Pax Domini

By Rev. George F. Borghardt

Pax Domini. “The peace of the Lord.” It’s one of the oldest parts of the historic liturgy. After the consecration, the pastor holds the Lord’s Body above the chalice and says to the congregation, “The peace of the Lord be with you always.” It’s as though he is saying, “Here is your peace—right here in the Body and Blood of Jesus.”

The Pax Domini is so old, in fact, that it is said many Christians in the early Church thought that the Words of Institution ended with Jesus saying, “The peace of the Lord be with you always,” but they don’t. It was a really nice thought! Connecting the Lord’s peace with the Lord’s Supper is theologically spot on!

All our peace with God and with those around us comes from Jesus. It was earned for us by the holy life of Jesus. It was won for us when He suffered and died for our sins and the sins of the whole world. The Lord delivers His peace to us in His Supper.

“Take, eat My Body given for you. Take, drink My Blood shed for you for the remission of sins.” In other words, “Eat my life and drink my forgiveness. Be raised from the dead. Be forgiven and be at peace with God.”

Having peace with God means you also have peace with those around you! That’s why everyone makes peace with each other in the Divine Service. In His forgiveness, there is no more room for anything to separate us from each other. Any sin, any wrongdoing, is confessed and forgiven. We confess to God and to those we have wronged.

“I’m sorry.” “You are forgiven. I’m sorry, too.” “You are forgiven.” Each sin, each trespass, each foul word, each bit of slander or hurt, is confessed and forgiven right there in the Divine Service. “The peace of the Lord be with you always” means just that! Peace with God becomes peace with one another. Everyone goes to the Lord’s Supper at peace!

The peacemaking among early Christians in the Divine Service even became known as the “kiss of peace.” Maybe they didn’t actually kiss for real. They did at least “kiss and make up” figuratively. The point is, they made peace with each other.

This often happens today in our Divine Service. This is the strange and uncomfortable part of the service where everyone greets everyone else around them. Some churches have this either before service or after the prayers of the church. We shake each other’s hands and say, “The peace of the Lord be with you.”

True peace—lasting peace—comes from Jesus alone. It flows from His cross to us. It is won by His death which He died for us. It is lived out in His resurrection which justifies us before God and those around us. His peace comes to us in His gifts—the forgiveness of sins. In the Divine Service, it is put into our mouths at His Supper and into our ears by His Word.

Often today, peace is a goodbye: “Peace out.” It’s a prayer for world peace. We want the earth and all to be at peace instead of war. Peace for us is a feeling: chilling with a BFF and watching Netflix with nothing else to do. A full bank account gives us comfort and peace. The perfect girlfriend, a good job, or things going our way—these make us feel peaceful, like God loves us. Our parents not acting nuts—that’s real peace, too. Everyone loving us, being popular and respected—there’s peace in that as well. These things are all gifts from God, but they don’t give true, lasting peace.

When bad things happen, we try to make peace on our own—bartering with God and those around us. We agree to disagree with people rather than to actually settle the argument. We form camps of winners and losers. We cut off contact from those with whom we can’t get along. We unfriend them. Block them. Sometimes we do this because they hurt us. Maybe the whole thing is just too much. We’re done. We will make peace with them if they make peace with us first. It’ll be okay when they apologize. Our peace just won’t include them.

But in Christ, how could we hold any sins against anyone? The One who gave up His life on the Cross gives us His Body to eat and His Blood to drink at the Supper. Our sins are forgiven. We are at peace with God. How could we not be at peace with those around us, too?

“The peace of the Lord be with you always.” Hear the words in the Divine Service again. Trust them. Rely on them for your peace. Believe that everything that you need, everything that you long for, comes to you in Jesus alone.

In Christ, you are fed. In Christ, you are clothed. In Christ, you have friends and neighbors. In Christ, you are loved. In Christ, you live. In Christ, you will never die. In Christ, you have peace.

Repent of your sins. Turn from those times you have kept peace from others. Be a peacemaker to those around you! Seek those people out, in the service or before the service, and make peace with them. If they forgive you, Jesus has won the day. If they don’t, don’t ever stop seeking opportunities to be at peace with them by praying for them. “God, please grant them peace with me. Please help me forgive them and help that forgiveness enliven them to eventually forgive me.”

Impossible. Can it really be that easy? To find peace, and life, and rest in Jesus alone? No, it wasn’t easy at all: It cost Jesus His life on the Cross. He suffered and died to earn your peace with God. Now, by faith, you receive His peace in His Body and Blood.

Pax Domini. The peace of the Lord is with you always. Peace today. Peace tomorrow. Peace with God and peace with those around you.

Rev. George F. Borghardt is the senior pastor at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church and School in McHenry, Illinois. He also serves as the president of Higher Things.