One church practice I experienced when I lived in Germany and England was called "the passing of the peace." In the course of the worship services, the pastor would call us to turn to those around us and say, "May the peace of Christ be with you." Then the other person responds, "And also with you." Even though I know that such a thing can become ritualistic, I usually found it to be good.
Annie Dillard, in her wonderful book Teaching a Stone to Talk, recounted the story of how this usually beautiful practice became a major problem in one New York church. A new pastor called to serve the church soon recognized the strife that existed among his people. Early on, he insisted on passing the peace each week. However, some of the people in that congregation held long-standing grudges against others. The combatants had learned over the years to sit in the same worship services together but to ignore one another. When the new pastor constantly called them to pass the peace of Christ to all the people around them, they could not endure the thought of wishing peace to people they could not tolerate. So, what were they to do? Dillard told us that they chose to fire the pastor and find one who wouldn't make them do it anymore.
I hope that no one at Lake Avenue Church will resort to that "solution." I enjoy being a part of this congregation way, way too much. Instead, I think that Pastor James of the 1st Church of Jerusalem teaches a better way forward for churches today. It's quite clear that some of those who had sat under James' ministry were having a tough time getting along. He asked in James 4:1, "What is the source of the wars and battles among you?"
Then, James told them to look within their own hearts. It's there, he said, that we will find the cause of the problems that lead to quarreling and strife. So, this biblical passage is a call to an introspective evaluation of our hearts. Doing this can be discouraging, I know. When we look at our own hearts in the presence of a holy God, we will always see things that need to be made right. We will be humbled before the Lord.
But, when we make a faith commitment or recommitment to God, the Bible will not leave us without hope. As we will read today in James 3:6, although God does oppose the proud, he lifts up the humble. Indeed, "he gives more grace!"
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
