Homily Three for the Sunday of the Prodigal Son
By St. John of Kronstadt
By St. John of Kronstadt
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you” (Luke 15:18)
Beloved brethren, who among us has not labored and does not labor for sin every day, willingly or unwillingly, consciously or unconsciously, in understanding or in ignorance? Who has not angered the Lord, infinite Truth and Love? Who has not been wounded by the blade of sin and felt its sharpness and bitterness — the heavy confusion of conscience, sorrow and distress, those constant companions of sin? All of us, from the least to the greatest, are sinners before God, and therefore are subject to punishment and separation from Him. And if the Lord, in His boundless love and mercy toward fallen humanity, had not granted repentance and the forgiveness of sins for the sake of the sacrificial death on the Cross of His only-begotten Son, then all people would have descended into hell, the place of eternal torment. But glory be to the all-good and all-wise God, who has given repentance to sinners unto eternal life. Countless multitudes of sinners have been washed by the words of repentance, 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 prepared for us — and now they rejoice with the Angels in the dwellings of the saints. All of you standing here, sinners like myself — do you cherish this priceless gift of the Lord, the gift of repentance? Do you sigh like the publican, weep like the harlot, wash your bed with tears like David the forefather? Do you return to the heavenly Father with sincere and deep repentance, like the prodigal son of whom you heard in today’s Gospel reading?
For sinners there is no other path to life and to the recovery of the grace and mercy of the heavenly Father except the path of sincere, unfeigned repentance, bearing the fruits of repentance. And the Holy Church, the bearer and interpreter of the Spirit of Christ, of His boundless love and mercy, calls us all to repentance every day; and in these days especially, as the great days of fasting and repentance draw near, she calls us more earnestly, having appointed for this Sunday the moving parable of the Savior about the prodigal son and the singing of compunctionate penitential hymns. As obedient children let us all respond to the tender, loving voice of our Holy Mother the Church: let us awaken from the sleep of sin — "as in the day, let us walk decently" (Rom. 13:13); let us abandon fleshly lust; let us care for the immortal soul; let us begin to do the works of God — and then we shall enjoy peace of soul and the consolations of a pure conscience. Oh, how merciful and swift to hear we have in a Father, Master, and Judge — God! He hastens at once with rich mercy to every sincerely repentant sinner, delivers him from misfortunes, sorrows, and calamities that befall him because of sins, grants peace and spaciousness to the heart, and turns sorrow into joy. Every truly repentant sinner has experienced this; today’s Gospel about the repentant prodigal son also shows it.
As soon as he firmly resolved to return with repentance to his father’s house and set out, his father saw him and had compassion; and running, he fell on his neck and kissed him. And 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 best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it; 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 rejoice (Luke 15:17–32). A moving picture of fatherly love on the one hand and sincere repentance on the other. This is a parable in which there appears a father — though good and merciful, still a man — and a dissolute son who repents. But penetrate the deep inner meaning of this parable: imagine in place of the ordinary father — God, the common Father of mankind, and His boundless love for the world perishing in sins. What kind of banquet has He prepared for sinners whom He has adopted through faith and Baptism? He did not slaughter a calf, but delivered His only-begotten Son to voluntary sacrifice; He did not prepare the flesh of a calf for a feast, but gives and offers to us the flesh and blood of His Son as food and drink, for the forgiveness of sins and for eternal life. Behold the spiritual, life-giving, saving, wondrous banquet of faith and salvation! Behold the immeasurable fatherly love for us sinners! Do you feel this love, O sinner? Do you respond to love with love? Do you sincerely repent of your iniquities, so that you too may be made worthy of such a spiritual banquet for your salvation and may partake of the love of the heavenly Father, of His only-begotten Son, and of the Holy Spirit the Comforter? For without repentance this mystery will not be unto salvation.
And what are the first robe, the ring on the hand, and the shoes on the feet? The first robe with which the father clothed his prodigal son signifies the robe of righteousness with which Jesus Christ clothes us — or rather, it is Christ Himself, according to what is written: "As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal. 3:27). This means that we must live in all righteousness and truth. What is the ring on the hand? It is the betrothal of the Holy Spirit given into the hearts of believers. "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Cor. 3:16). And the temple of God ought to be sanctified at all times: let us live holy lives. The shoes on the feet are the grace to walk straight along the path of Christ’s commandments: "Direct my steps according to Your word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me" (Ps. 118[119]:133), for without this gracious footwear we cannot walk the straight paths of God’s commandments. "Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever" (Jer. 25:5), says the word of God. Therefore, shod with spiritual footwear, in spiritual zeal let us hasten to God, laying aside the sleep of sin, sloth, and negligence.
Behold, the great fast is soon approaching — a time of abstinence, confession of sins, and communion of the holy, life-giving Mysteries. Let us therefore 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 within us. Look how those who wish to meet a king or a high dignitary prepare everything for his arrival: they level and clean all the roads by which he is to pass, adorn houses with multicolored flags or lights, show every sign of zeal and joy, strive to see him and gaze upon him, and if someone were fortunate enough to receive the king into his home, such a person would be beside himself with delight. If those who wish to meet an earthly king — a man like themselves — prepare in such a way, greet and receive him so eagerly, then how much care and zeal must we show, who are preparing to meet the heavenly King, the Creator and God? For as infinitely higher is the heavenly King than the earthly, as infinitely more righteous is the heavenly King than an earthly ruler, so much greater and more careful must be our preparation, and so much more different from the preparation for meeting an earthly king. For the heavenly King needs our souls and bodies to be pure and adorned with virtues — not magnificently decorated houses; not multicolored flags, but a variety of virtues according to each one’s ability and condition; not brightly burning lamps, but souls brightly burning with faith and love. Let us all prepare such a meeting for the heavenly King, that we may be deemed worthy, with joy, to receive Him into the houses of our souls, into our hearts. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
