At the passing of the peace, we engage in reconciliation as we prepare to be guests at the table Jesus prepares for us. This serves as a model for how we are called to live in our world. If we as Christians are going to get to the place of true reconciliation, according to God’s standards, we need to be sure that the peace we share, the peace we offer others, isn’t just quiet. Peace and quiet are not the same thing.
In a March 1956 sermon, “When Peace Becomes Obnoxious,” the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. noted that peace is not merely the absence of tension, but also the presence of justice. King said that a peace that is boiled down to stagnant complacency, deadening passivity, is simply obnoxious. He wrote: If peace means accepting second class citizenship, I don’t want it. If peace means keeping my mouth shut in the midst of injustice and evil, I don’t want it.
King also said that peace is “the presence of a positive good.” This is the kind of peace Jesus stood for, lived out and called us to in our communities.
This message is excerpted from “Passing the peace” by Tiffany C. Chaney in the July/August 2020 Gather magazine. Today we commemorate Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, 430 and Moses the Black, monk, martyr, c. 400.
Copyright © 2025 Women of the ELCA. Inquiries for permission to reproduce should be directed to [email protected]. If you enjoy this resource, Donate Now.