My soul rests...

One of the things I love about my church is our two hymnals. One hymnal is the regulation Presbyterian hymnal with hymns that could be heard in any Presbyterian (or Baptist or Methodist) church that still uses hymnals. Our other hymnal is titled “The Songs of Zion” and it is just that... gospel songs with a beat, spirituals and songs with their roots in the African American culture through the years. We sing “I Want Jesus to Walk With Me”, “We Shall Overcome”, “I Don’t Know Who Holds Tomorrow”, “Precious Memories” as well as “O God Our Help in Ages Past” or “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”. What we sing mirrors who we are.
We are brown and white, young and old, doctors and young mothers on welfare, educated and barely able to read, old preachers who know a good preacher when they hear one, a set of baby twin boys who love to run the aisle when Pastor Pat preaches and could care less about the sermon. We are the Body of Christ, a rag tag bunch of believers who gather on Sundays to be about our Lord’s work, loving on each other in the process.
The Passing of the Peace is my favorite part of worship now. We circle the church, hugging and speaking the ancient words of peace as well as words of love and laughter. Miss Louise, 92, will hug you twice because she forgets the first one. Miss Ida Mae stands in one place and waits for you to come to her. We take a lot of time with each other during this ritual, more than most worships allow, and we like it that way. It is the one time during worship that we are not seated facing forward, side by side.
We can see, touch and speak to each other as families should. Old ones who do not get touched much take home a weeks worth of hugs. Little ones are oohed and ahhed over, patted and loved on. We do everything from handshakes to hugs but mostly hugs. Miz Vivian asks me to tie her scarf, Diamond and Alexis want to sing in worship next Sunday, Madge looks worn out from keeping her sick husband at home, Sue whispers in my ear that she has cancer, Tina tells me her leg still hurts, Carol and I talk about her daughter away at college. Janet has a new sewing inspiration. It is a weekly family reunion.
Truth be told, many of us, whatever our status in this life, come to church weary and worn most of the time. Life can be tough and tenderness is hard to come by. Our passing of the peace is exactly what I need every Sunday... the visible and felt expressions of a loving God who cares about me... from the faces of God and the bodies of God in our small congregation.
An old hymn written by Fanny Crosby describes how I feel after we have passed the peace, circled the church holding each other in the light of Love. “Safe in the arms of Jesus, Safe on his gentle breast. There by his love o’ershaded, sweetly my soul shall rest”. My brother Jesus shines in the faces of those I love at Calvary Presbyterian and my soul rests. Peace has been passed indeed.