John 14:23 - 29
In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles we hear about the controversy over circumcision and by extension, how Jewish you had to be in order to be a Christian? It was a serious debate because the early Christians were mostly Jewish converts, and there was no question in their minds that God had given the Jews a lot of commandments. If you were Jewish, you just accepted that this was the way you lived. But as the Church began to reach out to gentiles,it had to begin the difficult task of looking at what had been given to Jews and asking what was essential, what of Jewish law applied to the new converts to Christianity. And as it did so, the Church could not allow these questions to divide it. The apostles valued unity among the assembly so highly that they sought to speak with one voice. That’s why Paul consulted with Peter; that’s why in the early church there were ecumenical councils. Unity meant peace, and Jesus, after he rose from the dead, told the apostles “Peace be with you”.
In a few minutes Father will offer us the peace of the Lord. I will then ask you to offer a sign of peace to each other. Some of us will wave, some bow, some studiously look straight ahead and not move at all. And there will be the wavers and a few people who just have to shake hands because they can’t imagine the sign of peace without actually touching. And after a couple of minutes we will be back to ignoring each other as we prepare for communion. There have been some liturgical authorities that think we should do away with this little ritual, or maybe have it at the beginning of mass, so that we could all say hello to each other before we get down to the serious business of why we are here. And being really old, I remember the Mass before Vatican II. The Priest would be saying Mass in Latin with his back to the people. You couldn’t hear what he was saying because he was speaking very softly. And then he would abruptly turn around and say in a louder voice, “Pax vobiscum”. And the altar server, me, would answer for the congregation, “et cum spiritu tuo.”
But there is an interesting document from the third century which has come down to us in Syriac and Greek, and we have several copies or fragments of copies. It was called in Latin, the Didacalis Apostolorum. Some people of that time thought it had been written by the apostles, but we doubt that today. It was kind of an encyclopedia about how to carry out the liturgy, who could administer sacraments, who could marry who, and so on and so forth. But the part that has something to do with today’s gospel is a description of the kiss of peace. Once the priest or bishop had finished the Eucharistic prayer and consecrated the Bread and Wine, he would kiss the deacons (I want you to know I am not saying we should go back to the old way). The deacon would then kiss a few members of the congregation, who would in turn kiss more members, until everyone had exchanged the kiss of peace. The celebrant was instructed to stop the liturgy if the kiss of peace was refused by someone, or not given by someone. The celebrant was instructed to intercede until the two individuals had their differences smoothed over; and if they could not, they were to be expelled from the congregation before the Eucharist was given. It was considered absolutely necessary for everyone to share the peace of Christ before receiving the Body and Blood of Christ.
Jesus contrasts the peace he gives with that given by the world. When he mentions the peace the world gives, what undoubtedly came to the minds of his hearers was the Pax Romana. The Peace of Rome was attributed to the Roman state, which built roads and cities, controlled the shipping lanes, and in general maintained an effective civilization -- at the cost of suppressing dissent by the use of its huge standing army. The Romans were very proud of the peace they had brought about. But it was fragile; there were rebellions, invasions from the north and east of the empire; and sometimes nature would step in to shake up the peace with an earthquake or a plague or a volcano..
Jesus’ peace is different. It is based on the giving of the Holy Spirit, who God promises will stand beside us and speak for us and through us -- that’s what an advocate does. In another place Jesus promises that we don’t need to prepare what we are to say in our defense before the authorities -- the Spirit will provide the words. Jesus' peace also comes from knowing that he is with the Father and has promised that if we keep his word the Father will love us and Jesus and the Father will make their dwelling in us. With these kinds of promises it is no wonder that the early Christians did not fear the powers of the state and went to their martyrdoms singing.
So you can see how, every time the liturgy was celebrated, the congregation would exchange the kiss of peace which reminded them that they had been given the peace of Jesus Christ, and that if we accept it, our hearts cannot be troubled or afraid. Remember that today as well when we exchange the sign of peace, that in this community, in our unity, the peace of Christ truly lives.
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