Master, where dwellest thou?

(November 18, 2024)

 

John 1:35-39 “Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? -- They said unto him, Master, where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day.”

Christ's beloved people of Latvia and dearly honored friends, partners and guests of our country - I greet all of us on the 106th anniversary of the Republic of Latvia! In the long centuries of our history, the period of freedom has been short. Let us thank God that we are chosen to live in it. Let's thank the previous generations who won a free Latvia in a difficult war of liberation and in an inspiring struggle of the Awakening [1]. Let's thank everyone who built it with hard work. Let's thank those who build Latvia in our days and protect it! Let's help them to the best of our ability and pray to God for them!

We start the celebration with a service in the Church of St. Mary's of Riga. This church is a symbolic center of crystallization of the Latvian nation. The presence of the Church of Christ contributed to the consolidation of the diverse and often conflicting Baltic and Livonian tribes into one Latvian nation in the Western cultural area. There are historians who think that gatherings of churches of Moravian Brethern were a place where Latvians learned to assemble in order to later decide for themselves about their lives in the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia. The great Latvian song festival grew from the singing festival in Dikli parish.

However, in our days, it is not entirely self-evident to start a national day with a church service. A different view of our life and world events has been voiced here. This is not possible in every country. This makes me feel joy and pride for our Latvia.

Because isn't that the freedom we fought for, that a person can have his own thoughts, which he can express openly? That we still have the opportunity to freely talk about different ideas? Freedom to think and talk is at the beginning of every freedom. The people interred Gunārs Astra with their bare hands in the hope that such a power would no longer come to Latvia, forcing people not to believe their eyes and ears and to remain silent. Let us protect freedom and use it for the glory of God and the good of our country.

Since independence, it has been my honor to address you on national holidays. This year is the last time I do it. From everything that I would wish to say, I have to choose the most important.

Have any of you heard Billie Holiday's "Fine and Mellow"? The captivating blues voice poignantly tells about a dysfunctional life. Then the saxophone joins in with a soft jazz melody. It is taken over by the trumpet - so light, so airy and beautiful that when listening, you can close your eyes, forget all your worries and let yourself be enthralled into a bittersweet world of hope. The blues is made to get over heartache and hopelessness.

It reminds me of modern society. We have allowed ourselves to be enthralled by the tune of hope that humanity is constantly progressing, growing in love and wisdom, and moving towards an ever more prosperous future where all will be equally included and in a reconciled diversity living in friendship, respect and love for one another. Accordingly, in education, culture, and media, we gradually created a living space for ourselves, which is suitable for life in prosperous and peaceful times where there is no real danger; where the only enemy is the dissenter who can hurt our feelings; where a person can afford to be a sensitive individual, whose priority is not to take responsibility, for example, to get married, raise children or protect his or her country, but to exercise their personal freedom and chosen identity as fully as possible. Because we live in the 21st century.

But this century has begun to sound not like a jazz trumpet, but rather like an angel's trumpet from the Book of Revelation, or the Apocalypse. It cannot be ignored, it requires immediate attention - wake up, look around! See if your choices are suitable for survival in the world that is coming upon you.

The war in Ukraine continues for a thousand days. The battles in the Holy Land and the Middle East continue for more than a year. Terrorists attack peaceful citizens. Countries attack their neighbours and exchange missiles. Cities are destroyed, and people are killed. We must embrace the reality that peace within our borders is not self-evident. Rather, it is a privilege to know that your house will not be destroyed tonight and your family will not be killed in sleep.

In the movie Gladiator, there's a scene where Maximus stands in the middle of the arena waiting for the battle and says to his comrades, "Whatever comes through that gate, we have a better chance of survival if we work together!" However, the Western world, including Latvia, is becoming more and more contradictory. We make it so with our choices.

There is another war, "The Front in Father's Backyard."[2] When there was an assassination attempt against President Donald Trump, historian and publicist Mark Solonin said that such events are moments when the cold war, which has been going on in the Western world for more than a decade, turns into a hot one for a moment. In our supposedly peaceful and safe society, every now and then there is a flash of violence and destruction, which indicate contradictions growing in the depths.

One of the most important events of the year was the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, where millions of people around the world saw for a moment the scene of Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper". Ghostly drag queens took the place of the Lord Jesus and the apostles at the table. In place of the sacramental wine cup, the blue and naked pagan god of wine, Dionysus. The resemblance was not photographic, however, we read the text easily even when the syllables are in a mixed order.

You might say, “It was just a show!” However, let's think again. It was the West's message to the world about the vision of the future. It did not arise by chance, but expressed the Zeitgeist.

Allegedly, the intention of the scene was to depict a celebration of inclusion, in which everyone is invited and participates. It's a beautiful idea that's easy to sell. However, in the symbolic scene among the participants of the celebration, did you also notice someone in, for example, blue jeans and a checkered shirt? There was no place for this at the feast of inclusivity.

This year, various elections were held both in Europe and America. The news about the results was received just like news from the front. Many felt overwhelmed and desperate. An alarming turn to the right is said to have occurred. What will happen now to Europe, to NATO, to Ukraine, to us? Politics is often like a pendulum. It moves left, right and back. It has always been so. Why such apocalyptic feelings now?

Let's think, isn't the turn so drastic because the ordinary person with his values, which were natural and understandable to previous generations, was not invited to the celebration of future inclusion? That the normal, healthy person no longer finds a place for himself in such a future and does not want such to be prepared for his children? Hasn't the path of Western democracy, which for many years served as an example for nations, become too extravagant, and they no longer see an attractive future in it?

The "Last Supper" scene in the Olympic Games is said to have been inspired by another work of art about the feast of the ancient gods. Seeing both paintings side by side, it is hard to tell which of them the scene resembled more. And that seemed to be the clearest message.

For two millennia, the Lord's Supper has been a way for Western society to build communion - bringing diversity into unity at the Lord's Supper, which is at the centre of the church, at the centre of the city, at the centre of the community and at the centre of Christian nations. It has been the Great Attractor of Western culture - as the centre of gravity in the universe towards which our Milky Way moves along with a hundred thousand other galaxies.

The festival of Dionysus has the opposite direction. Their element was "sparagmos" or tearing, where the participants of the feast tore into pieces an animal or even a person - like Orpheus, who was torn to pieces by raging bacchantes during the feast. The festival of Dionysus emphasizes the different, the ambiguous, the various.

If someone wants to fundamentally change Western society, dissolve the existing identity and create a new one - universal, non-binary, transhuman, where everything is uncertain and fluid, then it is clear why the Lord's Supper should be symbolically merged with the bacchanalia. That is why the unifying sacrament should be replaced by one that increases ambiguity, emphasizes difference and expands everything into a rainbow of diversity.

It can sound alluring like a jazz trumpet, albeit telling a story about a dysfunctional life. But the 21st century sounds more like the seventh angel's trumpet. Maximus said, “We will survive if we stick together.” Dionysus cannot unite. He is the god of diversity. Under his auspices, the civilization of death receives the mantle of freedom and rights. Dionysus cannot be Sauron's adversary, only prey. Is that the side that truly liberal people want to stand on?

Many Christians want to be on the opposite side, but where is it? It could seem natural to look for it in lands that resist all of it. In countries whose leaders say, "We are a Christian nation." We even know of a country where it is done, and many Western conservatives take it seriously. They see Russia as an ally in the cultural cold war and are willing to turn a blind eye to crimes in Ukraine and the trampling of freedom in Russia itself. But the Lord Jesus said: "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, but do not do what I tell you?"

The Russian regime praises Christian values but instils hatred and aggression in its people. It extols Christian virtues but tortures, imprisons and kills opponents. It stands for family and traditional marriage but invades a neighbouring country to rob and rape. It supports Christian projects, but destroys churches in Ukraine, kills people on an industrial scale and destroys the future of millions of people. I recently saw a young man on a plane wearing a T-shirt with the words "Cannon fodder" written on it in Russian. Would that be the side where Christians and conservatives would want to stand? Sauron is not an ally. He is unable to create a free, Christian, life-sustaining society. He is the Lord of chains and darkness.

Latvia should not perceive itself as one that must choose between Dionysus or Sauron, but rather as Odysseus' ship, which must find its way home between Scylla and Charybdis. Then we could show it and recommend it to friends.

Discussing sensitive questions, we often hear the argument that we are behind, that other European countries have been doing this for a long time. However, we should think critically that maybe we are not behind, but we are trying to maintain balance and inner peace. Values ​​are not something that can be given away in a decision to others. If we don't stand up for our values, who else will? New ideas are needed, but we must be careful of the chaos they can cause.

The correct answer to one extreme is almost never the opposite extreme. When the ideological pendulum swings into the extreme positions, whether to the right or to the left, it splits and destroys many things, which are difficult to heal afterwards. Love fades in many and spitefulness, disrespect and alienation increase. In any case, Latvia does not have to walk along the entire path of the pendulum there and then back. It is more important for us to stay and act together. Every important step should be considered with such a yardstick.

Also, our beloved Latvian language should unite and not alienate. Both in the media and in private conversations, you can often hear the thought: "We are all different, each one has his own truth." It comes as easy and simple as “eerrmm”, which we use to fill the pauses. In fact, it should worry and frighten us. Is it really that bad? If we are each on our own, if we have nothing in common, how will we work together? How will we survive in the 21st century?

Christmas will soon be here and the usual phrases will be heard in the media: “Christian Christmas and Latvian Christmas. Christian customs and Latvian customs." With one sentence, the nation is divided into Latvians and Christians. Deliberately or thoughtlessly, Christians are being alienated from Latvianness. It was fitting to the occupying power, but does it fit to ourselves in the 21st century? Maybe we should say, for example, Christian and ethnographic customs, if we don't want to say "pagan"?

These may not be the most important examples, but language often thinks for us. We have to be attentive to the assumptions we live with daily.

We should also consider whether families are not alienated and generations are not disrupted when in schools and even in kindergartens attempts are made to circumvent the parents and to introduce ideas that are not acceptable in the family. Doesn't it increase bitterness towards the state and stir up the "cold war" at home? Is that really the priority in the days of the seventh angel's trumpet?

When some controversial law is passed, reproachful glances are directed towards the Saeima or the government. But decisions do not happen by chance. They come from the depths, where there are values, culture, media policy and most importantly - education. Education should form a foundation on which we can all stand. This is a security priority for the 21st century.

Many times I have had to say a prayer among people who are not regular churchgoers. Then I usually pray "Our Father" and I find that almost everyone says it along. It is a beautiful and unifying moment of togetherness. From a personal belief or from a cultural tradition, but there is something we all know and do together. Like singing folk songs. This is the very minimum of mental competence. Does the competence education that we have introduced provide it to the new generations of Latvia? Will they have something to say together?

During the Awakening it was simple. We, the different ones, had one common thought:

- We do not ask for freedom for the Motherland - we demand it!

- We do not ask for life for the Motherland - we demand it! [3]

We worked together, we survived, we won and we gained freedom. It's not simple anymore. We are no longer of the same mind. We have a front in our father's backyard and a great war on our borders. At that moment, a common principle and foundation is especially necessary.

Instead of mocking and demonizing each other, we should go to the sources with open hearts and minds to think through the basics without anger, objectively and together:

- What is humanity? Where does human dignity come from?

- What is freedom and how to implement it?

- What is community and how to live it?

- What is good, beautiful, true and holy?

- What brings and increases life and what is its purpose?

Sounds utopian. Under normal circumstances, people don't tend to do that. But we live in the 21st century, and that is a sufficient reason to do something unusual.

It is clear that facts cannot lead directly to values. There should always be a framework of interpretation in between. Where to get one? The Holy Scriptures, or the word of God, speak a lot about the basics. In Western culture, the biblical writings were the framework for interpretation during the centuries when it became a great civilization. Once they were put aside, it didn't take long for the West to start talking about its decline and questioning the legitimacy of its culture.

The misfortune from which many of our problems grow is that we hear and see God less and less. Just as in the reading about Samuel: "The word of the Lord was rare in those days, and revelations were not looked upon." This led to decline until Samuel heard God's voice and as a prophet led the people into the light.

One of the greatest assets of any nation is good leaders. Therefore, the church prays for our leaders and their service every Sunday. The Bible describes great leaders - Moses, Samuel, apostles Peter and Paul. They were different people in different times, but they had something in common. They heard God and led their people to the promised land or the nations of the world to the kingdom of God.

A child learns to speak from what he hears. A deaf child does not learn to pronounce sounds correctly. Here in Latvia, we carefully listen and quickly learn the language of the prosperous, secular world, but we hear God less and less. Many problems arise from that. 

British philosopher Roger Scruton writes in his book The Face of God that the culture of atheism seeks to escape the judging eye. Have you ever stood in front of an icon and felt the eyes of Christ judging and weighing you? Quite an unsettling feeling.

Society, accustomed to living in peace and abundance, shuns the judging eye and, therefore blotts out God's face with consumerism and pleasure-seeking. But people read each other's faces and perceive unspoken meanings. In the face of God, they read the signs of their identity, their vocation and their freedom. Blotting out God's face also tarnishes their face as human beings created in the image of God. This increases the feeling of emptiness and aimlessness.

There is no need to run away from God's gaze! It evaluates and weighs to heal and to edify. It was not God's desire to judge and punish that led Christ to the cross, but His desire to justify and save. God so loved the world that he gave his Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. In your place, he lived a holy and blameless life to clothe you in it, to restore you to the likeness of God and bring you into eternal joy. The Latvian language is especially valuable to us because we can best understand the good news in it.

Why do you think people belong to church and go to church services, even though it is often cold there in winter? Is it because they believe in fairy tales or are they afraid of punishment? No, but because it makes them happy. They have been captivated by the beauty of Christ's personality. It is beautiful to live with God. It gives meaning to suffering and gives hope in loss. It is a great comfort to go through trials with the Risen Christ!

People are sometimes put off by words like "commandment" or "dogma". But it is called a conversation where I, the variable, converse with the unchanging and eternal, in whose likeness I am created. I am learning to participate in the life of the One who has called all things out of nothingness into existence. If I listen, the conversation is informative and interesting.

 

Now now I know who I am

Now I know why I live

Now I know what I have to do

And with God everything is possible.

This is really exciting. Therefore, people belong to the church - to live together with the saints and prophets in a thousand-year, continuous, spiritual and intellectual tradition. It is good to live with God.

The Lord Jesus once said to a deaf and dumb man: "Be opened!" and he began to hear and speak clearly. Turns out he had something to say! And he was understood! One word of Christ brought him to an unprecedented intimacy with his own. The word of Christ united the various tribes in the territory of modern Latvia into one nation. The word of Christ called people to a community, which is often called Christian civilisation, where people from different languages, races and climate zones understood each other in basic matters. This happens when people do not talk much about God and instead of God but hear the voice of Christ and follow it.

The English actor and writer Stephen Fry once said that Winston Churchill, with his character, heroism and power as prime minister, was blessed to go to the Queen once a week, bow and give a report. One does not have to look far to see how a ruler goes astray when he is accountable to no one, and the high priest comes to him to bow, flatter, and submit. The higher the position and the greater the power, the more important it is to hear the voice of the Most High and to feel the responsibility before him.

May Christ's word: "Be open!" come to us on Latvia's birthday! May it make us hear God so that we can speak clearly. As in the poem by Imants Ziedonis:

And even if some gateway

Will stink of iniquity

Cry out: I only have one heart!

Cry out and you will be heard.

Søren Kierkegaard said - the saint is the one whose heart longs for only one thing. By that, he meant for God. It doesn't matter whether a statesman, a politician, an official, a bishop, an opinion leader, a Latvian or a Russian - a leader according to God's will is the one whose heart longs for only one thing. For "God bless Latvia!" There we can work together.

The disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus: "Teacher, where do you live?" Jesus answered, "Come and see." And they stayed with him that day.

Beloved of Christ, today I address you for the last time on the national day and I want to remind you of the most important thing. We, like John's disciples, must always ask the Lord Jesus: " Master, where dwellest thou?" In the tension between Dionysus and Sauron, between Scylla and Charybdis, the right place to stay and build a home is where Christ dwells. Around him we can be together and thrive. Jesus said, "Come and see." Indeed, let's come and see how our lives will change. May God bless us! 

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[1] The liberation movement in the late eighties and early nineties of the 20th century which led to the independence of Latvia

[2] Latvian film (1984) about events in a family shortly after the Soviet occupation. One brother joins the Soviet regime, while the other fights against it as a national partisan.

[3] A popular patriotic song from the time of liberation.