Peace is Flowing like a River

Peace is flowing like a river,
Flowing out of you and me,
Flowing out into the desert,
Setting all the captives free.

We used to sing this song right after the sign of peace growing up. I always thought the words were pretty; they'd conjure up images of a river and a desert and rain and green plants. And while this imagery is beautiful, singing this song again after a year of campus missionary work, a whole new set of images and meanings came to mind.

Rather than just an abstract idea of "peace" that is somehow flowing out into this idyllic, almost mythological "desert", I thought of campus and the students there. I wouldn't say that the college campus is the typical place I would go to if I were looking for peace. But, we're always called to be peaceful, even at college. One of the ways I am blessed to be part of the New Evangelization is by sharing what it means to have peace in one's life, even amidst the stress and business of everyday life.

I like the idea of peace being like a river. Rivers seem to make such a happy sound. Just so, peace brings happiness. Those who have peace in their lives are joyful people! Rivers don't try to flow where they shouldn't. They are bound by the rules of gravity and erosion. They can't climb up a mountain, no matter how hard they try. Rivers are made to run from a high point to a low point. We work in the same way. There is a natural order to our existence. God has a plan for our lives, and when we follow that plan, we are filled with peace and joy. When we don't, when we try to carve out a path that isn't meant to be, we lose that peace and joy.

It's amazing how noticeable peace is, too. There is something about those students who are able to face the common stresses of college life with a calm courage and joy. They aren't caught up in their grades. They don't become overwhelmed and anxious at a long paper or project. Instead, they are able to adapt as necessary, and maintain focus on what matters most: their faith in Jesus Christ and His Church.

As a missionary, I hope to spread this same peace to the women in my Bible studies and on campus as a whole. Many students who seem to lack peace in their lives don't even realize it's missing. It's like they've been living in a desert for so long, that they don't remember what a river looks like. Sometimes they can be suspicious of trying to integrate peace in their own lives. After centering their lives on grades or friends, it's hard to see why changing their focus to Christ would be important, or how it would even be possible. Sometimes, on the other hand, they do see the importance and possibility of change. They see how peace can bring them happiness, and strive to make changes. It's never easy. Just as water flowing in to a desert doesn't cause growth overnight, having the desire for change doesn't cause change to immediately occur. But without that desire, peace will never come. Peace cannot be forced into one's life, but it can be invited in.

The Parable of the Vineyard

Over 30 students celebrated Mass at 6:30 am

The last day of classes didn't start by hitting the snooze button.
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The Workers in the Vineyard.
Matthew 20:1-16
8 When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ 9 When those who had started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage. 10 So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’ 13 He said to one of them in reply, ‘My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14 Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? 15 [Or] am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?’

I've never really liked this passage. I knew it wasn't really about money, but even so, it never really seemed fair. I always thought, in the back of my mind, that Jesus wasn't giving the workers, who had been bearing "the day's burden and heat", their due. How could it be possibly be fair to pay everyone the same wage? Why shouldn’t those first hires be upset?

Last week Friday, the last day of classes at UMW, 31 students went to 6:30am Mass. It was amazing! We filled 3 pews, and took the priest totally by surprise. 31 students decided to begin their last day of class by waking up “insanely” early, as one student commented, and going to church. But a dedicated group of students, including the FOCUS team, had been going to 6:30am mass on a weekly basis all semester. It hardly seems like it would be fair for us to be recognized due to numbers, but not for the sacrifice made week after week for an entire academic year.

As I was sitting in my pew after communion, however, I was thinking about this passage from Matthew, and how I had totally misinterpreted it for so long. Being at mass, surrounded by 30 students, all I felt was an overwhelming joy! They finally made it! They finally made that sacrifice to wake up at 6am, get dressed, and walk over to the local parish. Praise God!

This is how those first vineyard workers should have reacted: With great rejoicing. They were supposed to have been happy for the workers who made the sacrifice to work for the Vineyard Owner, no matter how long they had been making those sacrifices, whether 8 hours or just a single one.

It’s so easy to become prideful in our own spiritual life. But that pride is misguided. It puts the call on our shoulders, on our response, instead of where it truly belongs—in Christs’s hands. He walked out among the people at different times throughout the day. Some He called in the morning—called to spend all day with Him, but also called to shoulder the heavy burdens of the work. Some were called later. They weren't strong enough to carry the full burden, but Christ still asked them to fully do what they were capable of. Some He didn't call until the very end. They were called to be a sign of hope. Hope for the first workers—their sacrifice of toil and labor did not go unheeded. Called to show how great God’s mercy is—there is nothing, no sin so great that God cannot overcome it.

I was overjoyed to see so many students come to 6:30am Mass. It was such a beautiful feeling of community. All of us were tired, every one of us would have rather been sleeping, but we were all there nonetheless. All answered Christ’s call to put Him first in our lives—even above sleep!