Resurrection, the overcoming of that which separates us from God, each other and ourselves- this is the message of Easter.  That which was dead has been made alive.  In the Easter Vigil Liturgy we proclaim that night to be, 'the night when you brought the children of Israel (and us) out of bondage in Egypt,' 'the night when all who believe in Christ are delivered from the gloom of sin and are restored to grace and holiness of life,' 'the night when earth and heaven are joined and we are reconciled to God.'

When at the exchange of the Peace we say, "Peace be with you," "And also with you." we are actually declaring in our words and bodies all the above.  The physical greeting of one another is intended to be a physical proclamation that we all have been reconciled, restored in God.  It is a tangible naming of absolution, restoration and the 'peace' which comes with that.

This meaning of the Peace has been one of the least taught moments of the Liturgy.  As a consequence of this lack of teaching, that moment has often become more of a greeting time, a time to greet the person next to you and perhaps other friends around you. We don't always understand this gesture to be every bit as laden with symbolic proclamation as is the absolution spoken by the priest: we are restored in God and our embrace of one another shows we believe this to be.

 I wonder how different the experience of the Peace would be if we said, "You are restored," "As also are you."  May feel a bit bold, and it might embolden us in knowing who we are in God and with another.

Peace,

Todd Donatelli