This morning we heard the parable of the Prodigal Son at the Divine Liturgy. At the end of the Liturgy we heard the choir sing Psalm 137 "By the Water of Babylon." The Prodigal Son, like Israel in the Psalm, found themselves in a foreign land. The foreign land for the son was the pig pen. It was there that he remebered his father's house. He as well as the Jews in the Psalm found themselves exiled from their true home.

The aim of our life is trying to return to our true home. While we might live in Charlotte, Moorseville, Salisbury, or Rock Hill our true home is with God, no matter where we physically live, work and play. Our Father in heaven awaits our return form exile. He desires that we come home. He welcomes us back just as the Father in the Gospel did. Each one of us needs to admit the reality of our alienation from God unless we admit this and know what we do to keep us exiled there never will be a return.

To return to our heavenly Father we need DESIRE and HUMILITY. We must desire to return to God. In other words we need to realize that our life should not be spent squandering our life but should focus our entire life on God. This is where humility comes in. Without humility pride rules our life. Pride keeps us from recognizing that we are in fact sinners. Only the humble person will be able to admit his or her sins. Confession is the acknowledgment of our exile and what we have done to exile ourselves. Confession is turning our life over to God and leaving with the desire to change and live a Godly life. We can make an effort to return to God by participating in the sacrament of confession during the period of Great Lent. Fr. Bill will be available before Pre-Sanctified Liturgy as well as before and after Great Vesper's on Saturday evening.