"The Peace of Christ" (sermon)

Chetwynd Shared Ministry

April 15, 2018

Scripture:  Luke 24:36-48

May the peace of Christ be always with you.

I want to talk a bit today about Passing the Peace – a tradition that is part of the worship in this congregation and in many other congregations across denominations.  But first, I invite you to turn to the person next to you, and in groups of 2 or 3, share what it means to you when we pass the peace as a part of worship.  Is it something that is meaningful to you?  Do you understand why we do it?  Feel free to be honest with one another!

(Pause for discussion)

Is anyone comfortable sharing your thoughts and opinions with the congregation?

(Pause for responses)

So why do we share the peace of Christ with one another when we worship?  When we share the peace of Christ, we are participating in an ancient practice in the church, likely going back for as long as there has been the church.  It’s more than just a social time; it’s more than just a time for conversations with one another (though I have to confess that sometimes I have been guilty of using the opportunity to pass a message along that I didn’t have a chance to do before we started worship…).  If you look at where in the order of worship we share the peace with one another, it happens right after we have confessed our sins and heard the words assuring us that we have been forgiven.  And then we turn and offer the peace of Christ to one another.  We recognize that not only have we been forgiven, but our neighbours have also been forgiven.  We have been forgiven by God, and this is an opportunity to forgive one another for any wrongs that have taken place – it is an opportunity to be reconciled with one another.  For if we ourselves have been forgiven for all of the wrongs that we know that we have done; we have this opportunity to let the forgiveness and reconciliation spread.  It is an opportunity to put aside any differences or disagreements we might have had in the past, and to start over in our relationship with each other.

It’s a bit like after a hockey game or soccer game or any other sports game.  The two teams have played hard, they have competed against one another in an attempt to beat the other team.  No one goes in to a game planning to lose.  And yet when the game is over, the fight is over, the two teams line up, and they shake each other’s hands.  They are acknowledging that the fight is over, that they don’t carry any hard feelings forward with them.  The two teams are reconciled.

May the peace of Christ be always with you.

Have you ever noticed that almost every time after the resurrection, when the risen Christ appears to his followers, his opening line is, “Peace be with you”?  We see it in today’s reading; we saw it three times last week when the risen Christ appeared to the disciples who were hiding behind locked doors.  It’s almost like it might be an important message or something…

When Jesus talks about peace, he is talking about the peace that comes as a gift from God.  The world that Jesus lived in was ruled by the Roman Empire; and there was a “pax romana” or Roman Peace all across the Roman Empire.  Now this peace was defined as the absence of war or conflict or highway robbery.  It was a peace that was enforced by military might – there was peace only because the Roman army was stronger than any of their opponents.  It was a peace that was intertwined with fear.

But in contrast with this, Jesus offers his followers a different kind of peace – a peace that instead of being intertwined with fear is actually the opposite of fear.  If you are experiencing this peace, then fear will no longer rule your life.  In John’s gospel, Jesus said to his followers in his final conversation with them before he is arrested, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

In the reading from Luke’s gospel, the risen Christ appears to his disciples who begin the reading in a state of fear.  They weren’t able to see Jesus for who he was.  They weren’t able to trust the joy of the resurrection.  Instead they assume that it must be a ghost standing before them.

But Jesus says to them, “Peace be with you.”  Jesus invites them to experience the peace that he offers, so that they no longer need to be led by fear.  This is the peace that we offer to each other every Sunday morning when we say, “May the Peace of Christ be with you.”  We are inviting each other to put aside the fears and anxieties that we carry inside us, so that we no longer need to let fear guide our actions.  If you move to the end of today’s reading, you will see that the disciples were able to open their minds to what the scriptures were saying, and that Jesus ends by sending them out into the world to carry the message of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen.  They were to carry this message out into the world, and share this gift of the peace of Christ with everyone whom they met.

May the peace of Christ be always with you.

I also think that it is significant that after he offers peace to his disciples, that Jesus eats the fish that they give to him.  Now the scripture doesn’t give very many details, but I doubt if Jesus was eating alone here.  That would have been awkward – Jesus sitting there eating a piece of broiled fish with the disciples standing around him, watching.  Instead, I suspect that they shared a meal together, passing each other pieces of the grilled fish, and maybe some bread and some wine to go with it.

Eating together is significant.  The root meaning of the word “companion” has to do with breaking bread together.  When we eat together, we are companions.  Our relationship grows, and we grow closer together.  I know that I’ve said it often, but Chetwynd Shared Ministry is a congregation that eats well together.  There is a potluck meal at least once a month – any excuse to eat together is what I’ve heard!  And not only that, but we eat together at least one other time each month when we celebrate the communion meal together.  We break bread together frequently.

And I think that it is important that we share the peace of Christ with one another before we eat together.  We hear the words in worship that we are forgiven by God; we offer the Peace of Christ to one another as we share the peace that we have received; we are reconciled to one another; and then we break bread together, either at the communion table or the potluck table.

May the peace of Christ be always with you.

And in doing so, we build community – and there’s a word that is related to communion.  In community, we are in communion with one another; and when we share in communion, we strengthen our community.  And the community that we are in with one another is the community that is the church.  As the church, we can show each other love and forgiveness.  As the church, we can share each other’s joys and we can help to carry each other’s sorrows.  As the church, we can be vulnerable together.  As the church, we can wrestle with challenging questions that we share in our humanity.  As the church, we can be honest together, we can be authentic together, we can value each other, we can treasure each other’s humanness.

And it all begins by knowing that we are forgiven, offering that forgiveness to others, being reconciled by the peace of Christ, and by breaking bread together.

May the peace of Christ be always with you.

Let us pray:

God of reconciliation,

            surround us with your love and peace

                        so that we know that we are forgiven

                        and that we are your beloved children;

            and help us to offer that love and peace to one another,

                        so that we are drawn together as your family

                                    and as the body of Christ.

I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ,

            who offers us his peace.

Amen.

Breaking Bread Together

Photo Credit:  Richard Little