(The New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia)
Last Sunday, we were called to consider the contrasts between the Publican and the Pharisee, between pride and humility. Today, the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, we are again presented with two contrasts, between the Prodigal, who took the wealth given to him and squandered it by indulgence in worldly pleasures, and his elder brother, who remained faithful to his father’s ways, but was hard-hearted. The Prodigal Son repented of his sins; but the elder brother was unwilling to accept this repentance, and was clearly disturbed by the reception his brother received upon his return home.
We know the story, and we know the contrasts in it, and we know whom we should emulate. As we know that we should be like the Publican in his humility, and not proud, like the Pharisee, we know that we have sinned, and have departed from our Father’s house. We have wasted the time and resources and abilities He has given us that were supposed to be used for the good of others to satisfy our own sinful, worldly desires. We know that we who have been like the Prodigal Son need to come to our senses, and return to our Father’s house, and repent, and seek no honors, but be willing to take the lowest place. We also know that we should not treat others as the elder brother treats his father, and the brother who was lost and now has returned. All of this, of course, is easer said than done.
Today is also the day we commemorate the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church, who suffered and died at the hands of the Bolshevik government that came to power in Russia, and which tried to destroy the Church in the Russian land. Some of you have heard me say before how my own journey to the Orthodox Church and faith and way of life was helped by two understandings: that the Church, the Body of Christ, is One, and that to be apart from the Orthodox Church was therefore to be outside the Body of Christ; and the second was the testimony given to the power of our Lord and His Church by the New martyrs and Confessors of Russia, whose sufferings were not long ago and far away, but close at hand, indeed, occurring even in my own lifetime. The living faith of the ancient Church was found in them, and made their witness possible, even unto death – and I had to be a part of that Church and faith and way of life in order to save my soul, and the souls of may family – and so we became Orthodox.
There is something remarkable about these two events taking place on this day, a connection I cannot help but make while pondering the Prodigal Son and the New Martyrs and Confessors. As you may know, the Russian Church, of which we are a part, was wounded by the Civil War that followed the revolutions of 1917, and the rule of the Bolsheviks thereafter. As a result of grievous circumstances, a division arose in the Church. Now, after many years, and many steps, if things go as presently announced, on May 17, 2007, the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord, our Metropolitan and the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia will sign an Act of Communion that is meant to bring to an end the division that arose from revolution and war. I offer this for your consideration.
It would be fair, I think, to say that, if we try to draw parallels between the parts of the Russian Church that have been divided, that our perspective has been that the church in the Russian land parallels the Prodigal Son, departing from the house of faith and dwelling with the pigs, and only later coming to her senses; while the Church Abroad remained faithful to the ways that had been entrusted to us by our fathers in the faith in the Russian homeland. In this, we are more like the elder brother; and therein lies the danger.
Was the Prodigal Son without sin after his return to his father’s house? Certainly, he repented, and was received back home. We don’t hear any more of the story; but if he was like us, we can say with certainty that he sinned again. The key is his act of repentance – and that was good enough for his father, who did not expect a complete transformation, and put no conditions upon his son when he returned, but rejoiced that he had come back. His elder brother also sinned by hardening his heart against his brother, and speaking disrespectfully to his father. Di he also repent? We do not know. Did he reconcile with his brother? We do not know, but can only hope that he did not place so much importance upon his righteousness that he hardened his heart, and so could not share his father’s love, for only that love makes forgiveness possible.
Is the Church in Russia perfect? No; for a church is always made up of sinful people. Are there problems and behaviors that need to be addressed? Of course. But we also need to ask, are we, the Church Abroad, without sin? No, for a church is always made up of sinful people. Do we also have problems and behaviors that need to be addressed? Of course.
The leaders of the Church in Russia have repented, and desire that the wounds between us be healed. Our hierarchs have decided that the time to act to bring about this healing is now. Thus, the question for us is: Will we be like the elder brother, and reject our brothers who were lost, but now have come back home? Or will we be like the father who rejoiced when his wayward son returned, and welcomed him back, welcomed him with love, even though he undoubtedly knew that his son would sin again?
May our Lord, Who blessed and sustained the New Martyrs and Confessors in their sufferings, and Who rejoices to receive us, prodigals, when we repent and return, grant us not to harden our hearts, but to trust in Him, and in His love, and in His Church, which we hope and pray will be healed.
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