The younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living

 

 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.  And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."

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 Then He said:  "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 off, 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 15:1–2; 11–32 

 

Yesterday we read that all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Jesus to hear Him.  And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."  So He spoke this parable to them, saying:  "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'  I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.  Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!'  Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

 

 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.  And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."  In today's reading, we're given the parable of the Prodigal Son, the third parable Jesus taught in response to the complaints of the Pharisees and scribes reported here in the beginning verses of this chapter of St. Luke's Gospel.  For the first two parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin, see yesterday's reading and commentary.

 

Then He said:  "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."  The Orthodox Study Bible (OSB) explains that the son's request for his portion of goods (in Greek οὐσία/ousia, which literally means "essence" or "substance") indicates human beings receiving free will and a rational mind from God.  As Adam did in Eden, the OSB says, the younger son uses these possessions to rebel against his father.  The far country, it says, represents life in exile from God.  

 

 "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."  The OSB comments that feeding swine could rightly be called "Jewish Skid Row."  It says that he could not sink much lower.

 

 "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."'  The text says that this man came to himself.  According to the OSB, a person immersed in sin is living outside of one's true self (Romans 7:17-20).  But this prodigal realizes his hopeless condition.  The bread symbolizes Christ, who is known through the Scriptures and the Eucharist.  

 

"And he arose and came to his father.  But when he was still a great way off, 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.'"  Although it was considered unseemly in Jewish culture for an old man to run, the father does not passively stand by waiting for his son to return.  He ran to his son.  A note tells us that his self-humiliation for the sake of the lost indicates the way in which our Father, through Christ's sacrifice, actively seeks those who stray.

 

 "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."  The OSB illuminates the symbolism here.  The significance of the robe is righteousness granted by baptism (Isaiah 61:10).  The signet ring is family identity (Haggai 2:23).  The sandals refer to walking according to the gospel.  The term fatted calf is more accurately translated "wheat-fed bull-calf," or even more literally, "a bull-calf formed from wheat."  This refers to a male calf which is raised on wheat in preparation for use as a religious offering.  As the reconciliation of the prodigal son was not complete without the sacrifice of the calf, so our reconciliation to God is not by our repentance alone, but by Christ offering Himself on the Cross. This festive dining on an animal offering "formed from wheat" is a clear reference to our partaking of the eucharistic bread.  

 

 "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."  This resentful older son is used to illustrate the hard-heartedness of the Pharisees, those to whom Christ was telling this parable in the first place.  The OSB cites the commentary of St. Cyril of Alexandria, who notes that God requires His followers to rejoice when even the most blamable man is called to repentance.

 

 "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.'"  The older son tells his father, "I never transgressed your commandment at any time. . . "  The OSB states that this failure of the older son to recognize his own sins leads to his self-righteous and merciless attitude.  This is contrasted with the contrition of the younger son.  St. Ambrose of Milan writes, "The one who seems to himself to be righteous, who does not see the beam in his own eye, becomes angry when forgiveness is granted to one who confesses his sin and begs for mercy."  The older son's ingratitude is also apparent in his accusation to his father that "you never gave me a young goat," while the father has given him all that he has.  

 

 As in the first two parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin (see yesterday's reading), Jesus illustrates the boundless love of God and God's desire for all of straying humanity to return.  Let's note that this older son indeed has it all wrong when he stresses to the father, "I never transgressed your commandment at any time," for this love is something that extends beyond the legalistic understanding of commandments, or even power and authority.  If we are going to speak of transgressing social mores, rules of conduct, even conduct becoming of one in authority, then we look at this father who falls completely into a kind of self-abandonment of love at the return of his once-lost son.  He forgets about the conventional appearance of dignity in running, overjoyed, relieved, and grateful to have his son back.  If one has ever lost a friend and then reconnected years later, one might understand the heightened spirit in the heart that is so grateful to find what was lost again.  Jesus is talking about love, something stronger than a legalistic sense of obedience or toeing the line.  In fact, this love on the part of the father -- and illustrating the love of God -- is a kind of loyalty which God extends to us.  God's ties of love don't break.  The implication in all three parables -- and especially vivid in this one -- is that God longs, always, for our return when we stray from God.