Worship Notes – Prayers of the People and the Passing of the Peace
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Last month we looked at a relatively “new” part of our liturgy, the Creed, and this month we will talk about two of the oldest. Justin Martyr in about 150 AD wrote that before receiving Communion, “We offer prayers in common for ourselves, for the new converts, and for all people everywhere… When we finish praying, we greet one another with a kiss” (Apologia I, 65).
The “Prayers of the People” have been called the “pastoral prayers,” “bidding prayers,” and “intercessory prayers.” The Prayers respond to St. Paul who said that “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings should be made for all, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). However, as the Eucharistic Prayer—which is spoken over the bread and wine of Communion—grew in extravagance and length, the Prayers of the People began to shrink and dropped out of the liturgy by 500 AD. Over 1000 years later, Lutherans subdued and shortened the Eucharistic Prayer and reclaimed the Prayers of the People.
Some people feel that the Passing of the Peace disrupts the flow of worship, like stopping in the middle of a conversation to suddenly say “Hello!” However, here before Communion, exchanging the Peace plays a distinct and vital role:
The peace which enables people to live in unity and in the spirit of mutual forgiveness comes only from Christ whose word has been proclaimed. Without the intention to live in such unity, participation in the sacramental celebration is a mockery and, as St. Paul warns, is dangerous [1Corinthians 11]. The peace is a sign that those who participate in it open themselves to the healing and reconciling power of God’s love and offer themselves to be agents of that love in the world.[1]
In fact, the alternative place to exchange the Peace is just before the distribution of Communion and immediately after the Lord’s Prayer to illustrate the petition “as we forgive those trespass against us.” Martin Luther once wrote that the exchange is “the true voice of the gospel announcing remission of sins, and therefore the one and most worthy preparation for the Lord’s Table.”[2]
The Peace and the preceding Prayers create and dramatize the community that gathers together and around Holy Communion. These remind us that the true presence of Christ in the Bread and Wine unites us as his Living Body in the world. Harboring grudges in the face of such proclamations of concern and peace is (as St. Paul warned) “dangerous.” With that in mind: the peace of the Lord be with you all!
Together in Christ, Pastor Greg Kaurin
Next Worship Notes: The Offering and Offertory
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