Homily on the Sunday of the Prodigal Son
1 Corinthians 6: 12-20; Luke 15: 11-32.
One thing that is certain is that life can bring many worries and challenges. Often, it is too easy to give into these worries and stresses. Whilst it is easy to say do not worry, it is a reality that we humans deal with on a day to day basis. However, we are told by our Lord and Saviour that we are not to worry for God knows our needs (Matthew 6: 25-34). It is this very trust we are called to have in our God.
I can say from my personal experience, letting oneself be taken over with the worries of this world does not help one grow or even eliminate the problem one is worrying about. Many of the great saints have dealt with situations which to us would seem almost insurmountable – yet they had such a faith in God that they succeeded in growing close to God – which is why they now are Saints.
We as Christians are called to cast our burdens onto the Lord (Psalm 55:22). Although He knows all of our needs, it is vital that in asking Him we do not demand, for to demand makes us like spoilt brats demanding the latest toy from our parents. Who enjoys hearing a spoilt brat carry on?
The All-Holy Trinity loves each and everyone of His creations. He loves us so much that the second Person of the All-Holy Trinity was incarnated and became man to accept death on the Holy Cross that He may rise our fallen nature returning it back to what it once was before Adam’s fall.
Moreover, we are to spread that love and joy to those around us. We as the Church, are the Body of Christ – mystically joined to God and one another by the Holy Mysteries of Baptism, Chrismation, and the Holy Mystery of the Eucharist.
Due to our connectedness, we are called to be icons of Christ to one another – especially now when many are suffering due to the current financial crisis. Even if you don’t think that you can do much a simple hello or offer of support can be enough to give someone hope. Never stop bringing others to the Lord in your prayer for prayer for others is a form of spiritual charity. This is why the Church has always had the prayers of the faithful as an integral part of the Divine Liturgies!
The deacon or priest when he is chanting these litanies is bringing the needs of the people of God to their loving Lord. Even the dead benefit from the prayers of the faithful. For just as God honours the prayers of His people for the living – we have many miracles that attest to this truth- so to does He honour our prayers for the dead.
Those supposed Churches which deny the efficacy of prayers for the dead have invented a doctrine foreign to the Doctrine of God. If praying for the dead does nothing for the dead, why does the second book of Maccabees, which despite what Protestants like to say is a canonical part of Holy Scripture, mention prayers for the dead that they might be forgiven their sins? The Second Book of Maccabees clearly says:
“Thus, he made atonement for the fallen, so as to free them from their transgression (2 Maccabees 12: 45).”
It seems that the Reformers tried to deny the canonicity of this book to push their radical agenda which only goes to show that they have built their edifices on sand (Matthew 7: 24- 27) showing how spurious their claims are as to being the true Church.
God does not make mistakes either something is true or it is false! Man is lead astray when he tries to twist the words of Holy Scripture or omit certain passages to push certain theological agendas.
Moreover, because we are mystically parts of the Body of Christ – the Holy Orthodox Church of Christ – we are mystically connected to all the Holy Saints in Heaven who have gone before us. What this means is that when the priest intones ‘Blessed is the Kingdom’ at the Divine Liturgy the whole of Heaven is mystically present in the Church. What a wonderous Mystery this is having the whole of Heaven present as we seek deeper communion with our Creator.
What this then means is that because we are one Mystical Body in Christ – a family if you will -
we have the support of those who have gone before us to help us with their prayers for us. Because they are close to God, He listens to what they ask in much the same way a father will listen to the requests of His wife or children on behalf of other members of his family.
Saint Clement of Alexandria puts it beautifully when he writes:
“In this way is he [the true Christian] always pure for prayer. He also prays in the society of angels, as being already of angelic rank, and he is never out of their holy keeping; and though he prays alone, he has the choir of the saints standing with him [in prayer]” (Miscellanies 7:12 [A.D. 208]).”
Saint Cyprian of Carthage also puts it beautifully when he writes:
“Let us remember one another in peace and unity. Let us on both sides [of death] always pray for one another. Let us relieve burdens and afflictions by mutual love, that if one of us, by the swiftness of divine will, shall go first, our love may continue in the presence of the Lord, and our prayers for our brethren and sisters not stop in the presence of the Father’s mercy” (Letters 56[60]:5 [A.D. 253]).
What these two quotes highlight is the faith of the unchanged Church as it has always been taught – that the saints can and do intercede to the All-Holy Trinity on behalf of the Body of Christ, individually for each member and collectively for the whole Church.
This is not to say that God does not listen to our prayers but that the Saints can help us by bringing our prayers to God. This has been the teaching of the Church since it instituted by our Lord and Saviour, and anyone who tries to affirm that the saints cannot help us has truly made their own doctrine and moved themselves from the truth.
This is why, ‘Sola Scriptura’ as affirmed by so many Protestants cannot stand as it places man as the sole interpreter of holy writ and not man guided by Holy Mother Church in the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures through the guidance of the All-Holy Trinity via the means of Holy Tradition, the Ecumenical Councils, the Liturgies of the Church and the writings of the Orthodox Church Fathers in as much as their writings agree with all the aforementioned.
The Holy Scriptures came out of Holy Mother Church under the guidance of the All-Holy Spirit not the other way around – the Church was not born out of the Holy Scriptures. If it was, then the Church would be rightly called a man-made institution and not what it is in all reality - a Divinely institution created for the sanctification of mankind.
We are called to humility when it comes to the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures for if we are not humble we can be led astray. How is it possible that one Holy book has led to so many different interpretations?
There can only be the truth not multiple truths as some in society like to insist. A tree is either a tree or it is not, it cannot be a tree and a rock at the same time – to believe so, is to become like the blind leading the blind (Matthew 15: 14).
Therefore, it is wise to ask for guidance from the clergy when you come across difficult texts in the Bible so that you are not lead astray in your own interpretations. Remember, although inspired by the All-Holy Trinity, the Holy Scriptures were written down by holy men who cooperating with the All-Holy Spirit lived in certain historical contexts which at times, can be difficult to understand. Bearing this in mind, if you do not have an adequate understanding of the context a text was written in you can easily be lead down the garden path so to speak and come up with many fanciful understandings of the message of the Holy Scriptures.
Now we prepare to enter into the season of Great Lent which will begin on clean Monday which is the 6th Monday before Palm Sunday. This is a season which gives us the opportunity to strip from us everything which holds us back from reaching our spiritual and human potential. It is important to realise that we are human and we will miss the mark – time and time again.
Lent is a time to build your relationship with your loving Creator and to seek the Divine Medicine He offers for the healing of your souls. He has created the Church as a hospital and not a law court.
It is vital that when we fail and sin that we approach God via confession and ask for His grace to do better. Like the father in today’s Gospel He seeks that which is best for us. He will help us correct our errant ways and like the father in the parable welcome us back.
Saint Cyprian of Carthage puts it in this way:
“Many and great are the divine benefits for our salvation because Christ humbled Himself was wounded that He might heal our wounds; For when the Lord at His advent had cured those wounds which Adam had borne, and had healed the old poisons of the serpent, He gave a law to the sound man and bade him sin no more. (On Modesty, IX, 12+13)”
God desires communion with us not estrangement from us – He is not some harsh cruel monster who only seeks to punish our every wrong step. It is a tragedy how many people perceive Him to be so. However, it is not their fault as the priests of old in the West were determined to paint God as a fearful judge. This is why in many of the medieval churches in the Western Europe they often painted frescoes of demons tormenting poor souls in hell to scare the poor peasants. This however, distorts who God really is- a loving father.
Did the father in today’s Gospel punish his son?
No, he did not for he saw that the son had had enough punishment living through the consequences of his own actions. Likewise, God does the same with us, if we do not seek His forgiveness, He will leave us to the torment of our thoughts and ultimately to the consequences of our actions. Yet if we ask Him for help and forgiveness He will freely give it. What a wonderful reality this is – we have a loving God who wants the best for us and is willing to forgive us our wrongs if we truly repent.
It is vital, that when you fall and are seeking the Lord’s forgiveness that you forgive yourself as well. We are human, and we will fail at times. If you do not forgive yourself then you end up hating yourself and not acknowledging that you are loved, and like children who need to be corrected at times because they are valuable, worth every bit of love that God gives onto you.
Too many people end up with religious scruples which distorts their ability to grow in their spiritual lives leaving them to become bitter and twisted people. We all know the kind – the overly judgemental folk whose only joy is to point at the speck in their brother’s eye (Matthew 7: 3).
These are the poor souls whose greatest joy is to run to the priest telling him about the supposed failings of others. These are the people who think that they know the truth and can act as judges against their spiritual brothers and sisters. This is a spiritual sickness which leads them to becoming like whitewashed sepulchres – they look good on the outside yet inside is decay brought about by spiritual pride (Matthew 23: 23-31).
Seek and you will find, ask and it will be granted (Matthew 7: 7). What this means is don’t be afraid to ask God for the graces, including forgiveness that you need. You are worth it and loved by the All-Holy Trinity; He desires that you are spiritually, mentally, and physically healthy. How can a person who thinks that they are the worst of the worst and cursed by God truly come to know God?
In many ways, the evil one, wants people to think that they are the scum of the earth so that they fall prey to all of His traps. He hates himself and he wants company for as the old saying goes misery loves company.
This is why it is vital that you realise that you are loved by God and put on your spiritual armour – the frequent reception of absolution and the Holy Mystery of the Eucharist. These great sacraments help baptised Christians grow deeper in their relationship with the All-Holy Trinity giving them all the graces they need to avoid the traps of the evil thing. In a way, these Holy Mysteries of Christ’s Church are like our spiritual vitamins keeping our spiritual immune system strong and powerful against the spiritual sicknesses brought on by sin.
Consequently, it is critical that you ‘rejoice in the Lord always’ to paraphrase Saint Paul (Philippians 4: 4-8) – to rejoice in Him always is to acknowledge the many gifts He gives us and to show our gratitude to Him who is the fount of all life. Do not let despair hold you captive; despair is used by the evil one to try and convince you that you are not loved and are hated by the All-Holy Trinity.
Too many people turn their backs on God because of this despair brought on by the evil one; this despair eventually causing them to become spiritually vulnerable to the attacks of the evil one and his minions.
The Book of Proverbs makes it clear that sin is a reality and all mankind is prone to it; yet if we are humble, we can pick ourselves up and move on for it says:
The just man sins seven times, and rises up again, but the ungodly shall weaken through his evils. If your enemy falls, do not rejoice over him, and do not exalt yourself over his stumbling. Because the Lord will see this, and it will not please him, and He will turn His anger from him (Proverbs 24:16-18).
Also, it makes it clear that when someone who makes our life hard, falls or suffers a misfortune as Christian’s we are not to rejoice in their pain but to pray that they repent and are brought closer to God. We are called to be the opposite of those in the world and be ‘icons of Christ as mentioned before – what did Christ show to the world? Hate or love? Forgiveness or revenge?
By showing these Christian qualities people are drawn to Christ because they can sense that there is something different about us – they feel the love of God made present through our actions. A wise person once said, ‘flies are not attracted by vinegar – nor are people won over by hate!
Moreover, what were Christ’s words from the Holy Cross?
“Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do (Luke 23: 34).”
Through this prayer He is showing us that we too are to pray for others and forgive them the wrong that they do us. This does not mean that once forgiven, we have to be their best friends but rather that we do not dwell on the forgiven wrong and respect their human dignity and pray for them in Christian charity.
Also, Psalm 50 hints at the importance of the forgiveness of sins for Christ came and lossened our fetters so that we can truly be free to become what we are meant to become – sons and duaghters of God. Part of becoming a child of God is to imitate God and do our best to do as God would do. This is a difficult thing to do, but if we strive in humility to become the best we can and imitate the love of God for others He will help us become true icons of His son Christ in the world.
What does an icon represent? It represents a spiritual reality which is depicted so as to draw the faithful mystically into this reality and help them to better understand the significance of the reality depicted.
Therefore, to be an icon of Christ is to embody all the qualities Christ has asked us to show others through His blessed example such as love, hope, charity, forgiveness, and prayer making our lives one act of prayer to the All-Holy Trinity offered for others and ourselves in the imitation of our Lord and Saviour. For those who truly believe do all they can to fulfil Christ’s command to go to the ends of the Earth and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28: 19-20).
This is not to say that you have to become a missionary but rather do what you can in your life, in your local community to show the love of Christ to others. It is by doing this we all can show people the truth of Christ’s Gospel of love regardless where they come from. Christ did not come to save one group of people – He came that all may have the opportunity to be saved should they fight the good fight and win the race (2 Timothy 4: 7-8).
By so doing we are eventually brought into a deep communion with our Lord and Saviour this being the concept of Theosis. This is the Christian way and anyone who paints a different picture does not speak for Christ, and it would be better if they had not been born (Luke 17: 2) for their words of hate turn people away from, He who is the ‘way the truth and the life (John 14: 6).’
Therefore, this week pray to God that He might guide you as to how you can grow. Pray also that you can learn to forgive yourself for your faults because God offers you a way to spiritual health if you are not afraid to step out of the boat of security and walk on the waters with Him for to do so is to trust Him (Matthew 14: 22-31).
Finally, pray that you may be given the grace to forgive others for a soul that is not burdened by resentment is free to grow like seed that falls on good soil (Matthew 13: 1-9).
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