Pass the peace of Christ this Advent

For the flu season and because of the shortage of vaccine, the council at our church has decided that the passing of the peace during our worship will be only a verbal greeting without shaking hands.  We even had some discussion of dispensing with the passing of the peace altogether.

 

I know that I have been in other churches over the years where people do not want a passing of the peace because they feel that it disrupts the flow of the service.  Somehow sharing the peace and the commotion that goes with it breaks the mood and the peace of the individual.

 

I have been thinking about all of this a lot, because during advent I have also been encouraging people to take some time for silence and to find that peace that comes from God.

 

I am hoping some people will show up on Wednesday night to talk about prayer and meditation.

 

But sometimes we give up some of our own peace for others.  Sometimes it is important to interrupt the flow of our worship or our lives for the sake of others peace. 

 

When we say to others, "The peace of Christ be with you," we are offering only what we have been given.  And sometimes it is an interruption in our lives and the way things have been going to do so. 

 

Sometimes it is an interruption in the way that we look at that other person and the world when we offer them the peace of Christ.  And what exactly are we willing to give to make that so?

 

Christ willingly offers Himself to us to offer us a peace that is beyond comprehension, but nonetheless real. 

 

It is a peace that increases with sharing rather than dissipating.  It is a little like the loaves and fishes.  Broken and blessed, the peace of Christ abounds when it is shared.

 

And it makes the interruptions in the rest of our lives look different.  It helps us to see that as occasions for Gods grace.  Then another persons need is a chance for us to share and another persons hurt is a chance for us to offer healing and peace.

 

In this advent season as we await the fulfillment of Christ's kingdom, I wish you all the peace of Christ.

 

Copyright (c) 2004, The Rev. Dana Reardon. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Email her at mspastor@aol.com.
 

The Rev. Dana Reardon is pastor at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Warwick, RI.  A lifelong Lutheran, she came to ordained ministry after 21 years in nursing, mostly in pediatric intensive care.  She graduated from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia in 1998 and served 4 ½ years in Upstate New York before becoming a New Englander.  She is still trying to understand the accent.  While in the Upstate New York Synod she chaired the Stewardship Team.  That began her fascination with what makes stewards -- and more, what makes for generosity. She has three amazing daughters: Pastor Reardon says much of what she knows of life she learned from them.