The situation of almost all of us could be likened to that of a man standing in front of a picture depicting a lavish feast: the table in front of us is laid with all kinds of viands, but we remain hungry. Someone else’s bread cannot feed us. In similar way, we are reading the Word of God and the words of the Holy Fathers, and in the similar way, we often pray: we pronounce the words of strange prayers, once said or written by other people, but our soul remains hungry, undernourished here before the death, ready to die unfed.
When time comes for the assessment of our deeds, it may happen so that we will have nothing to present – our talent has not brought forth any fruit, and what is even worse: we will not be able to give back the talent that was given to us, because, like the prodigal son, we wasted it leading a sinful life of vanity, while teaching others how to live. Poor we are! What shall we do? We must listen to our Lord Jesus Christ – this is it!
You ask how to pray. Our Lord Jesus Christ told us to pray like the publican did and to appeal to God, like the widow appealed to the Unjust Judge seeking justice. The Lord teaches us to realize our meagerness, our unpayable debt, to realize our guiltiness before God, to forget all our good works (in fact we have got no good works and even if there are some good works accomplished, they are also defiled by all kinds of dirty alloys, such as conceit, self-exaltation, covetousness and others.) So, like an insolvent debtor, like a prodigal son, ask God for mercy – that is for the redemption of all your iniquities. Do not ask anything else, but only mercy.
As soon as man comes to realization that his soul is completely distorted by sin and is covered by ulcers, and that he by his own forces is unable to heal himself; and when he sees his death approaching him with its sufferings, it will be clear to him that his only hope and asylum is in our Lord Jesus Christ. Until that moment the Lord is usually far from us, or, more precisely, we are far from Him, but at that moment, we begin to see Him as our lone Savior, Who has come down from heaven to save us, Who took upon himself our sins and suffered for them, Who has covered by his love all our iniquities; and Who promised to forgive us, if we have faith in Him and if we repent our misdoings. He has come to cleanse our soul and body, and to unite the repenting sinners to Himself in the Sacrament of the Holy Communion already here, on earth, as a pledge of our unity in the future life; He has come to have us adopted by His Father and through this adoption allow us to share the eternity of the Divine glory and beatitude. This is what Christianity consists in. This is what God’s love and mercy for the fallen humankind is about.
Sorrow, inadequacy, permanent remorse, the “worm that never dies,” and fire that is unquenchable – this is what is in store for those who disdain God’s love and are not fully appreciative of God’s sacrifice for us. “Let all mortal flesh keep silence, and in fear and trembling stand” before the Cross of Christ and before God’s love that is calling every sinner to salvation through faith and repentance. The Lord Jesus Christ has not come to judge the world ruining itself in sins, but to save it.
Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand! Sinful men, be aware of your perish and your guilt before God, do not seek justification in your good works. Realize your infirmity and powerlessness to get rid of your sins, past, present and future. Appeal to the only One who is Almighty and All-Merciful, the One who is the Savior; and He will forgive, cleanse and call us His own; He will alleviate our grief, cast away our despair, rid us of suffering and usher us into His eternal Kingdom, as He did with thieves, harlots and other sinners,. This is what repentance implies. Amen.
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