Peace Isn't Passive
Until recently, when I heard the phrase, "peaceful person," the image that popped into my head was of someone who is serene and calm, at peace with him or herself. But that is beginning to change for me. To be a person of peace, I think, is more about action than it is about serenity. In Sebastian Temple's song Prayer of St. Francis, (derived from St. Francis' own prayer for peace), we sing words of action:
Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring your love . . .
Where there's despair in life, let me bring hope . . .
I think about the most famous of our nonviolence advocates — Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Bishop Oscar Romero, Cesar Chavez — and I am being drawn to them in a new way. They were not passive people. They weren't people who only said nice things so as to not hurt other people's feelings. They weren't people who looked the other way when violence was done to themselves or others. They were not weak. They chose to respond to violence, hatred, fear, intimidation, and threats with acts of love, charity, and compassion. Like Jesus, they found non-violent ways to move people toward something new. And each of them changed the world we live in today.
Violence has become such an acceptable part of our everyday lives that I fear most do not understand the grip it has on their lives. When the Three Stooges hit, poke, and punch each other, we laugh. We use car crashes and gun fights as our primary form of entertainment. Beating each other up, with fists and/or words, is how we settle problems these days. But there is another way. Is it just too uncommon for us to believe that it can work?
The United States Bishops teach us that . . .
Peacemaking is not an optional commitment. It is a requirement of our faith. We are called to be peacemakers, not by some movement of the moment, but by our Lord Jesus. The content and context of our peacemaking is set not by some political agenda or ideological program, but by the teaching of his church. (Challenge of Peace, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1983, #333)
The bishops set forth a challenge to us, not to follow a particular political agenda or cause, but to embrace the call of our faith (through Jesus) to be peacemakers. A friend just put a peace bumper sticker on the back of her car and she tells me that it has caused her to start driving differently. A simple example, for sure, but when we look take the bishops' challenge to heart, it changes the way to do everything. To dedicate oneself to peace means to do things differently, and it must involve action.
As we honor the memory of all those lost to us on September 11th, I want to look at our response with new eyes as well. The United States chose a violent response to a horrible act of terror and that violence continues five years later. Our nonviolent heroes stand as a beacon to remind us that there are other choices that we can make, as a nation and as individuals. When faced with choices, I hope that each of us will at least consider the possibility that nonviolence can change the tide of history. It has happened before. It can happen again. It can change our lives.
Let us prayer using the words of St. Francis, in song or print . . .
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Related Links:
- The Challenge of Peace, Catholic Update, condensed form of the US Bishop's Pastoral Letter
- Prayer for Peace: The Courage of Dialogue, Busted Halo
Spirit Compass reflections are developed in partnership
with the Center for Ministry Development.