Russian Orthodox Church Protection of Mother of God
Russian Orthodox Church • Patriarchial Parishes in Canada

As we prepare to follow our Lord to His Cross and empty tomb, we have the opportunity to come to ourselves and return to right relationship with our Heavenly Father. We must not refuse to do so out of fear that He will reject us. Like the father in the parable, God is not a vengeful tyrant or a strict dispenser of justice. “God is love” (1 Jn. 4:8) and constantly reaches out to us, calling us to accept restoration as His sons and daughters. All He asks is that we repent by reorienting our lives toward fulfillment in His Kingdom. “A contrite and humble heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.” Truly humble repentance is never merely a matter of how we feel, but of offering ourselves as whole persons—body, soul, and spirit—to share more fully in the life of Christ.

In today’s epistle reading, Saint Paul addressed a grave problem among the Gentile Christians of Corinth. Some of them followed the sensibilities of pagan culture in thinking that how they lived in their bodies with reference to sex was spiritually irrelevant. He reminded them that the body is holy in light of Christ’s resurrection. They are members of His Body and living temples of the Holy Spirit, and must live accordingly. Whether in Corinth or today, the intimate union of husband and wife as “one flesh” is the only form of sexual relationship and marital union blessed by the Lord as a sign of His Kingdom and of the relationship between Christ and the Church. This is not a matter of engaging in culture wars, but of recognizing the truth about how to find healing for our souls as we struggle to live faithfully as the men and women God created us to be. Even as the father restored the prodigal son after wasting his inheritance on prostitutes, God’s healing mercy extends to sexual sins of whatever form and enables a purity of heart that permeates every dimension of our lives as we gain the spiritual strength to live in accordance with His gracious purposes for our salvation. We must not let shame, which is simply hurt pride, about sexual or any other type of sin keep us from taking the journey back to our Father.

Let us use the spiritual disciplines of Lent to come to ourselves as we gain a clearer recognition of the ways in which we have refused to live as the beloved sons and daughters of our Lord. If we humbly reorient our lives toward Him and away from slavery to our passions, we will find restoration, blessing, and joy. We must use the coming season to leave behind the filth and misery of the pig pen and to enter by grace into the joy of a heavenly banquet that we definitely do not deserve.