Passing the Peace

"I have said these things to you while I am still with you.  But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you.  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you."--John 14:25027a NRSV

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This passage from John's Gospel is important to me this month for a couple of reasons.

First is to remind us of the way Jesus would live past His impending crucifixion and death through resurrection and the power of the Holy Spirit which the Father would send in His name to be among us and to help us live as "Easter people" always.  We celebrate that as Easter Sunday on April 8th.

But the passage is also important because of the order in which things are presented to us.  The disciples have been in worship with Jesus:  They've celebrated the Last Supper (not Passover in John's Gospel, remember?  See John 18:28), and they've taken part in that mysteriously uncomfortable foot washing.  They have received from Jesus quite a bit of teaching, and now they are being told what to expect as the events of the next several days unfold and how to understand them.  Then, Jesus says, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you."  It's after much of the worship takes place and teaching done that Jesus initiates the "passing of the peace," if you will.

That's what has me thinking.

Why do we "Pass the peace of Christ" at the beginning of our worship services?  That being said, what we tend to pass is a warm greeting of friendship and welcome rather than a conscious passing of the peace of Christ, anyway.

So, I would like to initiate an experiment in worship for the Easter Season (the time between Easter Sunday and Pentecost Sunday (May 27th this year).  I would like for us to gather in worship like we always do, greeting one another with joy, friendship and conversation as we always do.  But instead of following the Opening Prayer (9 a.m. service) or Invocation (10:30 a.m. service) with the Passing of the Peace or Greeting time, let's go straight into the Praise Set or Opening Hymn.

Then, after we've had time to sing, pray, offer our gifts to God, listen to the Word read and preached--that is, after we've worshipped at the feet of Jesus--we'll pass the peace of Christ to each other, peace we should have experienced deeply by then and are, therefore, equipped and eager to pass on to each other as we make our way back out into the world for another week of faithful witness and service.  This will follow the Closing Song/Hymn and Benediction, and then we're free to make our way out of the Sanctuary to the Fellowship Hall, Sunday School rooms or home, whatever our needs may be.  I'll plan to meet you in the Fellowship Hall for refreshments and post-service conversation rather than in the Narthex.

What do you think?

I think the flow of worship will make more theological sense that way and will follow more of the Biblical and historical order of things.  Let's give it a try for a season.

The peace of Christ be with you, a peace not a the world gives, but only as He gives--and which the world, therefore, cannot take away.

Pastor Steve