The Rev. Michael Shaffer
Year A – First Sunday after Pentecost- Trinity Sunday– June 11, 2017
Genesis 1:1-2:4a, Canticle 13, 2 Corinthians 13:11-13, Matthew 28:16-20
The Church of the Good Shepherd – Federal Way, WA
Exchanging the Peace of Christ, Not the Piece of Nice
“…live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Greet one another with a holy kiss….”
No Episcopal Church library or bookshelf of Episcopal clergy or academic would be complete without books written by the Rev. Dr. Marion Hatchett who died 2009. He was central in the development of the 1979 Prayer book and the 1982 Hymnal for The Episcopal Church. His Commentary on the American Prayer Book published in 1981
remains perhaps the most important and seminal source on Liturgical tradition and our Book of Common Prayer, ever written. For someone of such a keen intellect and academic mind, many who knew him well, loved the seeming dichotomy between his serious academic work and the everyday common man way, and common sense, with which he lived his life. He wore red suspenders, a straw sunhat, blue jeans, invited students to his house all the time where theological discussions were held until all hours of the night and as rumor has it, scotch and cigarettes were sometimes involved. While an authority on tradition, Hatchett always marveled at how we create rituals in the Church that come about solely from local or tribal custom, without any foundation honored in traditional Liturgy.[1]
So it was that with regard to worship he regularly asked this question, “Is that particular action edifying to the people?” Ask that question before you do something you like, or think is nice, or have seen someone else do. Look at the tradition and ask yourself is this something we do because we always have, but don’t know the reason, and then ask, “Why?”[2]
So with deference to Dr. Hachett, I wish to explore with you today our tradition of “greeting each other with a holy kiss”, better known as our exchange or “passing” of the Peace.
The peace is an ancient Christian practice. It has been associated with "Greet one another with a holy kiss,” as found in today’s Epistle reading(2 Cor. 13:12) and similar passages throughout the bible. It is a sign of reconciliation, love, and renewed relationships in the Christian community. In the late middle ages, a wooden plaque or plate with a projecting handle was used to pass the peace without direct personal contact. It had an image of the crucifixion or another religious subject on the face. It was known as a Pax Board, “Pax” derived from the Latin, "peace". “ The board was first kissed by the priest and then passed to other ministers and members of the congregation who also kissed it. The custom of passing the peace by use of a Pax Board became obsolete[3] and currently the “exchange” or “passing” of the Peace is initiated by the Presider, who says, "The peace of the Lord be always with you” and the people respond, "And also with you." Most importantly, the rubrics in our Book of Common Prayer state, “Then the ministers and people may greet one another in the name of the Lord “, but this is optional, not mandatory, as the actual liturgical function of the exchange of the Peace may be carried out in full , according to our prayer book, by the Celebrant and People simply exchanging of the words, “The Peace of the Lord be always with you…And also with you”, with no need for direct communication between parishioners. (BCP, pp. 332, 360),
In September 2014, Priest Scott Gunn posted the following on his Facebook page: “The passing of the peace is not liturgical halftime, nor is it the same as coffee hour. Just a random thought on a Sunday morning.”
As might be expected, it provoked quite a reaction, getting over 125 likes and almost 80 comments. Comments broke basically into two camps: “yes, preach it” and “the longer the better when it comes to the peace.”[4] I suspect if we polled our parishioners here at the Church of the Good Shepherd, we probably would discover like opinions.
So, as Hatchett suggests, let us take a moment to examine why and how we exchange the Peace here at Good Shepherd.
The so-called kiss of peace, or holy kiss, mentioned several places in the New Testament have to do with the fellowship and mutual love shared by Christians. It is an act specific to the worship gathering of Christians and not simply a general Christian practice of daily life, like for example, prayer.
So why is there a “kiss” or “exchange of peace” in our Liturgy? First, to demonstrate and create interpersonal reconciliation and Christian unity in the worship service.While somewhat different in Eastern Orthodox traditions, in the Western Church traditions, including the Episcopal Church, the kiss of peace is placed directly before everyone participates in communion. This is to underscore the importance of harmony and unity in the “One” body, before partaking in the “one” bread and “one” cup.
Second, it is to show reverence to the image of Christ in others. The kiss as an expression of reverence has ancient origins. The custom of kissing hands of sacred people Bishops and Priests and others with sacred authority was widespread among ancient cultures. Christians have kissed sacred objects and people during the worship service for centuries. In Eastern Orthodox churches, people often kiss icons as an act of worship. In our Anglican and Episcopal traditions, worship often incorporates a kiss of the gospel book following the proclamation of the gospel and kiss of the Eucharistic table, the altar, at the conclusion of worship, to demonstrate reverence to Christ who is represented in the Word (Gospel) and Table (Eucharist).
So how has this Liturgical expression traditionally been practiced?In the ancient church, it most certainly was an actual kiss. This is still the case in some cultures; a many Europeans still greet each other with an embrace and kiss on each cheek. According to theOxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, “Originally an actual kiss, the form of the Peace has been modified in all rites. The Western traditional practice was for the person giving the Peace to place hands on the shoulders of the recipient, who in turn placed his hands on the elbows of the giver, each bowing their heads toward each other, but in recent years hand-shaking has become the more common practice…”(Third Revised edition, p. 937)So, in the contemporary church, as is our custom here at Good Shepherd, the practice of greeting one another with a holy kiss or exchanging or passing the peace is accomplished by hugging or shaking hands, often while saying “the peace of Christ be with you” or something like that. Yet, the “Kiss of Peace” or “passing of the peace” in the tradition of our forefathers remains a specific liturgical act in the service.[5]
So, that being said, let’s take a minute to explore more fully what this “specific liturgical act in our service” is intended to be, as well as what it is not intended to be.
Let me begin by saying what it is not. The sharing of the peace is not intermission. It is not half time. It is not the seventh inning stretch. Rather it is an integral part of the worship service. It is the hinge, the transition, between the Service of the Word (that is the reading of scripture, the sermon and the prayers) and the Service of the Table (which is the celebration of the Eucharist or Holy Communion). Like all aspects of the service it is intended to have a deep, symbolic, even sacramental meaning.
The peace we experience as Christians is a gift from God. During the time of the sharing of the peace we have an opportunity to share this gift with others. Since we are passing the “Peace of God” we do not have to directly share the peace with each individual in the congregation. In fact, doing so defeats the original intent and deprives the “community of Christ” of the intended deeper, symbolic and sacramental meaning. When Jesus said to his disciples at the Last Supper, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you”, he did not get up from his place, nor did the disciples, and walk around the room touching and greeting each and every person with the ‘peace’ our Lord has given. When I share my peace with one person, let’s say Mike Kelly for instance, and Mike shares his peace with another person, let’s say Linda Potter for instance, Linda shares my “peace” which has been received, carried and shared by Mike. So without actually touching or communicating with Linda personally, my “peace of the Lord” has been “passed” to Linda by Mike, who carries it. The “peace of the Lord” is something that is passed among us as a community, not a personal greeting to the individual members of the congregation.It is holy time and a sacred act. The sharing of the peace is an opportunity to remember that when we worship we have come together as a community, and it is as a community that we share in the peace of the Lord, and pass that peace from one person to another, in community, not individually.[6]
The Rt. Rev.Robert L. Fitzpatrick, Fifth Bishop of Hawaii was once sent the following request by one of the priests in his Diocese:
“Is a directive on the practice of exchanging the Peace on your agenda?In every congregation I've attended in the last 18 months the Peace has devolved into a mini social moment lasting up to 5 minutes and sometimes more. It's like an intermission at the opera. Is there some guidance to finding the right balance in exchanging Christ's Peace liturgically? Any advice from the chief liturgical officer is appreciated.”
In response, the Bishop made the following observations and comments, which I think are worthy of our consideration.
Bishop Fitzpatrick writes, “The Exchange of the Peace is part of the liturgy. The Peace is an ancient Christian practice. It has been associated with "Greet one another with a holy kiss", as seen in 2 Corinthians 13:12 and similar passages. Some have noted that I do not spend a lot of time exchanging the Peace when I am with congregations. I usually offer the Peace to four or five people and then sit down. In fact, I am known to just sit down as folk mill about greeting one another. On rare occasion, I will even announce the offertory sentence just to calm things down if things get out of hand at the Peace…The Peace is not meant to last longer than the sermon. It is a liturgical act.
In our liturgy, the Peace acknowledges the reconciliation of the believer with God and of believers one with another. Notice that most of the time during the Eucharistic liturgy on Sunday, the Peace comes after the confession and absolution and before the altar is prepared for the Great Thanksgiving. We are symbolically acknowledging that we are in right relationship with God being at peace and harmony with one another before going to the altar”.
Bishop Fitzpatrick goes on to state, “So, while local practice might include greeting one another in the name of the Lord through much of the congregation…It is a symbolic act that should take no more than a few minutes in any congregation. It is a serious liturgical act of God’s people in preparation for receiving the Sacrament. It is also an act of joyfully acknowledging our reconciliation with God and one another. A balance can be reached through teaching and awareness. We do need to be aware that not everyone is comfortable with hugging and personal contact. Likewise, we must respect that it is not necessary to greet everyone. It is most important to greet and be at Peace with someone with whom you have had a disagreement or at enmity before coming forward for Communion. So, it is best to seek out those with whom you have a problem to Exchange the Peace of the Lord before bothering with your friends or those you love – they don’t need it.”[7]
So my friends, each congregation must seek to find the right balance of a warm and well-paced liturgy and a Peace that fulfills its function. It takes some teaching and some adjustment.Most of our liturgical tradition — word, action, sign, and symbol — has a theological and practical purpose. This is true of our passing of the Peace. When we alter the character of liturgical fundamentals, we upset a beautiful and balanced theological ecosystem. The point of the Peace is not to greet everyone individually, but to make space for reconciliation.The Peace is but one of many times in which we might be tempted to yield to the familiar and the comfortable. But liturgy, like discipleship more broadly, is not about us. Liturgy, and the Christian life, is about Jesus: we seek to follow him and to invite others to do the same.
As Father Gunn so poignantly summed it up in the article he published after his Facebook posting titled The Peace, and how we fail to pass it; “we need the Peace of Christ, not a piece of nice”.[8]For it is our sacred and liturgical time for the one body to put things in order, before sharing the one bread and one cup.
And all God’s people who are present and agree say together…Amen. And Amen.
1
[1] The Rev. Taylor Dinsmore, Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan, August 23, 2015, accessed June 10, 2017
[2]Peters, Bosco, Marion Hatchett RIP, published August 9, 2009, Liturgy- Service and Gratitude, accessed June 10, 2017
[3] The Episcopal Church, The Peace, accessed June 10, 2017
[4]Gunn, Scott, The Peace, and how we fail to pass it, published 9/15/14, updated 4/18/2015, accessed June 8, 2017
[5] Lawson, Stephen, Logos & Ekklesia– The Kiss of Peace, accessed June10, 2017
[6]The Rev Valerie Hart, Time for Tradition: The Peace, accessed June10, 2017
[7]The Rt. Rev.Robert L. Fitzpatrick, Fifth Bishop of Hawaii', ASK THE BISHOP – February 2014- The Peace, accessed June10, 2017
[8]Id. Gunn, The Peace, and how we fail to pass it, accessed June 8, 2017