On the Prodigal Son

Of the Holy One, Mar Jacob A Memra. 72. On the Prodigal Son who Squandered His Possessions. Your Word, Our Lord, is the light of the whole world. From it I began to speak in the world, O my Lord. The great day, Our Lord, for the generations to come, O my Lord. By your light I hasten to walk without stumbling. The world is dark, and you are luminous, you are the Son of God. By your light I will walk with you, O my Lord, towards your flock. The path of the world is full of all stumbling blocks and snares. Be for me, Our Lord, a straight path, and I will walk in you. Your companionship is light, and you are the sun of righteousness. With you I will descend to a place free from stumbling blocks. Snares and traps and ambushes fill the world. And what is held is high and elevated above the fall. The guide, the light, and the straight path, you are, Our Lord. Give me your hand, let me descend by your guidance, and behold your beauties. Behold, the creatures are moved, praising you in their forms. Open also my mouth to praise your might. Behold, the days and nights within their boundaries: They open and take up, they proclaim your story to the whole earth. The evenings and mornings at their watches in their times: At your praise they are awakened to the air distinctly. The summers and winters in their changes and their seasons: They teach the earth that you are the one who changes their times.

Cold and heat that come and go upon the seasons. Upon you it is told how skilled you are in your works. The hours of the day and the watches of the night, four: All the ascents of distinct praises to your creation. The sea with its ships and its waves and its parables: It wanders in the river of how mighty is your craftsmanship. The agitated waves and with them the strong winds: Your course sings how wondrous is your might. The great deep and the whales with the serpents: In the depth of the seas upon you they are placed in their boundaries. The whole dry land, the earth and its mountains with its heights: To you it is a witness that you have gone astray, that it may not fall. The heavens, your praise is told in their courses: And the work of your hands shows the firmament how mighty you are. The great finder of the ray of light spread in your creation: Behold, it stands open upon all ends and is full of your praise. The sun and the moon and their radiance with their orbits: In a great course for the world they are wakeful upon your glory. Also in me your praise is stirred, my Lord, like a rich man: Who gives gifts of all his treasures to those who are worthy of him. That my word may be for your praise because of you: In simple voices without the reproach of arrogance. The silent stars praise your name richly: To me more abundantly stir, my Lord, upon your glory.

To your image it is fitting that I sing your praise distinctly. Better than these, not among free ones who are eager for you. I alone have freedom from the creatures. That they praise you with eager courses of their purity. That without his will the sun shines and the moon gives light. And your heart is a swift, eager course of the powers. And your great power is difficult for all to praise. And not their freedom distinguishes praise for your awesomeness. I am a free son, fair: praise if I distinguish, I. That my will rules and I cease and I move to praise. And if I cease, I, I swallow, I, from grief. That the free sons seek praise distinctly. Therefore I praise you, my Lord, when I tremble, I. That I am not worthy and behold I extend, I, and I am not sufficient. All mouths are indebted to you for praise. And which one is worthy of praise and song? You, my Lord, are worthy that all creatures praise you. With word and voice and without voice in their forms. The distinct ones move to praise on behalf of the creatures. The silent ones, to you it is fitting to praise. For the Son of God who came to our world for our sakes. He repays him when he does not cease from his praise. On behalf of on behalf of sinners, the Son of God went up to the cross. That he might turn them to repentance and behold they are nullified.

His voice raised high, he cried out: "Woe and bitter lamentations!" He did not hasten to you, seeking your face in repentance. The love of the world, like a fire, has consumed you, and the physician approached and gave you health, but you did not leave him. The love of gold, the delight of the rebellious, the stubborn: it is fitting that you yourself are not subject to health. Sins have covered you on the path of the world like robbers, and to the deliverance of your destiny they do not call you from afar. The darkness of your self from the small things of the love of the world, and the light shone but did not open for you the door of entry. The driver strikes with rods, rods like a judge, and your hard heart was not moved from the evils. Like executioners, they have made you serve on what you have squandered, and from the possessions you have again rebelled more. That the world may delight, it entices you and mocks you, and because the love of it is wasted in your self, you did not let it go. To flee from it, the world moved you with shouts, and upon those who love it, the world has much, behold, it has crushed you. The evil hour, and behold, the love of money is worthless; in the midst of poverty, like a moth, and behold, it burns in it. His error to the world, and it destroyed his beauty and his deeds, and behold, he is turned and confused and full of falsehood and deceit. The love of gold has led her astray on the path to the house of royalty, and behold, among the saints he has cast a hand and will destroy the world.

to the splendid place where he serves, a third time: Like a serpent into Paradise he crept, and behold, he has troubled it. He led the priests astray, who sought gold and found it, so that he might be strong where the salt of the earth has withered. At the head of the spring, the adversary placed a stumbling block (by his evil counsel), and he found healing for that which had been troubled—the whole creation. So that no one in the world might receive two commands: And behold, many are the clouds for us, and what shall I say? The tribes and clans that would take the road do not appease us, and behold, they have also taken the bridles and their coverings. Without a guide, he commanded us to wander in the regions, and behold, he has placed for us purses of gold, and he did not weep. We do not have with us that teaching of the house of John, nor of the house of Simon, whose gold perfected all beauty. That discipline of Paul has now been destroyed, for behold, even villages and their hamlets have stood as disciples. The regions of the world and the pastures for the Christians, which had been commanded to guard the works of the Son of God, instead of souls, behold, beasts have stood as disciples. And when the master of works comes, what will they say to him? "Give your own, your thousand, your master, or your disciple?" And how are you now rich from what is not yours? The pursuit of disciples is a choice. Judah taught her and her master, that this is not Simon. He.

The sinner grew strong from his smallness and from his courses; and when Simon Peter perceived him, he cast down his body. What then shall become of the place where his own poverty serves? For behold, his master looks upon Simon and is silent toward him. The tree of the threefold pursuits does not bear fruit. A light kindles and casts sparks into the midst of Gehenna. His spirit draws and brings him to repentance; otherwise, behold, the plundering that oppresses him comes. By the light he burns the evil ones, the company of disciples, and he taught and stirred up his own poverty, which trembles from Gehenna. You, do not fall, and thus teach the one who hears you: that the wealth of the world is a fleeting thing for the one who acquires it. The son of inhabitants who has no possession at all—behold, he is in heaven; and the one who has a possession—behold, he is clothed in a garment and bears a foul name. Simon Peter, who abandoned his own great pride, and who took the bribe that Judas sold to him—a fleeting thing. What now, between the just and the unjust? To what end is there reproach, and to what end does he have a fair name? The great serpent who expelled Adam from Paradise—that one teaches you to fall for gold, O disciple. From that same inheritance of wealth, from the house of idols, he fears that he might take you away from what he teaches you, that you might fall for gold. That teaching which he cast to Eve in her hand—he places in your heart what he has prepared for you, the hunt for Mammon.

The love of wealth is a fruit that is full of death. From the tree of knowledge, the serpent plucked it and showed it. The tree of life alone seeks the spirit; for the living, when they do not gain greater inheritances. Christ teaches that the merchant of gold and the buyer of life are pained by the serpent that sold gold and was adorned by it. And behold, the teaching of the Son of God is scattered and fleeting, while the teaching of the serpent runs throughout the whole world. And the lover of wealth and the luxurious: through him even the disciples, who ought not to have acquired anything except the Lord. And behold, they are eager after wealth without distinction, and the love of money is easy for them like a thief. And the beloved of the serpent's counsel is very great, though he is a murderer, and the teaching of the Son of God is scattered and trampled. And no one gives place to the Word and to the teaching, for evil is abundant and teachers are confounded in the gate. And the learners do not wish to be enriched by teaching, and the teacher does not place silver on the table. In the love of gold, as in a net, teaching lies hidden, so that everyone becomes rich as in a dream that cannot be realized. And everyone knows that wealth does not benefit its owners, and everyone says that the world and its wealth pass away. And the one who has acquired nothing in the world is praised, and no one wishes to acquire wealth as that one did.

Every man loves and praises righteousness, and every man flees from it and does not practice it. Sin is easy, and no man desires to flee from it. They diminish it while they work at it in their deeds. When the lofty story of one of the faithful is told, every man says, "If only it had been given to me, I would be like that." He is immersed in sin and longs for righteousness. He judges himself, for if he did not wish it, he would not sin. Righteousness is simple for the whole world to acquire, and if the whole world wished it, it would stand for it. The wealth of its acquisition is not simple for every man when he loves it, and not everyone who wishes becomes rich as he wishes. Before God, everyone who wishes is righteous, for righteousness is not hindered from being acquired by every man. For God gave freedom to mortals, and by his freedom man stands for righteousness. Thus also freedom works iniquity, and it is not hindered, for if it were hindered, it would not be freedom. And equally, freedom exists for mortals; behold, you see from the teaching of the Son of God. And if it were possible for the beloved one to teach by it, I would also speak about the freedom that is equal for all. And there is no one who is not free, and one who is free, for every man is equal both in nature and in freedom.

For God gives equally also the members, also the opportunity, also the freedom to human beings. And whoever wishes to do iniquity is permitted to him, and whoever labors at righteousness is not hindered from it. And equally there is freedom for human beings. From that parable of the younger son you learn this. The full light of the teaching of the Son of God. O darknesses, be illumined in the day of righteousness! In the story of the younger son who flew away, all that had happened: you have it that you may learn concerning the freedom which is equal for all. There was a man who had two sons, he said: an elder son and a younger son from one parent. He called the man 'Father' for God in the parable, and the two sons the whole race of human beings. And because he has both the righteous and the sinners, he named the elder son and the younger son accordingly. The elder son he called the righteous, because they were with God and increased his mercy from the beginning. And the later son, those who did not approach God. And the younger son who said to his father, 'Give me my portion,' like a man who says, 'Give me, let me do all my will.' And the father divided and gave a portion to the two brothers. He called the freedom the portion that was divided.

His portion he did not divide equally, as it is said: "This freedom is equal and is divided among the children." And to the righteous and to the sinner, one freedom: and in equality the Lord gives it to this one and to that one. That portion which the father divided between the two sons: this freedom which he gave equally to the children. And that sinner, the younger son, was enraged: he took his freedom as a portion from the father's house, and went out and departed to a place far from the father's house, and lived there dissolutely with harlots. And that portion which his father gave him when he divided, he spent wickedly and became destitute in evil ways. The far place to which that sinner went: that is the evil will which is far from God. He distanced his heart from God, and then sinned, so that as if to another place he went and sinned there. And as long as the Lord is not there and does not look upon him, he sins and the Lord is not within his thought. And because of this it is written that he went to a far place, and wasted his possessions while he lived dissolutely. He distanced himself from God while he sinned, and enslaved his freedom to serve vanities. And virginity, the great treasure which is for the chaste, he violated through fornication and wantonness, and cast it away from him.

And again he cast himself down from the sanctity of the rank of the two. He did not order himself in a holy manner. And he became enslaved to the desire of the belly and to wantonness. And he lost all his freedom while he was dissipating. When a person is far from God, these things occur. And as long as the Lord is not present in the place, his iniquity is seen. But this one, while he was living, was flying: his hand reached there, to poverty and destitution. For he who is far from God is very poor, and he hungers and is weary, and he cannot find life anywhere. For he who hears the word of the Lord vigilantly, he trembles at sin so that he does not become far from God. That younger son, that evil will which was cut off, placed him at a distance from God while he was sinning. And when he fell, and to his freedom sin was bound, he became enslaved to one of the lords of the place. The lords of the place, the son of God calls demons, who by error were lords and even gods. In that place where a person distances himself from God, they set up gods and lords to be worshipped in it. And in it was raised a high horn of idolatry, and people were made to serve vanity. And demons stood up on the high head of idolatry, and they were like lords to the world to be worshipped in it.

In that place where sin is served, the great one: Demons and devils were his masters, as it was said. And the younger son, when he had distanced himself from his father, went out to one of the masters of the place and enslaved himself to him. The sinful wanderer, when he had distanced himself from God, enslaved himself to the devil who loves vanities. And to the devil of the love of the world he subjected himself, and surrendered his gift to the evil passions of lusts. He sent him to tend swine, and he was lusting that from carob-pods he might be sated, and they would not give him. He called the passions: swine in the parable, our Lord, and his lusts: of the evil world like carob-pods. Everyone trembles at the interpretation of the great parable, and no one errs if he hears it attentively. The parable teaches without reproach to the one who reflects, that when a person sins, he is in distance from God. And again it makes known to us that when a person falls into sin, he attaches himself to the devil who inflames him with lusts. And that same devil who loves vanities and emptiness, then drives that person who has enslaved himself to him. And as a swineherd does, he runs, serving the vanity of no profit. Woe, sinful one, where are you cast when you sin, in a place far from God, and you are not there?

Woe to you, wretched one, who serve a master who is not: To the demon that left you in vain desires, that you might sleep in his den. Flee from sin, because the demon who was his master: And he fans the flames of lust before sinners. Do not serve one of the masters of the place of iniquity: For behold, there is for you a master of all places. One is your master; do not go, you, after a lord: The Lord is your master; deny him in the demon who is not your master. Flee from sin upon the beloved, upon the tempter: You are a freeborn; do not serve vain desires. Do not squander that freedom which was given to you: From God, and enslave it to lusts. Do not go from the father's house with iniquity in your hands: To a place far from freedom, from freedom and from honor. In the parable of the mighty one whom the Son of God set in his writing: Depart from iniquity which corrupts the freedom of man. To one of the masters of the place a weak son clung: To the demon who leads evil men away from God. And he sent him here: to tend swine, and he was lusting: That he might fill his belly with carobs, but he could not. For lusts cause hunger, not satiety: Like carobs, which are not substantial food, but are bitter.

He was desiring, yet it did not give him to fill his belly: For no man is able to do according to his desire, the runner for gold, who is mad with love of silver. For he cannot, however much the runner for gold may run, fill his belly. He wishes to seize the wife of his companion, even the adulterer: And the free woman flees, and the fool is ashamed that he did not accomplish his way. With a base desire he wishes to beget among many: And if not, at once they are not able to be caught by his snare. He wishes to wear good garments, and they are not found for him: And he longs for foods, and there is nothing for him. For he cannot fill his belly from carobs: And it does not give him as much as he wishes, to fulfill his will. The runner runs much, and all his desire is not accomplished: And he goes up every day, that he might be sated, to the desires. And there is no opportunity that from carobs satiety might be: Nor that he might be sated, when a man runs after vanities. Woe to the sinner, and his soul in his weariness is not comforted: He tends swine, with harsh labor and shameful reward. He goes about: in mountains and heights and in trusts: And he seeks a strong one, and a striker strikes him on the arm. Evil harsh pains, and full of death: And the fool runs after desires, while he is not sated. Sins are snares, and the love of gold is a cause of ruin: The desire of profligacy, which is full of foul, rotten filth.

The desire of the eyes sets enterprises in motion in a fair place. The hot poison of the arrow, the bitter gall that kills the soul. Great folly, for the sinner does not consider the labor of his way, and unless he is delivered from the tumults, at the end the fire is a wound. His sin cast down the little son who served her much, and he was astounded by the tumults of the one who loved the tree. And the sick one who had eaten of the tree was unable to obtain, and according to his desire the tree did not give him to gather. And the sick one was distressed over his tumults and over his scattering, and over his servitude, for he remembered that he was a son of free men. The sinner saw that if he had not willed, he would not have sinned, and if he had not sought to serve iniquity, his distress would not have afflicted him. And as from the hour of the tumults he rejoiced and lamented, for he saw himself in what kind of life he had begun in evil things. Come, O hunter of himself, come hear and be amazed, O distinguisher, that he who sins is also far from himself. When the hunter of himself had not yet come, he spoke thus: How many hired men are satisfied with bread in their fathers' house? The hunter of himself was far, but also from himself, when he was far from God and served iniquity. He who knows what the soul is, it is difficult for him to sin, lest her high and pure beauty be corrupted. And as soon as he errs, he afflicts God, he errs from himself, and he remembers neither the soul nor God.

He came against himself, for he sought to come against God. And immediately he knew that he was small and the son of small, and what he was. He saw himself and was ashamed, he in his standing. And he trembled at the sin and turned, coming to the house of his father. He saw that wretched one, that beautiful one whose standing was. How much does he destroy the bodies that are not beautiful. He saw that the beautiful one, his Creator is God, and without blemish. And by his will he fell into sins and became a fool. He came against himself, for when he sinned, he did not come against her. And he knew what she was and grieved over her beauty that had been destroyed. Immediately he came and saw himself, he saw God. And he rejoiced that he was from what: he withdrew when he was sinning. And he remembered the great house of his father and his servants. And his attendants and his beautiful desires. He remembered that great table of his father. That was full of satiety while he was being consumed in difficulty. And the wretched one ran among the servants of his father, even among the hired ones. And at the table of those who are satiated from him, even among outsiders. For repentance, immediately when it approaches the sinner, remembers God and his greatness and his servants. And the saints, how near they are to God. And the righteous, how beautiful are their rewards. And how much beauty: there are chosen ones in the house of God. And in what rank the perfect stand, while they are resplendent.

And how many servants does God have who are near to him! And he himself was cast far from God by the iniquity he committed. Immediately, when he turned, the man came to repentance. In all these things, he is ashamed while being rebuked, while being embittered because of these beauties he lost. While he mourns over his freedom, how base it is! While he stands over him like a pursuer, his face ashamed, that he might bow his head like one shamed by the iniquity he committed. The sinner is sorry because he lost these beauties that he had, and he became a fool, a simpleton; he endures tremors. And he sees others in excellence and perfection, and in weeping and humility. And every time he approaches God, he rejoices and is praised, but the sinner is ashamed and foolish, and everyone rebukes him. He bows his head, and it is not easy for him to look up to heaven. And he shuts his mouth, and he has no strength to pray. He sees that he has spent the multitude of his days in vanity and has sinned greatly, and has ruined his soul, which was beautiful. And he is far, sorrowful, from God because of his iniquity, and he is near to other men in their divisions. And when freedom is common, which is his and that of the righteous, he chose sin, because the sinner desired it. And the younger son called him in the Gospel the Son of God, because he delayed and came at the end to God.

He examines himself and begins to speak, while being ashamed: Words that turn back love and the mercy of fatherhood. How many hired servants are there in my father's house who are satisfied with bread? And I, behold, am perishing from hunger in the house of strangers. He who did not fall into sin is a son of God by nature. And he is beautiful and beloved, and he has a nature full of beauties. And God saw his creation, that it was very beautiful. And like a begetter who begets a beautiful child without sin. And the whole nature is beautiful and full of righteousness. And because of his beauty, he is worthy to be a son of God. But when he fell into the love of the world and began to sin, the high and natural beauty perished from him. And from the height, which is fitting for sons, he was brought low. For that beauty which nature had was destroyed for him. And immediately he begins the work of the labors of righteousness. He heals the wounds of those who were wounded by freedom. And like a hired laborer who works to fill his belly with bread, he goes and binds himself to the work of righteousness. And a little from here and a little from there, and again from there, he beats himself with tears of pain and weeping. He sends forth and clothes the hungry, feeds the orphans, and does good, so that he might find mercy to enter the house of God. And the younger son, in this rank, sought to stand, not for the honor which is fitting for sons, for which he had yearned.

a son who does not sin, for his seed is in him, and he is not subjugated. He does not do evil because he is pure, like his begetter. But when he sins, he descends to that rank of hired servants, who run after righteousness and save themselves. And through service, petitions, and alms, he enters within the door of the house, so that he is not lost. And concerning the son, he was and destroyed that beauty of the house. This hired servant (and weary from his toil) lives in the house until he approaches repentance from the hired servants. He is one who sins, and there is no running in his path. To one of the masters of the place, he is subjugated by the demons, and there he labors in vain among the hired servants. And as soon as he desires to be saved and come to the house of God, the masters of the place do not allow him, but he remains there. And if God does not stop all of them, the desire will go; the evil one, as he can, will stop the desire from coming. The desire of the sinner is to sin, and he sins as he pleases, and the desire to be saved, and there is nothing that can stop him. He falls as he wills and rises as he wills, and he is sovereign over himself, for freedom is not constrained as to what it will do. The little son desires to turn and come and see his father, and before him stood the whole market of demons. And the error that he served with him did not stop all of them from his path, nor could the demons nullify his beauties.

Nor does the love of the world turn him back, as is its custom. For from the moment he desired that the sign come, he came and did not delay. O sinner, from the moment you desired that the sign come, you came. And there is no power that can hinder you from the abundance. He desired, and he let go of that shepherding whose reward is shame. Pigs for husks, evil cares, all of their straying. Come, look to yourself, like that foolish heir who came. For from the moment he came, he was wise and honorable to his father. See, do not stray from the great house of the house of God, for behold, you are far off and have cast yourself away from it like a stranger. And behold, the chaste delight in it in the running of their conduct, and the perfect boast in it in the beauty of their order. And all the righteous fill their honor in its support. And you are far off, abased and trampled among strangers. Come, sinner, come, see your father who awaits you. Great is the delay, until the door is shut; come now. Through repentance the soul is restored, what was ruined, and from it all the beauty that was lost stands. That thought of the younger son, the repentant one, which the Son of God spoke for your instruction. Come, look to yourself, and seek mercy like that one who sought it, whom the father received when he fell at his feet. That thought of the younger son, take, O sinner, and it will bring you in so that you may be an heir in the house of your father.

Come, hunt for yourself as that one came from the burdens. And with a willing spirit, he sought forgiveness. Hunger pressed him, the rungs that have no end for you. And it does not give you satiety from them, for now you stand. Come to the table of the house of God, which is full of satiety. And fill your belly from its spiritual delights. The sinner saw that whenever he approached to hunt for God, he was sated from his blessings, and behold, he is nourished from his gifts. And the younger son, hunger and need stripped him. And he was the one who turned to come to his father’s house. He remembered that nobility in which he was raised. And he rebuked himself and began in weeping that he might speak. How many hired laborers eat bread in the house of my father? And I, behold, am perishing from hunger. What shall I do? I will turn to hunt for my father, and I will weep and wail and beg from him. And I will say to him, I sinned against heaven and before you, my father. And I am not worthy that your son should be from here to there. Because my sin is much greater than forgiveness. O son, there is no one whose fault is mine; it is not of the beasts. I will be a hired laborer, and grace is what I have to live with you. With your hired laborers, if I am sated with bread from now on, it is the gifts, the bread of your house that is full of satiety.

He turned, that son came repentant and saw his father. And while he was still far off, the mercy of fatherhood moved him. For he came seeking, and because he sought, his father ran to him. And he went out to meet him while he was still far from the house, the father. His father trembled because he saw the dead one alive. And he rejoiced in the life of the one who returned from destruction. As from the jaws of Sheol, he received that lost one. And in the joy of the dead one, he rejoiced that he had risen from the grave. And while rejoicing, he fell upon his neck and embraced the son. And as if wealth had come to his house, he was embracing him. He did not permit him to go, nor did he hold him by the hand lest he delay. And he did not reproach him for his faults, of how much he had squandered. He did not ask him to bring back that portion which had gone out with him. And he did not consider the inheritance which he had wasted, which he had lost from his father's house. He did not grieve over the loss of what had been squandered. Nor did he distress him over the wealth that had been lost through his hands. Thus he received him, as if to go and bring with him. Wealth and treasures and all deposits to his father's house. He rejoiced in the inheritance and did not grieve over the losses. That he had wasted and gone about in vain, prodigally. The sight of the son and the love that ran, that of the seekers, filled the father at the time of wealth, and it was he whom he sought.

The son said, "I have sinned against heaven and before you, my father." "I have done evil, and I was not worthy of your blessing. I was a little servant in your house when I worked. I was humbled and I was beaten and I endured. And I could not reach the heavens, for the measure is so high. Nor does my folly have a limit, for the measure is so great." That confession of the heir of mercy was beloved. And like a great treasure, his father received him abundantly. And thus he received him without reproach and without anger. And as if he had not grieved from sorrow, he was loving him. And he embraced him and kissed him and honored him. And the more he loved, his father loved him and had mercy on him. And immediately he commanded the members of his household and the servants: "Bring that first robe which the father has." And they placed a signet ring in the hand of the heir of mercy. And the youth went out, stumbling on his feet from the father's house. And the father commanded, and a fatted bull was brought to him for sacrifice. And the servants did as the master of the house commanded. And the house resounded with the voice of praise and with hymns. And with songs of joy because of the heir of mercy. The father's house rejoiced at the death of the living one, and great was the tumult. And hymns and melodious voices of great praise.

And when the elder of the village heard, he was pleased. He heard the voice and began to inquire about the return. "What is this?" he said. "Your brother has come, and your father rejoiced because he has become well. Come, rejoice also you." But as soon as the elder heard, he became angry and turned away. He did not wish to enter and rejoice in the inheritance of the father. But the father, whose mercy was in no way divided, went out after him to bring him also and to rejoice with him. And the elder son began to appeal to the mercy of his father, and he struggled with that which was not difficult, saying to him: "Behold, how many years have I labored for you, my lord, in servitude? Never have I asked for a wage. Be pleased with me." His father said: "My son, you are with me; you are all my days. I do not send you away nor remove you from the side of your father. Everything that is mine is yours; it is yours. You are the elder, and you are the heir, and your brother enters in goodness. You are here with me, and your brother who had come was not with us. He was dead and alive, and because he is alive, come, rejoice in him. Over one who was lost and now is found, rejoice today. Why should you not rejoice at the finding of one who was lost? Your brother was lost, and because he is found, do not be grieved for yourself. Your brother was dead and is alive today; why should you not rejoice?

me, but he did not marvel at the father who was full of mercy entirely. And he was entirely a sea of compassion that cannot be measured. He received the younger son who had come, for he had not gone away. And he appeased the elder with love, for he had not become angry. His love was spacious, for it held both the younger and the elder. In his compassion he took hold of them, and he did not let go of either of them. He was angry with the people because of the nations that had been lost, and because they had received a god, he became angry and went out. But God desires that all the nations be saved. And all the nations desire him; they are his heirs. And he wishes to give life also to the last and to the first, so that one may be for him and he may seek to save all of them. Thus also to the righteous and to the sinners he opens his door and calls to all of them, "Be saved!" And he desires that the sinners come to repentance, and he is watchful over the righteous and makes them increase and inherit. And the burden of both groups is light because of his love, for to both of them his compassion suffices to give them life. The righteous, however, all his days are with God, and because of this he was the elder and the firstborn. And it is said to him, "Everything that is mine is yours." For the righteous inherit the earth, and it is theirs. Also the sinner, if he comes to repentance, can find mercy and inherit life in the house of the father.

Behold, how many years I have labored as a servant for you, my Lord. I am righteous, yet I am shown as a sinner. I have not sinned, yet I am appeased every day as one who has sinned. And you did not allow me to hope that there is any respite on your path. I was afraid of you, and of your threats, and of your commands, and of your warnings, and of the laws of your severity. That I might fall twice, you did not allow me, while you were teaching. And now, that I might be ashamed of the woman and her desire would draw me to sin. If I call out, I fall into Gehenna. And to my brother, if I say, "Be rich," it is a lie. And now, my righteousness is taken from me; let go the reins. And now, that I may not do these things, swallow me up from beneath. Behold, how many years I have performed service for your awesomeness, and you did not allow me (to rest and to swim), one of these. Never have I transgressed the commands of your severity, and not even a small breach have I made in your words. I have kept all of them, even the harsh and the severe. And no respite has touched me on your path from your knowledge. That you did not give me even a small portion of these things, that I might not sin and not even a small breach I might commit. These words are fully before God, with a clear face, as he raises his voice and demands his reward.

and he did not consider seeking mercy in the desert before the church. For the sinner was not healed so that he might seek mercy. And because of this, when the sinner entered the desert, he did not fully hope that there was a chance for him to live. And because of this, the elder son was seeking to be angry at what he saw, that mercy was inherited by the repentant one. And the elder son said to the father in a loud voice: "Never have I loosed your words or your commands. And this son of yours, when he went astray in dissipation, and his entire inheritance he gave to harlots, and squandered and lost everything that came upon him, the pollutions. Behold, their weight in the trough of fat for enjoyment. But God rejoices in this one whose face is revealed, and seeks to give a hand to raise up the fallen one. And if the sinner seeks to come to repentance, he would make a place for him in his mercy to live there. And for the sinner, as soon as he becomes one of the repentant, with the righteous he is brought in and seated at his table. To the younger son, when he came from the hardships, they clothed him in the stole, the first one that the father had. The stole was one also for the later and the earlier ones, since it was not fitting that each one of them take half of it. That first stole was given to the younger son, and there was no other for the elder son to wear.

Faith and baptism are one for God. And one is the garment that He gives to the baptized from within the waters. One is the sacrifice by which all sinners are absolved. And in one font are sealed the treasures of the house of God. One is the veil of the bride who ascends from within the waters, the measure of the wall that adorns the chambers with it. The Son of God is the lover of repentance. Come, sinners, into the fragrance of His incense, that He may perfume you. The merciful Father has spread His mercy over sinners, but He does not come except where one seeks His life. He made the younger son an heir with the elder, that repentance might bring the dead to life by the sign of the Father. He was dead and alive, and hope was given to all sinners, that it is easy to live through blessed repentance. End of the homily on the prodigal son.