In many congregations, there is a tradition during the worship service where people turn to their neighbors, grasp their hands, and say “Peace be with you,” with the typical response being, “And also with you”. For many people it means nothing more than a greeting, or a reminder of the forgiveness of our sin, or a gesture of goodwill or a substitute for “God Bless you”.
… But, what does it REALLY mean to ME?
Recently, I was confronted with a problem and someone suggested that the solution was to “Pass the Peace of Christ”. I had never thought of it that way. But, it was exactly the right answer. At that moment, I understood the meaning of “The Peace of Christ be with you” was much more than a polite courtesy. I began to see it as a spiritual ointment (kinda like “Bactine” for spiritual scrapes). Saying those words isn’t a hope, a wish, a blessing or a prayer. It’s an act of generosity on my part, to give something of great value that I have, and pass it along to someone else. I realized that to actually pass the “Peace of Christ” , requires that I first possess it myself. If I have no peace in myself, I’m holding out “empty hands”.
After thinking about the significance of this, I knew that God was telling me, “Van, always maintain a reservoir of Christ’s Peace inside your soul, so when someone is spiritually exhausted, you can give them something that has been a source of life to you.”
Over the last several weeks, I have seen examples of (and unfortunately participated in) passing the opposite of peace, life, love, encouragement, and inspiration. I quickly and easily give away my hurt, because I have too much of it and I can’t get rid of it fast enough. We all have an endless supply of negativity to pass along, and never enough of the Peace of Christ. I get my feelings hurt, then I hurt the next person I see. The next person dumps whatever I passed to them, onto someone else, and the cascade continues. Whatever I give away, gets passed on down the line.
It turns out that I am very influential, just not always in a life-giving way. Psalm 23 reminds me that I should have a cup that overflows with joy and life. Out of THAT overflow, I should always be ready to “Pass the Peace of Christ”.
Post-Script:
Writing this post made me think of a story. In July of 1980, I attended my first Catholic Mass. It was at Saint John XXIII Catholic Church in Ft. Collins, Colorado. I was attending a 1-week summer study program at the Institute of Biblical Studies (IBS) which was operated by Campus Crusade for Christ. When the time came to “Pass the Peace of Christ”, I was terrified. Some nice lady smiled and spoke to me. I froze, and mumbled something…. (probably “Thank-you”). It’s funny to look back at that experience, and wonder why I was so scared. But, I was only 18… so my excuse was… being 18!