On the Peace of God by Fr. Theodor Svane

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.