The Church teaches us that salvation is not a one-time action. It is a journey from our fallen state. The parable of the Prodigal son is a story of the journey of a sinful man away from his father, away from righteousness, and his return. Along the journey of the prodigal son, Jesus teaches us about the futility of life without our Father, the importance of repentance, and the immeasurable love of our God. I would like to talk a little about each.

The only way to receive inheritance is if someone dies. When the younger son took his portion from his father, it was as significant as if he had outright said, “You’re dead to me.” This is emphasized when he then completely removes himself from his home, journeying to a far country. The son’s self-induced exile parallels Adam and Eve’s expulsion from paradise- in both instances, they chose their own paths, taking them out of communion with their fathers. But in separating himself from the father and joining himself to sin, the prodigal son was left feeding swine. In Jewish culture, pigs are considered the filthiest of animals, so Jesus is emphasizing that through this union, the son could not sink lower.

However, we are then told that the prodigal son, having lost everything and starving in the mud, “came to himself.” Fr. Alexander Schmemman, in his book “Great Lent,” says an essential part of repentance is “the feeling of alienation from God.” It is a recognition of the futility of the sinful world to which we have joined ourselves, and a longing for the union with God that we rejected. The prodigal son was making this recognition- he realized that he had nothing, while even his father’s servants had more than they needed. This was the crucial turning point that led to his journey back.

An important part of the story is that the father, despite everything his son had done, did not reject him, but waited by the side of the road for his return. Not only that, but he ran to his child when he saw him, and without waiting for him to beg forgiveness, he accepted him back by placing a ring on his hand, which is a symbol of family identity. What incredible love the father has! He received his son as soon as he saw he had returned, embracing him and celebrating his coming in extravagance. Gerondissa Macrina once said “Christ waits for faith from us.” Truly, despite all of our sinful actions, Christ patiently waits for us to join ourselves to Him once more.

I am the prodigal son. Every day, I reject God by squandering the life He has given me- I am prideful, I push other people away from me, I spend time on screens instead of with my family. And there are times that I feel I messed up so badly, I don’t understand how God could forgive me. But His love is so powerful, so potent, that He runs toward me at the first sign of repentance. God is ever-patient and always forgives. Yet I look to the world for love and meaning, when God has given it all to me through the writings of the church, through the holy mysteries, through the Bible and through my spiritual father. Revelation 3:20 says “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” My brothers and sisters in Christ, our God is knocking at the door, waiting by the side of the road for our return. Let us pray that through His ineffable love, He would help us to see our estrangement from Him and begin that journey home. Thank you.

Have you ever tried Hawaiian pizza? In my opinion, pizza should not include salty ham and sickly-sweet pineapple. The president of Iceland happens to agree with me, but when he voiced his opinion to a group of high school students, he received enormous public backlash. Amidst increased conflict in the Middle East and the widespread terrorist attacks of 2017, people took the time and effort to berate the Icelandic president via social media forcing him to issue a formal apology. What kind of world do we live in when an inconsequential pizza preference ignites an international hate-filled debate? In America, many issues including mask mandates, speech censoring, and gun control have divided families and pitted friends against one another. How should we Orthodox Christians navigate this tumultuous and polarized environment?

To begin, let us consider self-righteousness, the root cause of this polarization. In the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee, the self-righteous Pharisee thanks God arrogantly, while the sinful Publican prays to God humbly, begging for forgiveness. The stark contrast between the identities and actions of the two men is centered around one of the worst sins: the sin of pride. Proverbs 16:5 states that, “Proud men, one and all, are abominable to the Lord.” Pride is evident in the lives of our elected officials and societal leaders. Consider large tech corporations such as Twitter and Facebook censoring media they believe to be insensitive. The executives at these companies believe their personal views on controversial topics are more important than our right to free speech.

The sin of pride is at the heart of society’s polarization because it prevents us from acknowledging others’ viewpoints. In heated debates – especially about politics – the longer people argue, the angrier and more worked up they become in order to prove their point of view.

For instance, my siblings and I often argue about the best way to wash dishes after a meal. I get worked up and angry, not because there is only one right way to wash the dishes, but because I am proud of my own method and I want to prove that it is right. However, this argument only results in twenty minutes wasted, a sink full of dirty dishes, and animosity that lasts well into the evening.

So, what can we do to avoid this? Simply put, God tells us that we must be humble. St. Silouan the Athonite says that, “To abide in the love of God it is essential for anger and ‘hate’ to... be directed against the sin that lives in me, against the evil active in me – in me, not in my brother.” St. Silouan tells us that we must channel our frustration into humbling ourselves, rather than getting angry at others, and to drop our stance in unimportant arguments that move us away from other human beings. Christ does not want us to be divided. He wants us to be unified, building bonds of friendship with all people, including those whose opinions differ from our own. Matthew 12:25 reminds us that “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.”

And while we must be willing to step away from unimportant debates, it is imperative that we step up to arguments concerning Christian values in order to fight for the truth – God’s truth. I believe we have an obligation to express and uphold the ideals of Christ. Silly conflicts such as Hawaiian pizza preference are not worthy of our attention. Rather, we should focus our energy on issues that are direct contradictions of God’s teachings, such as physician assisted suicide and abortion. After all, Timothy Chapter 6 reminds us that God wants us to, “Fight the good fight of the faith.”

It is difficult for us Orthodox Christians to navigate a world filled with division, hatred, and polarization, especially when we become targets of scrutiny. Pizza preference may be a frivolous example, but perhaps it can remind us of the senseless rift that results when people put pride before one another. Let us ask God to give us the humility to back down from trivial debates, and let us pray that He will always grant us the fortitude to fight for Him when the dividing line is clear. Thank you.