Glory to Jesus Christ. Five years ago, July 2017,
we were getting ready to leave Santa Rosa after
two wonderful years as an intern family. We've
been very grateful for every time that we've
been able to come back. And now, after three
years, we've been able to return. Five years
seems to go by really fast. But many things have
happened in these five years. Back home in Norway,
but also here. And it makes you reflect on what
has changed in these five years. One of the things
that I've noticed, and I've not only noticed
it here in the US, but perhaps especially more
so here than back home, is the increasing polarization
that is happening between people. How things
are becoming more black and white. You're either
with or against. Nuances are gone. If you're
from the wrong we don't really listen to what
you have to say anymore. Like Father James mentioned
last Sunday, people are angry, and it's hard
to really know why. We don't want to understand
each other. We want to be right. Right now, there's
a war going on in the Ukraine, and... In Europe,
we can feel this even more tangible than you
guys, but still, everyone knows about it. In
many ways, it seems like there is a war, not
just in Ukraine or between Russia and Ukraine,
but that there is a war within our own countries.
Left against right, conservatives against liberals.
Red against blues or, you know, whatever group
you want to pick. With or against the current
president, Trump or Biden. It even seems like
a war is taking place in our churches as well.
During COVID, we've been fighting over face masks,
wearing them or not wearing them, vaccinations
or not vaccinations. Are we with our bishop or
are we against our bishop? Are we with our priest
or are we against our priest? But listen. Today,
Christ is calling us. Listen to the antiphons.
And this was also the alternative reading for
this gospel. Blessed are the peacemakers, for
they shall be called... the sons or the children
of God. It makes you think, or we should think
at least, what does it mean to make peace? Or
what is peace? In worldly terms, peace often
seems to be the cessation of hostilities. No
war. stability, and the economy can develop as
it should. But what is the peace that Christ
has in mind? If we turn to the liturgy, and this
is something that has really been on my mind
since the war has been going on, and in our parish
we have both Russian and recent Ukrainians coming.
What does it mean to be filled with the peace
of Christ? Before we even start the liturgy,
before we say blessed is the kingdom, there is
a tiny portion that... you probably don't hear
the priest say very often, but it starts with
the prayer to the Holy Spirit, Heavenly King.
And then it goes on, if you look in your liturgy
book, it says, Glory to God in the highest and
on earth peace and goodwill among men. These
are the words of the angels to... the shepherds
at the fields of Bethlehem. They were announcing
the birth of Christ. They were announcing the
new king and the peace he was going to bring
to the world, the peace from above, from God.
And then we start the liturgy with blessed is
the kingdom, the kingdom where God reigns, where
Christ is Lord. In ancient times, the gospel,
was a word, or evangelion in Greek, is a word
about good news. It's about good news that a
king has established peace. And this is what
we have heard today, what we hear in church.
God has established peace on earth in Christ.
And his kingdom is being established on earth
in the church. In the worship in us. And then
we continue with in peace let us pray to the
Lord. In order for us to pray there must be peace
in us and among us. Peace is a foundation or
a prerequisite for prayer. And this peace is
not just the outward peace, but it's an inner
peace. In our tradition, we value silence, inner
peace, hesychia, in order to pray, in order to
hear the gentle words and voice from our Lord,
we have to be silent and peaceful. And the next
word petition is for the peace from above and
the salvation of our souls. The peace that God
brings in Christ is a peace from above. It is
a peace from above before it is a peace on earth.
It is a spiritual peace. It's a peace within
our hearts that Christ brings. And then we pray
for the peace of the whole world. the welfare
of the holy churches of God, and the union of
all. In this, we see a hierarchy, a hierarchy
in which God's peace is the foundation for the
peace of the world. And in the true sense, there
cannot be peace in the world, a true peace, without
it being peace in our hearts, peace between...
ourselves and among ourselves. And listen to
the words of the liturgy, the words that are
left. How many times the word peace comes up?
How many times the priest is greeting us, peace
to you. An offering of peace, a mercy of peace,
that we may offer this oblation, holy oblation
in peace. Notice in the gospel how many times
Christ is greeting his disciple with peace and
fear not. In order to have and make peace, we
must forgive sometimes. We have to let go of
something we are holding on to, a principle that
might seem really important to us, but in the
greater scheme, perhaps, Or it will fade away.
We have to give up something. You have to give
up something in your relationship in order to
make peace. This is the nature of love. And love
and peace are together. They are the fruits of
the spirits that we hear in the epistles and
in the gospels. There is no love without sacrifice.
Something in us have to be put aside in order
to love. Something that I want to do, something
that I think is important perhaps, in order to
have a marriage or in order to have in a family
or with a friend or especially in the church.
So this is what God is calling us to. Christ
is calling us to make peace, because only when
we make peace, or I should say, when we make
peace, we will be called the children of God.
And let me say a few words about small things.
In times of war, and this is also something that
has struck me, You know, when you have people
from two warring nations, and we all feel in
Europe especially that we are a part of this.
Norway is a NATO country, and being a chaplain
in the Norwegian Armed Forces and being in a
Russian tradition church, you kind of feel that
tension very tangible every day in church and
at work. But the small things, how important
they are. And how powerful they are in the times
of crisis. Small things between someone who are
at animosity between themselves. Between, let's
say, a Russian and a Ukrainian. A smile, a help
lifting something for someone. Doing something
very small. But because of the difficulty and
the circumstances around... We can see the significance
of it. We can see the sacrifices that this small
thing can do, how great power it has. And this
is really encouraging, really, because we can
all do small things. And we often despite the
small things because we want to do great things.
But very often the small things are the greatest
things that we can do. And these are the things
that God is asking us to do. In Norwegian churches,
and this is from a tradition from the medieval
ages, perhaps, who knows, maybe it was an Orthodox
tradition back a thousand years ago, but in the
narthex in Norwegian churches, it makes you kind
of smile, I guess, but it's called Våpenhus,
which means the house of weapons. And so you
might imagine Vikings with helmets and swords
and spears, and you're like, okay, I have to
go to church. I'll hand in my weapons before
I enter in. But I think there is something really
important in this, and we might giggle and smile
a bit. But maybe we should put a sign above our
churches in the narthex. This is a house of weapons.
Leave your weapons outside. Leave your weapons,
your principles, politics outside. We are here
to worship God. We are here to love each other.
And this is much more important. This is why
we are here. And let us do the small things to
love each other. Let us imitate the saints. that
surrounds us, who are filled with the peace of
God, and who sacrificed, who even martyred, became
martyrs, and let's become the children of God.
Glory to Jesus Christ.