Open to me, O Giver of Life, the gates of repentance: for early in the morning my spirit seeks Your holy temple, bearing a temple of the body all defiled. But in Your compassion cleanse it by Your loving-kindness and Your mercy. (Troparion of Matins, Sunday of the Tax Collector and the Pharisee)
IF THERE IS ONE CENTRAL THEME TO LENT, it is without doubt repentance. The season of the Triodion begins with the above hymn, which is frequently repeated in the period leading up to Lent. We are thus reminded that the purpose of
Lent is to return to God, not simply to change our diet.
But the theme of repentance—of returning to God—is made explicit on the second Sunday of the Triodion: the Sunday of the Prodigal Son. The Gospel lesson for the day is the following parable:
“A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me: So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
“But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.’”
“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way oft: his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.
“Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’
“But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him: So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’
‘And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’” (Luke 15:11-32)
The hymns of the Triodion call Christians to identify with the prodigal, reminding us that we have squandered the gifts and opportunities God has given us on our own selfish desires. But all too often, Christians forget that this parable is not only one of repentance, but also one of forgiveness. There are two other key characters in the story: the compassionate father, a symbol of God the Father, whose readiness to forgive we are called to imitate; and the unforgiving brother, whose cold-heartedness we are warned to avoid.
The fatted calf that is slain for the prodigal represents Christ. We are thus reminded that Christ came into the world to save sinners. “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Luke 5:32). During Lent, we must not be like the unforgiving brother, who observed all the father’s rules but lacked compassion. Thus, we are not to observe the rules of Lenten fasting with coldness towards our fellow human beings who may not be fasting; rather, we are to be compassionate and welcoming to our brothers and sisters in Christ, as was the compassionate father. True repentance is the fruit of humility. When we are humble, we judge ourselves and not our neighbor. That is why the theme of repentance follows the theme of humility.
The spiritual fathers of the Church teach us that we are to be hard on ourselves and easy on others. This is true humility; this is true repentance. We are invited to master this humility and repentance during Lent. Fast as rigorously as you can, but do not demand or expect it of others. If indeed we are all prodigals who have squandered the gifts God has given us, let us take further care not to squander the spiritual gift of Lent, which is an invitation and a means to return to God in humility and repentance.
~Vassilios Papavassiliou, Meditations for Great Lent: Reflections on the Triodion
