He then came to his senses, for he spent all of his part of the wealth given him. Thus reasoning within: "I will lift myself up from this existence and come return home to my father and say: "Father I've been a fool and totally dishonored you by wasting all you gave me on empty pleasures that led to bitter sorrow - please take me back not as your son, but as a servant of yours in your merciful love for me." (Lk 15:18-19)
We are in the second week of the TRISAGION which are the three weeks of preparation of Great Lent. Thus, a season not so much concerned about giving up things, rather on entering into the garden of our soul and admitting that it resembles a jungle - time to get out chainsaws, lawn mowers, whipper snipper's, and so forth and begin to cut down, prune and eradicate the weeds of impediment choking the vegetation of progress so that at the dawn of Holy Pascha a harvest may be produced!
The Prodigal Son is of course humanity with all its dysfunctional habits; greed, lust, envy, pride, possessiveness and so forth.....habits we all have and must not be afraid to admit. If anything, its about knowing how to keep them in their box so to speak/write in the sense of not allowing them to master us - when on impulse: we can't think straight! Thus, the Lord in his mercy (ever reaching out to us) is the Merciful Father runs out to meet us half way and embraces us, dries up our tears of hurt, shame and distress and reassures us by once again re-instating us (due to our free will departing from him) as his kids!
Return Home - our home or safe place is the Church; the living mystical body of Christ in the world ever nurturing his members (supposedly) but this is hard when careerists and mad religious idiots get in the ranks and in the way! Instead of the Church being the Ark of Salvation on the turbulent waters of life's currents, and safe place where we take refuge, it becomes the titanic and house of horrors due to these absolute nutters who are filled with arrogance and empty of any form of spirituality - along with the puppets who follow them that become equally disturbed! Good, serious, logical and even pleasant natured people will not put up with such rubbish because this is truly what it is - this is not the Church, nor have such the grace and knowledge of reading the scriptures as they have originally been written and expressed!
I invite you to read the encyclical on our website entitled CHURCH to better assist you with the issue at hand.
Thus, it was one autumns evening here in Melbourne and I decided to have a stroll along Swanston street with its many coffee places and so forth. Unfortunately, here like the rest of the world, we are plagued by those who call themselves Christian but are not - don't belong to His Church in which there is only one! Therefore, this poor tortured soul thought that he was doing the Lord's bidding by screaming out biblical verses to the passing crowds and of course it was the inferiority complex called SIN: Jesus is coming! You will all burn in hell if you don't repent! Your lives are doomed if you don't read the bible and take action!
I was with a group of friends at the time and I just had enough of this verbal diarrhea! Thus, stopped him for a few seconds as I exclaimed: "If I had to follow your brand of supposed Christianity I'd go out and hang myself! I'd rather be a pagan because one can enjoy the gift of life!" At this his mouth was wide open, and I think he just packed up and hopefully went home to have a good think - hopefully realizing that what he was teaching and where he is (group he belongs too) is definitely not the Church!
"He then journeyed towards his father's home thinking to himself how he should better present what he was to say. Thus he was still some distance away, his father recognized him from afar for the paternal instincts knew well that his son was approaching. Hence, the father immediately ran out with joy and tears of compassion for his son, he didn't even give his son the chance to speak, but kissed him, hugged hum and held him like a new born!"
Let us then go to the House of the Father and praise Him for his tender care for us his children for his love resides in the body of Jesus his beloved Son - we the earthly Church!
Comments