PASS THE PEACE

 APRIL 26, 2022

Luke 24:36

36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

John 20:19

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

Romans 1:7

7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:3

3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.




In our Sunday talk this past week one of the points we made was that resurrection living pursues peace. Simply put the teaching was that as Jesus pursued peace, and as Jesus gave to his followers his peace in John 20, so also Jesus gives his peace to modern day disciples, those who “have not seen, and yet believed.”

The followers of Jesus are a community, a resurrection community, that actively pursue wholeness and well-being, restoration, and reconciliation because that is the way of Jesus. I wonder if the “witness to the world” spoken of in John’s gospel is the “peace” that is demonstrated by Jesus community as they do life together. So maybe the challenge to us is to pursue peace, and to Pass the Peace to others, both in the resurrection community, among our sisters and brothers, and indeed beyond to all people.


Some of you are aware of an ancient practice in worship referred to as the passing of the peace. 

The Peace of Christ be with you, we say

       And also with you, is the response.    

Passing the peace is a tradition rooted in Scripture that embodies our identity as peacemakers. Remember Jesus words in Matt. 5:9? "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." And 2 Cor. 5:20 “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” Biblical teachings like this point us in the direction of the Jesus way of peace, and in some ways it encourages us to train our hearts, hands, and words toward actions of peace.

Perhaps this practice of passing the peace is a training exercise for resurrection living. It’s a dress rehearsal of sorts. Passing the Peace provides us with an opportunity to practice extending our desires for wholeness with one another. These moments give us the opportunity to share with one another the desire for reconciliation. The lived reality of being church or family or coworkers or neighbors is that we’re not always going to be “holding hands and singing around the campfire,” as someone has said.


These thoughts have me wondering if perhaps we should include the Passing the Peace in worship more. Richard Voelz suggests that in the Passing the Peace we are communicating the following:

“In this moment I want to promise to live in a way with you that promotes the way of reconciliation and restoration. If our relationship is fractured, I want to help repair it. If I know you are hurting and broken, I want to be part of helping to restore you.”

If the community of Jesus, the resurrection community, exhibit this way of peace, perhaps the world around us would want to know more about the “peace of Christ that passes understanding”.



Prayer of Peace

Peace before us,
Peace behind us,
Peace under our feet.

Peace within us,
Peace over us,
Let all around us be peace.

Christ before us,
Christ behind us,
Christ under our feet.

Christ within us,
Christ over us,
Let all around us be Christ.

—based on a Navaho prayer, David Haas