A Sermon on the Sunday of the Prodigal Son

“Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.” (Lk 15:18)

Beloved brethren! Who among us has not served sin and does not serve sin every day, willingly or unwillingly, consciously or unconsciously, in reason or in folly? Who has not angered the Lord, infinite Truth and Love? Who has not been wounded by the blade of sin and has not felt the sharpness and acuteness of sin—the heavy confusion of conscience, sorrow and anguish, these usual companions of sin? All of us, both small and great, are sinners before God and by this are liable to punishment and separation from God; and if the Lord, in His infinite love and mercy for fallen man, had not given him repentance and forgiveness of sins for the sake of the cross-sacrifice of His only-begotten Son, all people would have descended into hell, into a place of eternal torment. But glory to the all-good and wise God who has given repentance to sinners to eternal life. Countless multitudes of sinners have been washed clean with tears of repentance, have been justified and sanctified by the most pure blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who took upon Himself our sins and bore all the punishments appointed for us—and they now rejoice with the angels in the dwellings of the holy. All of you who stand here, sinners like myself, do you treasure this priceless gift of the Lord, the gift of repentance? Do you sigh like the publican? Do you weep like the sinful woman? Do you water your bed with tears like David the patriarch? Do you return to your Heavenly Father with sincere, deep repentance like the prodigal son whose story you heard in the Gospel just read?

Sinners have no other path to life and to recover the grace and mercy of their Heavenly Father except through the path of sincere, true repentance, with the fruits of repentance. And the holy Church, the bearer and interpreter of the Spirit of Christ, of His infinite love and mercy, summons us all to repentance every day; and in these days, in view of the approaching great days of fasting and repentance, calls us specially, having established that we read on this Sunday the moving parable of the Savior about the prodigal son and sing touching, penitential hymns. How shall we, as good children, respond to the tender, love-full voice of our holy mother the Church! Let us awake from the sleep of sin, “let us walk properly as in daytime” (Rom 13:13); let us cast off the sensuality of the flesh; let us care for our immortal soul; let us do the works of God; and then we shall taste the peace of soul and the consolations of a pure conscience. O, how merciful and swift to hear is our Father, Master and Judge—God! He rushes at once with rich mercy to every sincerely repentant sinner, delivers him from ills, sorrows, and troubles that befall him for his sins, gives peace and breadth to the heart, transforms sorrow into joy. Every truly repentant sinner has experienced this in himself; the Gospel read today about the prodigal, repentant son shows this.

As soon as he firmly resolved to return with repentance to his father’s house and set out, his father saw him and was moved with compassion; running to him, he fell on his neck and kissed him. The son said to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you and am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants: Bring the finest garment and clothe him, put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet, bring the fattened calf and slaughter it. Let us eat and celebrate, for this son of mine was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found. And they began to celebrate (Lk 15:21-24). A moving picture of paternal love on the one hand and sincere repentance on the other! This is a parable in which an ordinary father—though kind and merciful—is described, and a dissolute son who has repented. But look into the deep, inner meaning of this parable; imagine instead of an ordinary father God, the common Father of all men, and His boundless love for the world perishing in sin. What a feast has He prepared for sinners whom He has adopted as His children through faith and baptism? Did He slay a calf? Rather, He gave His only-begotten Son to willing sacrifice; did He prepare the flesh of a calf for a feast? Rather, He has given and continues to give us His own flesh and blood as food and drink, for the forgiveness of sins and for eternal life. Behold the spiritual, life-giving, saving, wondrous feast of faith and salvation! Behold the boundless paternal love toward us sinners! Do you feel, O sinner, this love? Do you answer love with love? Do you sincerely repent of your lawlessness so that you too may be worthy of such a spiritual feast to your salvation and may taste the love of your Heavenly Father, His only-begotten Son, and the Holy Spirit the Comforter? And without repentance this mystery will not be to salvation. And what is the finest garment in which the father clothed the prodigal son? It means the garment of righteousness in which Jesus Christ clothes us, or it is Christ Himself, as it is written: “You who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Gal 3:27) This means we ought to live in all righteousness and truth. What is the ring on the hand? This is the sealing of the Holy Spirit given in the hearts of believers. “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1Cor 3:16) And God’s temple should be sanctified in all days; let us live holy lives. Shoes on the feet—this is the grace to walk straight on the path of Christ’s commandments: “Guide my steps according to Your word and let no iniquity have dominion over me,” (Ps 118:133) as it is said, for without the grace-filled shod feet, we cannot walk the straight paths of God’s commandments. “Turn each of you from your evil ways and from your evil thoughts,” (Jer 25:5; Jer 18:11) says God’s word. So in spiritual shoes, in spiritual zeal, let us hasten to God, having cast off sinful sleep, laziness, and carelessness. Soon the great fast will begin—a time of fasting, confession of sins, and communion in the holy, life-giving mysteries: let us cleanse our souls and bodies by fasting, prayer, and sincere repentance and prepare ourselves as a temple for the Lord, who desires to dwell and live in us. See how those who wish to meet a king or a high-ranking person prepare for his coming. They level and cleanse all the roads by which he is to pass, decorate houses with colorful flags or lights and show every sign of zeal and joy; they all strive to see him and to feast their eyes upon him; and if anyone were fortunate enough to receive the king in his house, such a person would be beside himself with joy. If those who wish to meet an earthly king, a man like themselves, so prepare, so welcome and receive him, then we who are preparing to meet the heavenly King, the Creator and God, with what zeal and diligence should we prepare to receive Him! Since the heavenly King is infinitely higher than any earthly king, and the heavenly King is infinitely more righteous than any earthly king, all the greater and more careful must be our preparation, and all the more distinct from the preparation for meeting an earthly king! For the heavenly King requires our souls and bodies, clean and adorned with virtues; not magnificently decorated houses, not colorful flags, but a variety of virtues according to the ability and state of each; not brightly burning lights, but our souls brightly burning with faith and love. Let us offer such a welcome and preparation to the heavenly King, so that we may be worthy to receive Him in joy in the spiritual dwellings of our souls, in our hearts. Amen.