Devotional Messages

Matthew 5:23-24 – “When you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.” (NRSV)

Each Sunday when I introduce the Passing of the Peace, I preface it by saying, “Jesus teaches us, before we come to worship God, to reconcile ourselves, one to another.”  This passage, which we read in worship just a couple weeks ago, is the reason I say that.  Indeed, it is possibly the main reason this ancient rite of reconciliation came into existence at all.  How do a couple of lines from the Sermon on the Mount have that much influence on Christian tradition?

I believe it’s because they are a reflection of a truth that we know deep in our hearts and souls:  it does not make sense to come to worship the God of Mercy without first doing what we can to be reconciled with our fellow humans.  How can we come to ask God’s forgiveness if we ourselves are holding a grudge, unwilling to be merciful to those who have hurt us?  What sense does it make to ask God’s forgiveness, if we’re unwilling to admit our wrong to the person we hurt?

During the season of Lent, we move the Passing of the Peace of Christ into a spot just before the Lord’s Supper.  It is incorporated into a broader litany of preparation, in which we aim to ensure we are truly ready to receive the Bread of New Life and the Cup of God’s Mercy.  Instead of wandering around the room saying “hey,” we turn more solemnly to the broken relationships we hold in our hearts and say the ancient words.  This annual shift is intended to help us remember the true meaning behind this ritual.

“The peace of Christ” is not simply a greeting.  It is a powerful word of mercy that we offer one another, knowing that not every broken relationship is healed because we wish it so.  The grace we need to maintain our relationships can only come from God, because we are such imperfect vessels of mercy.  When we offer one another the peace of Christ, we are reminding each other that we need the mercy of God and that we are receiving it even now, through the renewed life we are continually claiming in Christ through baptism.

Collect for the Week – Everlasting, Merciful God, who through Christ reconciled the world unto yourself, grant that we might seek reconciliation in our lives, so that our world might be made new and our worship sincere and true.  Through Christ Jesus our Lord and the Holy Spirit we pray, Amen.