The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (15:11-32)

If we desired to walk away from God would He prevent us from doing so? If we desired to betray Him would He stop us? If we truly desired to live in sin and rebellion and to destroy our own souls would God stop this from happening?

We see these questions answered in the parable of the prodigal son. Prodigal means wasteful or reckless. This reckless son desired to be far away from his father’s house. He desired to take his inheritance and leave. The father not only allowed him to leave but he honored the request and gave him his share of the inheritance. Likewise, God has done the same for us. Sometimes we have moments in our life when we allow our passions and feelings to direct our lives. We might even become convinced that we should run away from God or run away from His Church. When do this we demonstrate that we are absolutely like the prodigal son. We can be reckless and wasteful with the gifts that were given to us by grace from God.

Sometimes we become too haughty and prideful and we begin to think that our bodies or our brains or our talents or riches are our own to use as we please and we forget that health and intelligence and talents and wealth are gifts from our Father. This is a great sin. Yet as we see in today’s passage, God allows us to go on ignorant and reckless and prideful if that is what we desire. If we choose to leave the comfort of His home, which is actually the Church and if we choose to cut ourselves off from the table and the food that is served at the Father’s table, as did the prodigal, God will not stop us, just as the Father did not stop the son. The table would be the Holy Altar, and the food is the teaching of the Holy Church and her sacraments. These things give life to us and nourish us only when we are near to them and choose to partake of them with humility and joy. But we see that sometimes people, especially the young and immature, like this prodigal, desire something different. They see the comfort and warmth as uncomfortable. They see the teachings that are meant to give them life and they regard them as poison. They see their father’s love and they sense that it is painful. They can become curious about life outside their father’s home. They may desire to run away and they imagine that they will find something better on the outside, away from their Father’s house. And the Father will allow it.

If we desired to walk away from God and from His house and from the safety of His teachings and from the nourishment of His sacraments He would allow it. Why is this? Because He loves us. For a time He would put up a few obstacles and He would work very hard to turn our hearts back to Him, but He can’t force us. Our Lord did not even force Judas the betrayer to turn back, in fact He looked directly at Him and said, “do what you have to do.” Our Lord tells us the same. You feel that you need to walk away and betray Christ. You feel that you need to fall into sin. You feel that you need to be lazy. You feel that you need to put other things ahead of Christ. You feel that you need to reject the teaching of the Church. So be it. Christ will allow you to do so if that is what you desire.

The father in today’s passage allowed his son to leave and he gave him many riches and blessings right before he left. The father was wise. Had he not given him anything then the young man would have been resentful and had a cause for anger with his father. But later, he had no one to blame but himself. Likewise God has given us everything for our life. You can’t blame God for your situation. You received new life through baptism. You received the gift of the holy spirit in Chrismation. You receive spiritual nourishment and renewal through Holy communion. You receive divine food in the teachings of Christ and His Church. You received the blessings of the prayers of the saints. You were served and your wounds were tended to and cleaned by the servants of the house who work for the father. You received forgiveness and mercy through Christ and His Church. So you lacked nothing. So if we then choose to leave God, we are left without any excuse.

The young man first contemplated his departure from the house and then he executed it. We do the same. First we start with a seed of an thought towards sin and then we move from a seed to an action of rebellion. St. James writes,  “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” James 1:14-15

If we choose to live like the prodigal, then we eventually find ourselves alone and empty just like the prodigal. But in fact, this was precisely why the father allowed his son to leave. Because he loved him and he knew that he couldn’t control him or change his heart through force. God our Father also loves us. He loves us so much that He will allow us to go wherever we please. But He is also wise. He knows that sometimes after we leave and we experience the pain of the world, the pain of our choices, the emptiness of our lives, the distance and the coldness away from God and from His house, then sometimes, some will come to their senses and return. Some will repent and in their pain and sorrow and hunger and thirst they will remember that their Father was always good to them. They might cry out to Him and run towards His house.

Many of us have experience this and we turned back, we repented, we came to our senses and ran back to the living God and to His Church because we realized that we were truly lost and our souls were withering without the grace of God and the life giving treasures of the Church. Thankfully the story of our lives doesn’t have to end in rebellion and in brokenness or spiritual death. Through the parable of the prodigal son we are witnesses to God’s generosity of spirit and mercy and true love for His children, for you and for me. Indeed we see that the father waits near the doors of his estate and looks for any sign of his sons return. When he catches a glimpse of his son, he doesn’t wait at the house, but runs to meet his son who was lost. He runs to embrace him and to celebrate his return.

If you have been struggling and living far away from God in your heart, know with certainty and faith that He is waiting for you precisely where you left Him. Turn around. Speak to Him. Apologize to Him. Invite Him back into your life. It is the joy of God to dwell within us and to truly be our Father and our God. He will forget everything in the past and will welcome you back into His house, in to His kingdom, not merely as a servant, but as His very son or daughter. But I leave you with a warning from St. Augustine who writes “God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination.” -St. Augustine of Hippo

Glory be to God forever, AMEN.

Source: Sermons