I look forward to exchanging the Peace each Sunday after the homily, and before the choir's anthem and the Holy Eucharist. What happens when we exchange the peace? In John's gospel, we read that Jesus appeared to the disciples who huddled behind closed doors, undoubtedly bewildered and fearful Jesus first words to them are "Peace be with you." And he says it again after showing them his nail pierced hands and spear pierced side. But this time he adds "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." Then he breathed on them and said "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
What happens when you are given, and you receive a gift? In "Exchanging the Peace," The Very Reverend Anthony F.M. Clavier tells us: "Accepting a gift is a moment of self-emptying, of acceptance and gratitude. For a moment we are beholden, vulnerable, dependent as we receive that which we lack. Receiving a gift can strike our pride, can be uncomfortable. Living in the gift demands an active gratitude. It also means that we value that which we have been given. We feel it necessary to show it off. And that leads to sharing the gift. The gift of “the peace of God which passeth all understanding” is to be received as a trust to share with others. Thus when we exchange “the Peace” today, we say to those we greet, “Here is the most wonderful gift, the gift of accepting Jesus into our lives and sharing that communion with each other and out into the world.”And then there is the presence. The presence of Christ, which we experience in the Eucharist. Let us share that peace, and presence, together. In His presence, we are forgiven, and we can forgive.
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