May the Peace of Christ be always with you!
Three years ago, I began to worship with a small Episcopal parish church at their said service of Holy Eucharist on a weekly basis. Before long, the Passing of the Peace became a very meaningful moment in the Liturgy for me. It became an object of sincere anticipation, as well a source of joy, which I lived off of, and for, the entire week between Eucharists. I can remember discussing with various people who went with me just how meaningful it was to them as well. It seemed to be a highlight of the service for many of my friends as well as for me. Looking back, I see that I am hooked on the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, but I think that the Passing of the Peace was what I first latched on to as something that signalled that something Beatiful, Good, and True was going on.
Think about the deep theological, and therefore, Real Life, implications:
after confessing our sin--that which separates us from God and each other--to God, we hear a declaration of the reconciling work of Jesus Christ, and follow it up by exchanging signs of that Peace: handshakes, huggs, kisses of peace. It doesn't matter who you are, or even if you know anyone else present. Christ died for all, Christ has borne all of our sin and suffering and rejection, and our peace is in Christ's Body. Therefore, we show outwardly what is the inward Reality. Because of the size of the small congregation that gathers at the 8:30 service, everyone can pass the peace to everyone. We all know and feel that Christ has reconciled us all to God and each other, before we commune together, before we offer our gifts, and ourselves, with Christ, on the altar.
In our culture of opposing factions, of a deeply-seated divide between liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats, old and young, the Church of Jesus Christ proclaims the Gospel: God saves us from our sin--all that is wrong and hurtful that separates us from God and each other--through the reconciling work of Jesus Christ and the enabling power of the Holy Spirit to live into our own forgivness and to forgive others as we have been forgiven.
I have a question for Christian communities which do not currently include a Passing of the Peace in their Sunday morning ritual, or order of worship, etc.:
Might a meaningful, intentional practice of confession, a proclamation of forgiveness, and a passing of Christ's peace be a way forward through the mire of lies our culture feeds us: that we have irreconcileable differences, that the other "just doesn't understand", that we deserve to hold others at arm's length because they have hurt us?
I think it might.
Shabbat Shalom: may the whole Peace of which the Sabbath serves as a sign and prophecy for those who choose to remember and observe it, the Peace of the Messiah, always be with you!
For a discussion of the implications of remaining faithful to a proclamation of Jesus' reconciling work in the midst of the culture war of our times, see Christ the Reconciler: A Theology for Opposites, Differences, and Enemies, by Peter Schmiechen. And for a history of ideas that has led, in part, to the seemingly irreconileable nature of today's cultural discourse, see Alisdair MacInyre's After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory.
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