Identity Wars

This sermon delivered on the Third Sunday of Great Lent, focuses on the parable of the Prodigal Son through the lens of "Identity Wars." The speaker defines identity simply as "the way I identify myself" and argues that two primary distortions—or "wars"—threaten this true identity. The first war involves "mistaking who I am with what I did," where sin causes people to forget their inherent status as "children of God" and instead define themselves by their mistakes, much like the younger son who offered to return as a hired servant rather than a son. The second war involves a "distortion of belonging," where both the younger and older brothers in the parable felt like strangers in their father's house, leading them to seek belonging in a "far country" or outside the home; the speaker relates this feeling to believers who feel alienated from the Church. Ultimately, the sermon encourages listeners to "come to himself," as the Prodigal Son did, to remember their permanent status as God's children and their rightful place in the Church, thus conquering the battle for their true identity.