The eCrozier

You’re in a place of worship, not a Morton’s Steakhouse. – Father Mike Gutierrez

Recently at a Roman Catholic Church in Southern California, basketball star, Kobe Bryant grabbed a man’s cell phone during the passing of The Peace, hurting the man’s wrist in the process. Apparently, Bryant was concerned that the man was trying to take pictures of him and his family during the Eucharist. It turned out, it seems, that no pictures were found on the man’s cell phone. Laying aside the issue of guilt and fault in this case, of both Bryant and the man in question, I want to know what the man was doing on his cell phone during The Peace?

Bill Plaschke, a sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times, showing sympathy for Bryant in this incident, wrote that he has been approached by his fellow church members during the Eucharist to talk about sports, not only during The Peace, but also when these same people were walking back to their pews after receiving communion. Fr Gutierrez is right: During the Eucharist we are gathered to offer God our corporate sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. We are not gathered for informal conversation, not even on important subjects.

The Peace is a holy time in the liturgy. It is not “half time,” like at a Friday night football game. I have witnessed many times The Peace appear more like a cocktail party than a worship service. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in a vigorous, even loud and long, passing of The Peace with people moving around and reaching out to embrace one another. That being said, it is still an important and holy time in the liturgy. The focus ought to be on bidding the peace of Christ for one another, particularly with those whom we need reconciliation.

The Peace is a time and place where the people gathered get in right relationship with one another. The Peace lets us know that what we have done in the liturgy up to that point is pleasing to God and it sets us in the proper spiritual and communal framework to approach the altar for the sacrament. The Peace is actually the conclusion of a five-fold response to the Gospel proclaimed (Sermon, Creed, Prayers, Confession, & Peace) that forms a coherent narrative in the Liturgy of the Word. At the center of that liturgy is the Gospel. What we do after the Gospel is proclaimed shapes our response to that Gospel in our lives.

The Peace, then, is a profoundly holy act where we approach our sisters and brothers in Christ bidding God’s peace be upon them. It is an especially important time for those in the Body of Christ who have some level of discord. None of us should approach the altar for the sacrament if we are not seeking right relationship with God. And none of us should come to the altar if we have not made an effort to be in right relationship with our sisters and brothers. Even with those whom we have chronic discord, we can come to them at The Peace and with full hearts ask that the peace of Christ dwell with them.

+Scott