Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  John 14:27

We continue our discussions of Sunday morning worship with a review of our local customs. We’ll talk about the roles of the assistants, the choir, the coffee servers, nursery attendants, etc. I’ll make some comments about scheduling. If you have ideas for improving our Sunday morning activities, let me or a member of the council know.

The time we spend together on Sunday morning will not make you rich, powerful, influential, cool, good-looking, young, fulfilled, popular or famous. Worship–our duty and our delight as Christians–is of no help to you in your quests to become rich, powerful, etc., etc. The activities of your church life work on your inward self, your true self, the free, forgiven, forever young self that belongs to God.

The peace that Jesus said he was leaving to his disciples is available to us through his word and, remarkably, in his body and blood. If you’re too cool for church, too busy, too important, or something else, never mind. The peace of Jesus is given to those who receive it over the course of their lives. The invitation to accept the wisdom of the word and the healing power of the sacrament stands, no matter what other missions we set for ourselves, and to which we give our selves and our time.