for and bless our children.  I make sure that my children hear me give thanks to God for the wonder of who they are.  I also let them hear me pray for areas of their lives that trouble me.  Most of all I lay my hands on them and pray for God’s blessings upon them.  I use the words of a priest because I am a priest.  Each parent can and should use language that is right for the style of that family.

Many of you know that I have mixed feelings about the title “Father” for a priest.  I maintain a working awareness that we have one Father in heaven and that I am not him.  On the other hand I keep a working awareness that, in my priestly role, I have been called by the Church to speak for God in certain circumstances.  The blessing is one of those situations.

Just as I pray for my children as their dad, in the concluding blessing I believe I address you on behalf of God.  Our Father in heaven is more deeply in love with us than any of us are able to love our own children.  To bless you on behalf of God is a passionate, loving privilege.  Each time I do it I speak what I believe God wants you to hear before you return to face the changes, chances, and trials of the world:  “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace now and evermore.  And the blessing of God Almighty; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be upon you now and evermore.”

                                                           Your brother in Christ,

                                                                        Wilson +