Newsletter

"The Peace of Christ Be With You"
The Passing of the Peace is a significant moment of each worship service. Yet, often its meaning is lost to us. We go through the ritual not thinking of what we are doing or why. We say the words in the bulletin because that is what is printed there. We do the rest because that is what we have done. But the Passing of the Peace is an action which has its rots in scripture. First we find the relationship in Matthew 5:23-24: “So when you are offering your gift at the alter, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift at the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.: The gifts we bring in worship are ourselves – heart, mind, body – as well as the gifts we bring later in the service whether it be the communion elements or our money and talents which are to be used to further God’s kingdom. Yet, we are not to bring those gifts until we are at peace with other. There are times that we do not like what a person might say or do. These may cause us to feel hurt, but the other person may not even realize it because we complain to someone else rather than talking to them. Or perhaps, they do know, but we have had a hard time forgiving them and forgetting the words or incident. Being human, we forget to look past the words or action to the person behind them. Yet, we should do so, and we need to remember that they also are a child of God just as we are, and we are just as likely to do things which hurt or offend. Unfortunately, we tend that let these incidents or words get in the way, and forgetting to see the child of God behind them, we develop dislikes, hold grudges, and let barriers develop between us. Then, it is time for reconciliation. To be reconciled, we have to forgive. We are taught by Jesus to pray, “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matthew goes on to tell us, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Mt. 6, 12, 14-15). As we pray the Prayer of Confession and hear the Assurance of Pardon, we are reminded that we all have our shortcomings, and that through grace, God forgives us. We are then to forgive others and be reconciled to them. The Passing of the Peace is action and word to show we are reconciled to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Only then can we continue in worship to bring our gifts to God. Jesus says, “Peace be with you,” when he greets the disciples in the locked room after his resurrection. He sends them forth and breathes on them the Holy Spirit. In order to go out and spread the Good News, the disciples need to be reconciled to recent events and move past their fear. Jesus appears to give them reassurance and bring them peace. Yet again, he connects forgiveness and peace as he says, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” The new church, having received the Spirit, embodies Christ’s mission of forgiveness.
Passing the Peace is not a time to say “hello” or “good morning.” That was to be done at the time when we all began arriving. The Passing of the Peace shows that we, the Church, still embody Christ’s mission of forgiveness, and we are emissaries of peace beginning with the forgiveness of each other. As we shake hands or hugs, we should say only, “The peace of Christ be with you.”
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. To this peace we were called as members of a single body” (Colossians 3:15).