Lakeside Community Presbyterian Church

We “reinstated” something in our worship service the last couple of weeks. It is the “Passing the Peace of Christ” where we say “May the Peace of Christ be with you” and the reply is “And also with you.”

The passing of the peace is an ancient Christian tradition that goes back to Jesus’ words when we greeted the disciples after His resurrection and said to them “Peace be with you” (John 20:19). In a way, we are recognizing Jesus’ presence with us.

Now let me say a couple of things as we pass the peace of Christ in worship on Sundays at LCPC. First, you are going to have to work at passing the peace. By this I mean that you will have to physically move from your seat to pass the peace. If you are an introvert, this is going to be terrible but think of it as an act of worship, where you are demonstrating in a small way, the love, grace, and peace that Christ gives to those who follow Him. You are imparting those characteristics of Christ to those that you greet.

One other thing, we have a number of people (many of whom you know) that are unable to attend a worship service, and they are watching our service on-line. Let me encourage you to reach out to someone that you know who is unable to attend an in-person worship service and pass the “peace of Christ” to them over the phone or by a text or email.

As we “Pass the Peace of Christ” treat it as a somewhat sacred act. You are asking that Christ be present in your interaction with that person and in a small way, you are demonstrating Christ’s love to another.

Have a great rest of the week, I hope to see you on Sunday and “May the Peace of Christ be with you.”