11 And he said, “A man had two sons. 12 Then the younger of the two said to his father: Father, give me the portion of the money that comes to me. So he divided his living among them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and traveled to a far country, and there he squandered his possessions with extravagant living. 14 When he had spent everything, there arose a severe famine in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and joined himself to one of the people of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he longed to fill his belly with the husks that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 Then he came to himself and said: How many of my father’s hired servants have enough bread, and I am perishing with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your employees. 20 So he arose and came to his father. And while he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 Then the son said to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. 22 Then the father said to his servants, “Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a signet on his hand and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and its saddle.” Let us eat and be merry, 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. So they began to rejoice. 25 And his eldest son was in the field. When he came and approached the house, he heard the sound of musical instruments and dancing. 26 Then he called one of the servants and asked him: What means this? 27 Then he said to him: Your brother came and your father killed the fattened calf, because he received it safe and sound. 28 Then he became angry and did not want to go in. Then his father went out to seek him. 29 Then he answered and said to his father: Behold, I have served you so many years, and I have never transgressed your commandment, and you have never given me earnestness to rejoice with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him! 31 Then he said to him: My son, you are with me always, and all that I have is yours. 32 But it was necessary for us to rejoice and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

Explanation of my parish bulletin:

This parable is the third after the parable of “the lost sheep” (Luke 15: 1-7) and the parable of “the lost coin” (Luke 15: 8-10), all of which deal with the subject of finding the lost one. The proverb is traditionally called “the prodigal son,” meaning the son who wanted his father to allocate his share of the inheritance to him so that he could take it prematurely. This proverb can be divided into two interconnected parts. The first part narrates what happened to the younger son, and the second tells the eldest son’s position on all of this. Each of these two parts has its significance in the full context of the proverb.

In the first section, we hear that the younger son took his share of his father’s inheritance, left the patriarchal home, and went to waste his money in debauchery. A great famine occurred, forcing him to engage in menial work, which made him regret what he had done and return to his father to ask him for forgiveness, and stay with him as a servant. In this section of the parable, there is an emphasis on two matters that cannot be separated, namely the sinner’s repentance on the one hand, and God’s limitless love and unconditional mercy on the other hand.

Repentance is expressed in the proverb that the younger son “came to himself.” The verb “return” in the Old Testament is used to express repentance in the sense of returning to God after turning away from Him. It is true that the action here does not occur in the context of returning to God, but returning to oneself in the parable of the prodigal son is the beginning of repentance that is achieved in returning to the parental home. Repentance is also expressed by the younger son’s confession that “I have sinned against heaven and before you and am not worthy to be called your son.” This confession reflects great turmoil in the younger son's soul resulting from his feeling of the greatness of his sin. The feeling of sin is a sign of repentance. This is because a person does not feel far from God until he realizes the pleasure of being close to Him, and thus the youngest son did not feel the consequences of what he did until he realized that it would have been better for him if he had stayed with his father.
As for God’s love, it appears in the father’s attitude toward his son’s return to him, “And while he was not far away, his father saw him and had compassion on him, and ran and threw himself on his neck and kissed him.” As for His mercy, it is in the father’s acceptance of his son’s confession and his treatment of him, not as a servant, but as a son, “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” In this statement, turning away from God through sin is death and error, while repentance to Him means life. He bestows life with His grace and mercy. The younger son, from a legal standpoint, does not have the right to demand anything from his father because he took his share of the inheritance, but the father is the one who bestowed blessings upon his son, after his return to him, and he is the one who, because of his mercy, treated him again as a son, “Bring the first robe, and clothe him, and put a ring on him.” In his hand and shoes on his feet.” This means that the sinner has nothing with God, but God is the one who bestows upon him His unconditional love and mercy.

“A man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father: Father, give me my share of the money.” We know from Deuteronomy 21:17 that Jewish law stipulates that the eldest son receive a double share of the inheritance, so that the younger’s share in this proverb would be a third of the father’s property. As for how the property is transferred to the son, it is either by will or by gift. In the case of a gift (as in the proverb), the rule was that the son owned the property without being able to dispose of his property or enjoy the revenues from this property until the death of the father. Here the son asked not only for the right to property, but also for the right to dispose of it. Thus, we see from the beginning that the father agrees and gives his son more than what the law gives him.

“And the youngest son traveled to a far country and lived in debauchery, and when he had spent everything he had, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he fell into destitution.” The phrase “a far country” refers to the son’s alienation and his loneliness in hardship. The severity of the famine forced him to herd pigs. The law considers caring for pigs an unclean act (Leviticus 11:7). This young man reached the depths of despair in his estrangement from his father. He longed “to fill his belly with the carobs that the pigs were eating.” It was stated in the Talmud, “Israel will repent when he will find nothing but carob pods to eat.”

Then he came to himself and said, “How much bread do my father have to spare when I am perishing from hunger? I will arise and go to my father and say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.’” I am no longer worthy to be called your son, so make me one of your hired servants.” It is the first step to repentance, as repentance comes after despair. Then returning to oneself becomes alertness and awareness of God’s mercy. The son considered himself an employee and believed what he said because he took his share of the inheritance and was no longer legally entitled to anything from his father, neither food nor clothing. So he wanted to earn them by working as an employee for his father. But all these thoughts are not enough if he does not get up and go to his father. Not just heartbreak or remorse, but repentance, which is an actual return.

“So he got up and went to his father, and he was still far away when his father saw him and felt pity for him and ran to him, and threw himself on his neck and kissed him for a long time.” The text in its original Greek language indicates that he “hurried to him running” to indicate the father’s eagerness to meet his son. The son said to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you, and I am not worthy to be called your son. “Make me as one of your servants.” He felt that he had lost sonship, but he was something of his father. “Then the father said to his servants, ‘Hurry, bring the finest robe, and clothe him, and put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet, and bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, so that we may eat and be merry.’” His father forgave him every sin and accepted him as a free man and a son with all dignity and all love. “His eldest son was in the field, and when he returned and approached the house, he heard singing and dancing.” From the beginning of this passage, this detail shows us the extent of the eldest son’s annoyance, “He did not enter the house, but rather inquired from outside and became angry and did not want to enter, so his father came out and began begging him to enter.” “. This is the father's first attitude towards the eldest son as a loving father.

In the second part of the parable, there is a talk about the eldest son who was angered by his father’s treatment of his brother. The eldest son never left his father or moved away from him, and therefore he complains about his father’s treatment compared to what he did to his brother. The second part of the parable expresses the position of people who consider themselves righteous because of their following God’s commandments and who do not accept the return of sinners, “And when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fattened calf. The message that Jesus wants to convey by talking about the eldest son is that those who consider themselves righteous should not be saddened by the repentance of sinners, but should rejoice. There is also a reminder, through this story, that everything in the end belongs to God, and He alone decides how to bestow blessings upon His servants. “All that is mine is yours, but we should have rejoiced and been glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found.” “. The father expresses his love and mercy to his younger son without allowing his eldest son, who remained faithful to him throughout his life, to dissuade him from doing so.

The eldest son said to his father: “I have been serving you for many years and I do not disobey you in any way, so you have not given me a single kid to rejoice with my friends.” And when this son of yours returned after eating your money with the garbage, I slaughtered the fattened calf for him.” This “pious” son did not content himself with abusing his father, but he refused to call the returnee “his brother,” calling him “this son of yours,” and the phrase “this” indicates disdain for what he called his brother.

“The father said: My son, you are always with me, and everything that is mine is yours, but we must rejoice and rejoice, because your brother was dead and is alive again, and he was lost and is found.” He received a complete new life. The father’s tenderness toward the younger son and the older son who stumbled and revolted reminds us of Luke’s words, “And the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to him to hear him, and the Pharisees and scribes said, murmuring, ‘This man receives sinners and eats them.’” Jesus told the parable of the prodigal son. So, to people who were like the firstborn son, that is, to people who had the good news of sinners and their call to the Kingdom of God as a stumbling block. Jesus wanted to stir the consciences of those people, so he did not close the parable, but rather left it open. His listeners are in the position of the firstborn son. Will they respond to the Father’s call and rejoice with him? Jesus does not condemn them permanently, as He still hopes. Therefore, the parable does not mention the firstborn son, but rather leaves them room to give this answer themselves so that they realize that their lack of love and fullness of their righteousness separates them from God and He wants them to participate in God’s great joy in the return of His lost children.

Some of those who abuse their virtue may be cruel to sinners if they return. This Gospel parable is not only a parable of the prodigal son, but a parable of reconciliation between those returning to repentance and those residing in it, like the divine Father who “loves the righteous and has mercy on sinners.” This is the morals of a merciful father.

The message of the parable of “The Prodigal Son” is twofold: returning to God with a humble heart and complete contrition, and accepting that He alone has dominion and mercy, and that, by His grace, He accepts whomever He wishes.

Explanation of the Lattakia Archbishopric Bulletin:

It is clear that, in constructing this proverb, the Master emphasizes the precious value of every human being, regardless of his status, whether in righteousness or in sin. Man is a “son” in changing situations, and regardless of his situation, in a parental home or in a distant country, he continues to remain a “son” and has the same love. God is love. God is a Father who loves His children – He loves us. But this love of his has two sides to him: the face of joy - when we return - and the face of the cross when we leave.

Yes, sin is not a sinner. Sin is the fault of the son, not his true value. The value of the son is in the love of the Father that does not change, but sin is his weakness and error, and this can change. Righteousness and sin are two possibilities for the same human being and for every human being. Therefore, when a person sins, he does not become in the list of the cursed and outcast, but rather he becomes wanted by the Father because he is gone! That is why Paul commands us to reconcile the strong and the weak with love and spiritually. Because just as there is sin, there is repentance. The sinner is a son who has not yet repented, and the righteous is only the son who has repented to God.

It is not our sin that we do not love God, and the prodigal son never loved his father, even at the moment he left. His sin, as well as ours, was that at one moment he loved what was in the distant country more than in his parental home. We do not sin when we do not love God! We sin when we love anything in this world more than God.

Isn't this the reason that prompted the younger son and any of us to leave the father, divide life with him, and leave? This is the true sin that we are tempted with every day, and it requires us to repent all day every day! Repentance and sin are not a specific event, but rather a state of balance between the love of the Father and the love of things.