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Instructions and Teachings
St Tikhon of Moscow, Russian Orthodox American Messenger, 1898–1905
A Homily on the Feast of the Nativity of Christ (25 December 1898)
Those among you, brethren, who have given close attention to this day’s service, could not but notice how frequently the Church repeats in her chants for the day the Angelic Hymn heard at the Nativity of Christ: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will among men” (Luke 2, 14). The Church indicates by this that the present festival of the Nativity of Christ is pre-eminently one of peace, good will and joy.
And verily, not since the fall of our first parents until the very coming of Christ has there been true peace on earth: man was not at peace, either with God, or with the world, or with himself.
By his sin, man broke the peace with God; for what is there in common between God’s righteousness and man’s iniquity, between light and darkness? The men who fell were, in the sight of God, “children of wrath, and sons of disobedience” (Ephes. 2, 2-3); “their sacrifices and offerings the Lord would not, and in burnt offerings for sin He had no pleasure. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins” (Hebr. 10, 4-6) Being not at peace with God, neither were men at peace among themselves. They were not brethren, children of one father; they were foes, all of whose thoughts were directed to dominating one over the other: one kingdom subjugated another, one nation oppressed another; everywhere was the noise of strife and the confusion of strife, under the burden of which the blood-drenched earth moaned distraught. And once men were at peace neither with God nor among themselves, there could be no peace in their souls either; conscience unceasingly rebuked fallen man for his transgressions of the law: “there is no rest in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities are gone over my head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. I am feeble and sore broken; I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart (Psalm 37, 4-8). So cried the Psalmist. The best men among the heathens also were conscious of the absence of peace in their souls, and being powerless to find it, fell into despondency and despair.
When lo! in the world there appeared the long desired, the long expected Prince of Peace, and of his peace there shall be no end (Isaiah 9, 6-7). Christ pacifies all things. He reconciles man with God; He teaches them that they are all brethren, children of one Heavenly Father and therefore should love one another. He brings peace and joy into men’s souls. Therefore, at His very birth, the Angels sing “peace on earth and good will among men”.
“But,” you will perhaps say, “where is peace on earth, when even since the coming of Christ unto this day, we see strife and wars, when, even now, nation is rising up against nation and kingdom against kingdom,—when even now, dissention, enmity, hatred, are so often found among men? Where are we to look for this peace, brought and left to us by Christ?’ (John, 14, 27).
“It shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and all nations shall flow unto it. ...And they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruninghooks...and they shall not learn war any more; but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree and none shall make them afraid” (Is. 2, 2-4; Micah. 2, 2-4). This kingdom of peace upon earth, foretold by the Old Testament prophets, is the Church of Christ: she is the bearer, the herald, the giver of His peace, and in her only peace should be sought. Here man is given peace with God, since by the Sacraments he is cleansed, and becomes a child of God, pleasing in His sight. Here, again, in the divine services, in the Sacraments, in the order and tenor of church life, the Christian finds peace for his soul; his nature is regenerated, renovated, and into his soul—meek, free from hate, submissive, merciful and loving—enters the God of peace and love, and then the Christian experiences a sublime blessedness, the like of which is not on earth. No suffering, no disasters can obscure this blessed peace in the Christian soul; indeed we know from the history of the Church of Christ that holy men have rejoiced in pain and prized their sorrows. In bonds and prisons, in desert and caves, beset by every hardship, they were as contented and serene as they that live in comfort and well-being perhaps never feel. Death itself has no terror for such: they serenely await its coming, and peacefully depart unto the Lord.
The Church of Christ overflows with peace. There we pray for the peace of the whole world and for the union of all. There all call one another brethren, all help one another. There is love for all; even enemies are forgiven and good is done to them. And when Christians are obedient to the voice of the Church and live according to her commands, then indeed there is peace and love among them. Think of the primitive Christians who had but one heart and one soul, who had all things in common (Acts 4, 32). But when men stray from the Church and live after their own will, then there is among them self-seeking, dissension, strife, war.
In these our days, brethren,—days which cannot boast of peace, days when the sword seems to hang in the air and states vie with one another in armaments, —in these days a mighty voice has been raised for peace. To our great joy, O my countrymen, this call has been sounded from the height of the Russian throne, by our most pious sovereign, Nicholas II. And we may take comfort in this, that his call is responded to with approval and sympathy by the nations of the world, and, among them, by the nation in whose midst we live... May then, in these days of salvation, when the Church sings the Angels’ Hymn of peace on earth—may our Emperor’s voice resound from end to end of it, may it ascend from sphere to sphere, calling the nations to peace, inviting them to beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruninghooks! And may all lovers of peace become convinced that the Orthodox Church, whose first-born son is calling on the world for peace, is verily the kingdom of peace on earth.
“Understand, ye nations, for the Lord is with us,” the Lord of peace and love! And therefore, all ye that are athirst for peace, that labor and are burdened, come to the Church of Christ, and here ye shall find rest for your souls! Amen.
Bishop TIKHON.
25 of December
S. Francisco.