‘You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.” But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, “You fool”, you will be liable to the hell of fire. So 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. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. (Matthew 5:21-26, NRSV)
Have you ever wondered why we go around shaking hands in our service of worship?
Some congregations exchange the peace. This exchange of peace is usually done just prior to the celebration of Holy Communion. The worship leader will say something like “The peace of the Lord be with you all.” And the congregation responds, “And also with you.” And then there is an exchange of the peace. We say to each other, “The peace of the Lord be with you.” “And also with you.” But why?
We can see in the text for this morning why we do this. You see it is so that we are at peace with our brothers and sisters. If there is any animosity, or anger, or hurt, or wrong doing between us, we are to seek out that person and make amends before we come to the altar of the Lord.
It is a time for us to be in right relationships with all of our brothers and sisters, before we come to the table to be made right with God.
So peace be with you!
aSacredRebel 