For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found

 

 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."

* * *

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 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."  These first two verses from chapter 15 of Luke's Gospel set us up for the parable that follows.  In between, Jesus gave two parables in response to the complaint of the Pharisees and scribes:  the parable of the Lost Sheep and the parable of the Lost Coin.  See yesterday's reading, above, for those two parables.  The third parable that Jesus offered is the parable of the Lost or Prodigal Son, which follows in today's reading.  

 

 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. "  My study Bible remarks on this request for his portion of goods (in the Greek, οὐσία/ousia is here translated as "goods."  It can also more frequently and literally mean "essence," or "substance"; here it may be translated as "property").  It notes that this indicates human beings receiving free will and a rational mind from God.  As Adam did in Eden, my study Bible says, the younger son uses these possessions to rebel against his father.  The far country 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."   To feed swine as livelihood is something my study Bible likens to being on "Jewish Skid Row."  It's a place from which the man 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 am no longer worthy to be called your son.  Make me like one of your hired servants."'"  This striking phrase, that he came to himself, is important to note.  My study Bible comments that to be immersed in sin is living outside one's true self (Romans 7:17-20).  This prodigal or lost son realizes his hopeless condition.  The bread is a symbol of Christ, who is known through the Scriptures and through 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.'"  My study Bible comments that, in Jewish culture, it was considered to be unseemly for an older man to run.  But here the father did not simply passively stand by and wait for his son to return.  He ran to him.  This is self-humiliation for the sake of the lost -- as Christ humbled Himself on the Cross -- and 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."  My study Bible has notes on the significance of several elements in these verses.  The robe indicates the righteousness which is granted by baptism (Isaiah 61:10), the signet ring is family identity (Haggai 2:23), and the sandals indicate walking according to the gospel (Ephesians 6:15).  The fatted calf, it says, is more closely translated "wheat-fed bull-calf," or even more literally "a bull-calf formed from wheat."   This is a male calf raised on wheat in preparation for use as a religious offering.  So, as the reconciliation of the prodigal son was not complete without the sacrifice of the calf, my study Bible notes, so the reconciliation of humankind to God is not by our repentance only -- but by Christ offering Himself on the Cross.  The 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 represents the hardheartedness of the Pharisees and their attitudes, to whom Christ was telling the parable (see the first verses at the top of today's reading).  My study Bible cites St. Cyril of Alexandria, who comments that that God requires 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."   My study Bible points out that this failure of the older son to recognize his own sins leads to his self-righteous and merciless attitude.  It asks us to contrast this with the contrition of the younger son. St. Ambrose of Milan is quoted as commenting, "The one who seems to himself to be righteous, who does not see the beam in his own eye [Luke 6:42], becomes angry when forgiveness is granted to one who confesses his sin and begs for mercy."   This older son's ingratitude is apparent in his accusation against his father, "you never gave me a young goat" -- as his father has given him all that he has.

 

One striking aspect of the story of the Prodigal or Lost Son is the ingratitude of the older brother.  While he clearly resents the younger brother, who has gone off in a kind of rebellion against his father, and squandered what he was given, it says something about the older one that he is subsequently ungrateful to his father.  So much so, that he doesn't recognize that, in his life with his father, he has always had all that the father has.  It gives us a picture of the poisonous nature of ingratitude, in that he is blinded to the great goodness and substance that was already his.  His resentment of the younger son is important, too, because the rivalry in which he engages is destructive to both relationships, that with his father and his brother also.   It's important to note that both brothers suffered from ingratitude, but the youngest learned a lesson by experience, while the second is corrected by his father.  The Gospels give us a picture of our relationship to God which teaches us that comparison with others is not appropriate and not helpful.  At the memorable ending of John's Gospel, Jesus asks St. Peter three times, "Do you love Me?" and three times, when Peter responds in the affirmative, Jesus tells him, "Feed My lambs."  But then Peter turns toward the disciple John, the author of the Gospel, and asks the risen Christ, "But Lord, what about this man?"  Jesus tells him, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me" (see John 21:15-22).  That story forms the close of John's Gospel, and it leaves us with a very important teaching, pertinent to today's story of the Prodigal or Lost Son.  We're not to compare ourselves to one another.  Each of us has a particular cross to bear of our own, and in that drama of the cross in our own lives, only God knows the heart and can judge how we do, what is appropriate to each of us, where our progress is in discipleship.  As these two young men in the story are brothers, so each one of us is a brother or a sister as a disciple in Christ, and so we need to learn what Jesus says to St. Peter at the end of John's Gospel, "What is that to you? You follow Me."  Each of us needs to hear and follow this teaching.  But perhaps in that context, we should review our commentary from yesterday's reading, in which we read the two preceding parables in this chapter of Luke's Gospel, of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin.  We must continually return to the subject of God's tremendous love and longing for us, exemplified in the sacrifice of the Son, Jesus.  There is no sacrifice so great that it is beyond God's love for us, God's desire that we return, like the Prodigal, who "was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."  Clearly the older brother was meant as an example to the Pharisees and scribes, who considered themselves to be faithful to God's commandments, and complained that Christ received and ate with tax collectors and sinners.  Our relationship with God exists on two levels for us to consider.  There is a communal or collective level in which we worship (the phrase "Our Father" in the prayer given to us by Jesus teaches us that we are to pray and worship in that sense).  In this sense, both the prodigal and the older son are sons of the father and must accept their roles as such; Christ uses these parables to explain God's love for the "lost" to the "obedient" Pharisees.  But then there is the personal level, in which we are each asked to carry our crosses daily by Christ, and this is where we must consider that how we follow Christ is not something to compare with another.  Our cross is the one given to us; our devotion to God must be as a child who returns to the One who loves us beyond all our understanding of love and desire.  If the Lord is patient with others, let us then consider God's patience and love for us, for each of us is desired in God's kingdom.  Each of us is longed for, and welcomed back to the point of God's own humiliation in the Cross of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:22-24; 2 Corinthians 5:21), just as the elderly father runs toward his younger, straying, shamed, and humiliated son.  We should be nothing but joyful over that aspect of God's love for us all.  There's a final hidden note here in the humiliation and failure of the son who returns to his father, and that is the shame he bears, who yet goes home.  It's God's love that overcomes our shame, God's love that receives us when we fail and when others might heap shame and dishonor upon us, God's love that welcomes us back if we will but return that love and return to God.  Like St. Peter returning back to Christ and to the disciples after his denial three times in the courtyard of the high priest, and his bitter tears as testimony to his shame and failure (Luke 22:31-34, 54-62), we are all desired back by a loving Father and Lord, if we but pay attention to what we truly need and where we have failed.  Life is a continual test of bearing that cross, and carrying it back to our Lord to show us how, to take away our shame and failure, to give us God's love.   But it is we who must be humble enough to turn back 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

 

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."

* * *

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 the 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."  These verses are repeated from the beginning of yesterday's reading (see above).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave two parables in response to the criticism that He receives sinners and eats with them.  In today's reading, we're given the third parable He spoke, that of the Lost Son or Prodigal Son.

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."  My study Bible comments that this request for the younger son's portion of goods (in Greek ousia/οὐσία, which literally means "essence" or "substance") indicates humankind receiving our free will and rational mind from God.  As Adam did in Eden, the younger son uses these possessions to rebel against his father.  The far country represents life in exile far from God.

"Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into the 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."  To feed swine might rightly be called living on "Jewish skid row," my study Bible notes.  This son 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."'  And he arose and came to his father."  We note that the text says this young man came to himself.  My study Bible notes that a person who is immersed in sin is living outside one's true self (Romans 7:17-20).  This prodigal realizes his hopeless condition.  The bread which is eaten by his father's hired servants in his father's home symbolizes Christ, who is known through the Scriptures and the Eucharist.  

"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, my study Bible notes, the father did not passively stand by waiting for his son to return.  Simply from the first sign of the son's return, the older man ran to him.  My study Bible comments that this self-humiliation for the sake of the lost indicates the way in which God 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."  There are several significant symbols in the father's response to his son.  According to my study Bible, the robe signifies the righteousness granted by baptism (Isaiah 61:10).  The signet ring is family identity; he is once again under the name of his father (Haggai 2:23).  Finally, the sandals refer to walking according to the gospel (Ephesians 6:15).  The phrase translated fatted calf would be more closely rendered "wheat-fed bull-calf," or even more literally, "a bull-calf formed from wheat."  My study Bible says that this is a male calf raised on wheat in preparation for use as a religious offering.  It says that 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's offering Himself on the Cross.  The festive dining on an animal offering "formed from wheat" therefore becomes 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."   My study Bible comments that the resentful older son illustrates the hardheartedness of the Pharisees to whom Christ is telling this parable.  According to St. Cyril of Alexandria, God requires us to rejoice when even the most blamable person 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 says, "I never transgressed your commandment at any time."   According to my study Bible, the failure of the older son to recognize his own sins leads to his self-righteous and merciless attitude.  This attitude is contrasted with the contrition of the younger son.  St. Ambrose of Milan is quoted:  "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."   Moreover, my study Bible comments, the older son's ingratitude is also apparent in his charge to his father, "You never gave me a young goat," when the father has given him all he has ("all that I have is yours").

If we take the perspective of the older son in this parable, Jesus seems to be suggesting that the scribes and Pharisees might be resentful of Christ's loving attitude toward the tax payers and sinners.  Why should God come into the world, as Incarnate Christ, both divine and human, and seek the sinners?  What about those who have always been loyal to the covenant?  It seems that this seeks to address a kind of resentment that is possible on the part of the religious Jews who recognize Christ at least as a holy Man, and so we can read into the complaint of the Pharisees and scribes a resentment that Jesus criticizes them, and yet receives and eats with tax collectors and sinners.  But what Christ emphasizes here is that His mission into the world is one of salvation, to rescue and free the ones captive to the evil one, to seek and find the lost sheep, as illustrated in the parable He gave yesterday.  This casts a light on the reading, on the character and mission of Christ, and on the love of God which we might miss otherwise should we not examine this aspect of the parable.  What else can we call God's deep drive to save except love?  Over and over again, Jesus illustrates this deep and true impulse as the quality of His mission.  As noted in yesterday's reading, we might recall His mission across a threatening and stormy sea to save one man oppressed by a Legion of demons in a forsaken place (Luke 8:22-39).   The parable of the lost sheep in yesterday's reading is a clear indication of this -- that a shepherd would leave ninety-nine sheep in the wilderness to go after one is something that any first century hearer would no doubt remark upon.  Both the parable and the incident from chapter 8 highlight the danger and risk involved in a saving mission which is counted as worthy for the sake of salvation.  In John's third chapter, when Jesus is teaching Nicodemus by night, He follows up the oft-quoted statement in John 3:16 with this important clarification:  "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (see John 3:16-17).  What does the story of Christ's sacrifice on the Cross, alluded to here in today's parable through the sacrifice of the "wheat-fed calf," mean to us except that He died for us that we might be saved?  The emphasis here is not so much on our own sinfulness -- for we all sin -- as on God's saving love for us that is willing to risk everything for the sake of that love.  It tells us, more powerfully than anything else, how precious we are to God, and what Christ is willing to go through to illustrate that love for all of us.  For of His saving mission He has said Himself, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends" (John 15:13).  If we take nothing else from this parable, we must understand -- as Jesus tries so vehemently and extensively in these three parables He gives to the Pharisees and scribes -- that His message is one of God's love; that He, who will go to the ends of the earth, to His death on the Cross as human being, will do whatever it takes to save.  The one thing that keeps us from this saving love is our own inability to receive it, our lack of returned faith and trust, our unwillingness to follow Him and to recognize that love.  God gives to us His all -- as Christ will give His all.  But in return, He asks us for our hearts and our trust, as Jesus prays to the Father, "that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them" (John 17:20-26)

 

 

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

 

 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."

 

* * *

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 Christ 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 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."  My study bible comments that regarding the son's request for his portion of goods, the  original Greek word used here for "goods" or property is ousia/οὐσίας, which literally means "essence" or "substance."  That "portion of goods" or "substance" that human beings receive from God is our free will and rational mind.  This is what makes us made "in the image and likeness of God."  So, as Adam did in Eden, the younger son uses these possessions to rebel against his father.  The far country represents life in exile from God. 

"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."  To feed swine is, for this man, something my study bible says could be called "Jewish Skid Row."  In popular parlance, he's hit rock bottom.  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."'  And he arose and came to his father."  There is a great revelation in this language in the Gospel, that the son came to himself.  My study bible comments that a person immersed in sin is living outside his true self (Romans 7:17-20).  Here, this recognition comes with the realization of his hopeless condition.  The bread of the father's hired servants is symbolic of Christ, known to us both through the Scriptures and the Eucharist (John 6:51). 

 

"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, this father does not passively stand by and wait for his son to return.  Instead, He ran to him.  My study bible points out that this self-humiliation for the sake of the lost is an illustration of the way in which God our Father, through the sacrifice of Christ himself, actively seeks those who stray.  This is a love that is ashamed of nothing in pursuit of the beloved who is lost, in order to be returned and found again.

"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."  The significance of the robe is explained by my study bible as 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 (Ephesians 6:15).  

 

"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."  Etymologically, the Greek for fatted calf is more closely translated "wheat-fed bull-calf," or even more literally as "a bull-calf formed from wheat."  My study bible suggests that this is a male calf which is raised on wheat, in preparation for use as a religious offering.   It notes that as the reconciliation of the prodigal son was not complete without the sacrifice of the calf, so man's reconciliation to God is not by repentance alone, but by Christ offering Himself on the Cross.  The festive dining on an animal offering which is "formed from wheat" is clearly a reference to our partaking of the eucharistic bread.  See also Matthew 22, verse 4, in the context of the wedding feast.

"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.'"   As Jesus is addressing the Pharisees (see verses 1 and 2 at the top of today's reading), the resentful older son is an illustration of their hardheartedness regarding the sinners who now dine with Jesus and become His disciples.  My study bible cites the commentary of St. Cyril of Alexandria, that God asks followers to rejoice when even the most blamable person is called to repentance.  He tells the father, "I never transgressed your commandment at any time."  This is reminiscent of the Pharisees, for whom scrupulous following of commandments found in the Scriptures was all-important, developing a legalistic perspective of faith.  My study bible says that the failure of the older son to recognize his own sins leads to his self-righteous and merciless attitude.   This is in contrast to the contrition of the younger son.  St. Ambrose of Milan comments, "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."  My study bible also notes that the older son's ingratitude is apparent in his charge to his father that "you never gave me a young goat."  Clearly, his father has given him all he has (verse 31). 

For what are we grateful?  For many of us, this year has been one of many trials, and even losses.  We have been contending with the COVID-19 virus and its restrictions on movements, gatherings, work places, employment, and so many other things.  Personal friends have lost loved ones in a shockingly quick time, and are contending with the grief for the person lost to them, and shock at the outcome upon otherwise healthy people.  Whole societies, of course, have gone into lockdown.  We cope also with the strangeness of elections during this time, and the uncertainty that continues around that.  Moreover, there are those of us contending with horrible warfare of a terribly aggressive nature, including Christians of various denominations in the Middle East, as well as other religious and ethnic minorities.  For the Armenian people and the generations recovering from 20th century genocide, there is a dire threat of a repeat of the same, and also the loss of precious culture and historical monuments.  These are mostly religious in nature, including a monastery that dates back to Apostolic times. This is, unfortunately, a case of the strong against the weaker and smaller, an aggressor with no qualms regarding targeting those who are helpless.  In such a time and with such feelings of loss on so many fronts this year, we may find it hard to be grateful to God for anything that we have.  But -- even as illustrated by this parable and so much else in the Bible and especially the Gospels -- we so often forget that our faith teaches us that God works through the small.  When we take time to be grateful for what we do have, to count even our blessings that remain to us, we set ourselves in the right place to approach God.  Those whose ancestors survived a genocide to thrive in new communities must recognize the goodness of what came out of those generations of survivors, their faith, their heritage, their resilience.  And, as a gift from Christ, all of this comes out of our Christian faith, for it is in our faith that we know Resurrection comes.  If we sit down to count the great blessings of rich heritage and culture, especially in the struggles of the Church and the art that came out of it, we know that we found "who we are."  If we recognize the love we find and know in our communities, and the choice for humane values, even for democracy, education, culture, and so many good things embraced even as a result of our faith, we have so much that is precious to be grateful for.  It sets us in the right place to understand who we are.  We remain those people -- no matter where we are in the world as faithful -- who are grateful for the blessing of the robe of baptism, the signet ring of the house of Christ, and the sandals through which we may follow His path.  Most of all, we know the Father's love, the One who always searches for us through all things and wants us close -- and in that "most of all" is especially Christ the Son, who gave His life for us and taught us the way of the Cross.  It is in this way that we find ourselves, and through which we remain most grateful.  Life is not about the working of evil in this world.  It is rather about the good that comes through even the evil, the Resurrection that is assured by way of the Cross.  Let us remember who we are, and not lose our place in the grand scheme of the cosmos, which is the salvation we have seen and known, and will continue to put our faith into even at this time.  For at the Cross, what is lost will be found in the promise of Christ.

My son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found

 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."

* * * 

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 began with today's beginning verses:   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."  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."  . . .  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."   Again, we remember this is the third parable Jesus tells in response to the accusation from the Pharisees and scribes that He receives sinners and eats with them.   The theme of the earlier two parables (in yesterday's reading, above) was God's love and joy at sinners who repent and return.  This third parable is the famous parable of the Prodigal Son, found only in Luke's Gospel.  We have been given traditional interpretations of the first two parables in yesterday's reading.  Here, my study bible suggests that the son's request for his portion of goods (which in Greek reads ousia, literally meaning "essence") is by tradition understood as human beings receiving a free will and rational mind from God.  It says, "As Adam did in Eden, the younger son uses these possessions to rebel against his father.  The far country 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."   This is real "homelessness" in terms of the time and place of Jesus.  As my study bible puts it, it's "Jewish Skid Row."  For a Jew to be reduced to be feeding swine means he could not sink much lower than this.  Even the food of the swine is above his station!

"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."  To "come to oneself" is to come to true self; that is, to the person one is in relationship with Creator.  My study bible says that a person immersed in sin is living outside his or her true self (see Romans 7:17-20).   This prodigal realizes he's in a hopeless condition.  My study bible suggests that the bread symbolizes Christ, who is known through both 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.' "  In Jewish culture, it was considered unseemly for an old man to run, but this father didn't stand by passively and wait for the son to return.  His impulse is quite obviously one of such tremendous love that all else is forgotten.  My study bible says,  "This 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."  Tradition in the Church gives us significance of these objects lavished on the son by the father in the story.  The robe is considered to be righteousness granted by baptism (Isaiah 61:10), the signet ring is a true family identity (Haggai 2:23; see also Luke 8:21), and the sandals refer to walking in accordance with the gospel (Ephesians 6:15).

"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 fatted calf is more truly translated "wheat-fed bull-calf" or even literally "a bull-calf formed from wheat."  This is a male calf which was raised on wheat in preparation for use as a religious offering; that is, set aside for a "holy" use.  My study bible says, "As the reconciliation of the prodigal son was not complete without the sacrifice of the calf, so man's reconciliation to God is not by his repentance alone, but by Christ offering Himself on the Cross.  The festive dining on an animal '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."  My study bible explains that this resentful older son represents the hardheartedness of the Pharisees to whom Christ was telling the parable.  It quotes Cyril of Alexandria here:  "God requires His followers to rejoice when even the most blamable man is called to repentance."   Our joy must be like that of the angels!

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.' "   My study bible says that the failure of the older son to recognize his own sins leads to a self-righteous and merciless attitude.  He can't be happy for the reunion of father and son in his brother.  It contrasts this with the contribution of the younger son.  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."   Although the older son has all that the father has, he's indignant and charges "you never gave me a young goat."  His resentment becomes ingratitude.

It's interesting to observe that in yesterday's reading, we received the first two parables in response to the grumbling or complaints or the Pharisees and the scribes, in which God's great joy is described at the "finding again" of one sinner, the return of one who has strayed.  This joy is described rather vividly by Christ, even the joy of the angels of the realm of heaven at the return of a sinner.  It's a form in two stories in which we are told something about God, God's great love and joy at receiving any one of us, but particularly those who have strayed away and returned.  Of course this is an analogy for sin, or amartia in the Greek, literally "missing the mark."  But in this third and splendid parable which we find only in Luke, it is we who are encouraged to share the joy and love of God the Father.  Told to the Pharisees and scribes who grumble that Christ dines with sinners, it's an illustration not only of God's love and joy at any  one of our return, but also a story about how if we really share the message of the Kingdom, if we truly believe in the gospel message, this is what our joy is also like for one who returns.  It's an encouragement to be like God, and a suggestion that any lesser sort of love becomes particularly a form of ingratitude.   That is, those who always have the Kingdom present with them must also rejoice that others return and become a part of it -- this is particularly so in terms of those who by their own volition have strayed, and learned a hard lesson, and returned.  What we should see here, it seems to me, is how we are called to be like God, to share these traits of love and joy of the kingdom of heaven.  God and the angels rejoice over one sinner who repents and returns.  We not only understand the kind of love and joy that await us constantly and always (since spiritual struggle is always a part of our lives), but we also understand the love and joy that we are called to live out as well, and of which we are capable.  Thus, the whole of the story applies to us, each one, particularly those who believe and would also identify with the older brother who hasn't strayed.  Let us remember our joy in helping others to receive this gospel, and also the joy and love we feel in our own relationship to God!  It must be a part of the way in which we live our lives and commit to the Kingdom ourselves.  The stakes really can't be more dire:  what the father says here is "My son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."  This is a reason to rejoice indeed.