Conscious Acceptance and Confession of God`s Instructions
Sunday of the Prodigal Son
1 Corinthians6:12-20; Luke 15:11-32
“All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.”
(1 Corinthians 6:12)
Sometimes we hear that some of our people complain about our church rules, procedures, the priest, and the fact that other churches are different. Only some complain that we have unnecessarily strict restrictions during fasts, and others that we do not have firm rules like other churches. They say that the Protestants have no fasting restrictions, and it's good for them... But they also say that Baptists have firm rules: you can't drink alcohol, you can't smoke. And we are unclear: we have the instruction, “And do not be drunk with wine” (Ephesians 5:18), but some drink a little, others too much, and some people get to the point of alcoholism.
The Mormons have firm rules: everyone must give 10% to the church, no one can drink coffee or tea, whereas with us, everyone gives as they want, drinks as much coffee or tea as they like, although too much can harm some people.
Can there be firm rules in these cases? -- Of course, they can. But those would be human rules in the Church to curb human passions, but not God's. God did not set such rules. In the Old Testament, God established firm rules-commandments: “do not kill!”, “do not steal!”, “do not bear false witness”, and so on.
In the New Testament, Christ gave the Commandments of the Beatitudes - these are commandments, instructions that the followers of Christ must obey, not out of compulsion, not out of fear of punishment, as in the Old Testament, but out of love and awareness that they must be obeyed for their own benefit, for the attainment of spiritual perfection.
Confessors of Christ must be aware that by following Christ's teachings, we attain union with God, unity and life in love with our neighbours, in order to build the Kingdom of God here on earth and thereby become worthy of attaining the Kingdom of God in eternity.
In the New Testament, God accomplishes salvation not through punishment or threats but gives humans the will to consciously choose the means to achieve salvation. God did not tell us through His Son or Christ's apostles, 'Do not drink!' but told us not to get drunk, because it is harmful rather than beneficial to us.
The Gospel clearly testifies that Christ even performed His first miracle in turning water into wine, meaning He did not establish a prohibition against drinking wine. Wine in small, moderate amounts can be beneficial for the human body, but when people get drunk on wine, they harm themselves and their neighbours, and immorality spreads. That is why the Apostle Paul said:
“All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.”
(1 Corinthians 6:12).
Human organisms, although similar, are different and have varying susceptibility both to alcohol and to different foods. Everyone should test themselves: if someone can be controlled by alcohol, that person should never touch it.
Both sons had the right to leave their father when they became adults; they could continue to follow their father’s advice or not. The older son stayed with his father and lived according to his father’s rules, while the younger son left, took his share of the property, drank, and roamed until he hit the very bottom of human society. Not only did he feed pigs for others, but he was happy when he could eat pigswill himself.
And yet, despite the fact that the son wasted his property, squandered it, and wronged his father and God, when he returned to his father with repentance, his father received him with joyful embraces and even organized a feast in his honour.
The Lord Jesus Christ told this parable, a life example, so that we all understand that God—our Heavenly Father—will accept even the greatest sinners into His abode, but they must recognize their sin and repent, just as the prodigal son did:
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.”
(Luke 15:21).
A conscious and completely honest acknowledgment of one's sins and repentance before God and people is necessary. Before going to Holy Confession, Christians must ask each other for forgiveness, as has always been customary in the Orthodox Church.
A mere admission: “I was wrong, I sinned” is not enough. Judas also acknowledged his sin:
“I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4),
but he did not come in repentance to God, to Christ.
Jesus forgave the sins of the thief and promised that he would be with Him in paradise (Luke 23:43), because he acknowledged his sinfulness and repented. Christ would surely have forgiven Judas as well for his act of betrayal if he, like the prodigal son, had found the resolve to change his life and repent. But, as we know, Judas never did this, did not repent, and ended his life by suicide—surrendering his soul to the power of the devil. As in Judas' case, the Church does not bury unrepentant sinners who committed suicide.
The first necessity for maintaining one's spiritual health is to be honest with oneself. If one has done something wrong, sinned, or acted poorly—do not hide it within yourself, in your mind, or in suppressed psychological trials. Such suppression can severely affect the mind, psyche, and emotional state, and may lead to neurasthenia, nervous system disorders, and sometimes even madness, as well as suicide.
A person must gain Christian courage - admit one’s sin, repent, confess, in order to find unity with God with bright spiritual eyes, with a pure soul, as the repentant prodigal son found unity with his father.
Amen.
Very Rev. Fr. Taras Slavchenko
Taras Slavchenko was born on March 8, 1918 in Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region in Ukraine. After graduating from school and the Pedagogical College, he entered the language and literature faculty of the Scientific Pedagogical Institute. Having successfully completed it in 1938, he served as a teacher in a secondary school.
