Third Sunday of Great Lent | The Prodigal Son

Refrence: https://stmarkla.org/spirituality/3rd-sunday-of-holy-lent-the-prodigal-son

All the tax collectors and the sinners approached to listen to Him. So He talked to them using this parable. With this proverb He opened the heavenly gates before the sinners. He revealed the Father’s overwhelming love for our return to Him. He is not pleased by the death of a sinner, but to his return and to live. It is known that our Lord Jesus came to inform us about the Father. Here our blessed Jesus announced the secret of the Father’s thoughts with respect to our return to Him. Here is the rejoicing of the returning from a long trip, from far away countries, and the darkness of death. In the whole Bible, there was no approach towards us sinners, as much as what Jesus revealed in this parable… For Jesus talks like God’s only begotten Son, and revels the acceptance into Himself within the Father. Therefore, without the Son-ship, there is no repentance, no hope, no life and no return to enjoy the bosom of the Father.

Therefore, the baptism, which makes us sons of God, is the foundation of our repentance…Hence, our return to the Father is based on our son-ship towards Him. For, if we were not His sons, how could we return to Him? The banishment away from the Father.

Let us gather our thoughts and concentrate on the declaration, which our Lord Jesus revealed for us with respect to the Father… This is with respect to the Son, the repentance for the sin, the obedience, and the forgone world’s forgeries… (all of these kindled all our mercies). These are the human expressions concerning and describing Godly matters… We have experienced all these matters, not by words, but by deeds… For who among us haven’t tasted the bitterness of sin and its torment? Who among us was not filled from the husks of the swine? Let us concentrate our thoughts on the compassionate Father.

When his father saw him he was compassionate

These are unspoken words that describe the depth of the persistence, of the Father’s compassion. For the compassionate Father could not withstand seeing me in humility or slavery… And when He sees me approaching Him, in my sinful outfit and defile, He is triumphant in His compassion as He did when Lazarus’ sisters told Him, “Lord, come and see. Jesus wept.” (John 11:34, 35). For my sight is the tomb of my desires and the rotten sent of my sins, this captures the Lord’s compassion and His tears.

He fell on his neck and kissed him

I willingly left you, O Fatherly bosom… I went embracing the world opening my heart to desires… My lips were full with defile and deception … My thoughts from within were to fall in the bosom of joy and happiness. But I was going from one grief to another… I placed my lips on stolen and counter fit water springs, therefore I still thirst… So, my Father give me your kisses, for Your love is sweeter than wine, and your desire is honey in my mouth. Your left arm embraces me… Don’t let me go… Enclose me within Your arms. No one could snatch away whoever is in Your hands… Your right arm is full of power… In Your hands I place my soul.

He fell on his neck

My neck, is the one that fell in the fury of slavery desires, and my head bowed in its residence. The shame of sin and disgrace were upon it… The Father’s love liberates me… His kisses lift my face… O Lord liberate… Free me with love and kisses, and cleanse the defile from my soul.

Bring forth the best robe

My best robe… My pure baptism… My first cleansing… My simple thoughts without sin… My honest infancy, which doesn’t know evil. It is without cunning, deceit or any other defile. Blessed is He who dressed me ine a robe… From all of these the world had deprived me (uncovered me)…I was wearing, the contaminated worldly thoughts. I had on hypocrisy and flattery the worthless talk and the worry of riches. I was different from the worldly children, after I was suited with Jesus, O eternal Fatherly love… Could I return to my first garment )robe( and my original condition? Would my glory return? O what honor, do the sinner and adulterers gain, when they return to the Father… My Lord: how lost I was without the blessed garment and the robe of salvation?… I changed a lot since my baptism… Suit me into my original robe. Truly, repentance is the renewal of baptism, and as the fathers say, ‘It is a second baptism’.

A ring in his hand, and shoes on his feet

The hand is the work, and the feet are the means towards the objective. Both were at a large distance from the Father… For my hands labored for the body, to work to feed the swine. My hand is tired from the work in defile, and here it is returning to God after exhaustion from the grasp of wind. Place in it a ring, a Christ ring, to work for the heavenly… To work for the eternal life… To work for the harvest. Place in it the sanctified ring to work in the Lord’s labor with strength and without exhaustion. Place in it the engagement ring and the unity with God, so that it will not return to work for its own, but for that Who sacrificed Himself for it. The ring in my hand substitutes the nails in the hands of Jesus. How precious and priceless it is. O my soul, don’t return and deviate from the love of the Lord. Don’t return to take off the glorious ring, which is His commandments and words ‘So let the words, which I advise with today be in your heart, and make it a ring in your hand’. But how far have my legs taken me. It was wondering in distant countries. My feet have stumbled through numerous thorns. My feet left my father’s house with shoes on. This resembled the readiness for the peaceful Bible with cleansed feet, with Christ’s hands after the supper, with a word as a lantern before my feet. My feet were strangers in the world. I walked in the valley of death… I dwelt in the destructive path, in cracks, in holes, traps and evil. I lost my shoes. The sole of my feet were tormented. There is no power to move or to reach the kingdom after all. Even after all these, You returned everything to me… O my legs there are roads that seam wonderful, but end in death. O my soul, these shoes are for the rough road, so that you don’t limp when walking towards the Father. My Lord and my God protect my feet from slipping…

Present the fat bull and slaughter it so we can eat and rejoice

The Father’s feast is a sacrifice of joy. It is the sacrifice of joy and the food of eternal life. My soul thought that it could be filled with the worldly food. Therefore the world presented it with a lot of temptations. But it was shielding behind the temptations the swine husks. ‘Why do you weigh silver without bread, and your labor without fullness, listen relentlessly to me, and eat well, and let your souls enjoy the plenty.’ “Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents.” (Luke 15:7). O brethren let us please the Father’s heart with our repentance and our return. We had enough banishment and enough humility, in far away land. Let us enjoy the Father’s bosom and His Son Jesus Christ and the heavenly rejoice.

Third Sunday of Lent

Today is Sunday, March 12, 2023 – 3rd Baramhat 1739 for the Martyrs, is the third Sunday of Lent, also called Sunday of the Prodigal Son (or the clever Son) and the readings of the Divine Liturgy today are:

Pauline Epistle: 2 Corinthians 6:2-13 In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you

Catholicon: James 3:1-12 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment

The Acts: Acts 24:1-23 This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.

Holy Gospel: Luke 15:11-32 How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

There is nothing more beautiful, more comfortable, or warmer than my Father’s house, but a wonder for the soul that desires the house of strangers. There is nothing tastier or more useful than my mother’s food, but a wonder for my soul that craves the adulterated food of strangers. The human being is strange in his grumbling and rejection. Man lacked nothing in Paradise. There was nothing he needed. The Lord forbade man to eat from one plant only. And man forgets all the beauty, splendor, and goodness of Paradise, and desires the forbidden tree, because of which he falls from his rank and is condemned to death. What did Samson the mighty lack among his people, whom the Lord raised up as their judge?

Samson leaves the pure and chaste daughters of his people and desires the strange Delila who is corrupted. Because of her, he loses his strength and vow and becomes like an animal grinding in the prison house. Solomon the great King all Israel was subject to him and the Lord gave him a great kingdom and he was very rich. But he clings to many strange women whom the Bible says turned his heart away from worshipping God. Because of them, the Lord was angry with Israel, and divided the kingdom from his hand, leaving only one tribe left for Solomon’s descendants, whom the Lord kept for David, his servant whom he loved so much. Man, desires what others have. He even goes so far as to convince himself that the stolen water is sweet and the bread eaten in secret is pleasant(Proverbs 9:17).. All of this is from a spiritually hungry soul and not necessarily physically. Spiritual hunger makes a person insatiable for anything and becomes miserable in his looks, thoughts and behaviours.

There was no such thing as the temple of the Lord in its beauty, sanctity and splendour. But you marvel at a king like Ahaz (2Kings 16) who, in his fear of the King of Assyria, took the silver and gold that were in the house of the Lord and went to meet him in Damascus, where he saw the pagan altar on which the King of Assyria was offering sacrifices, and he was very impressed with it. He sent its image and specifications to Uriah the priest in Jerusalem, and ordered him to make an altar like it, and put it instead of the sacrifices altar in the house of the Lord, and he burned and offered sacrifices. Thus, he replaced the altar of God with a pagan altar of the King of Assyria that he liked. The Lord was angry with the wickedness of Israel and their getting astray. And He delivered them to the Kings of Assyria, Babylon and Persia. The strange thing is that today we find those who criticize the system and spirituality of our strong and original church and desire the imitate systems of the others, which cannot be compared to what our church offers to her children. You find those who desire and wish to imitate others and do not know that these others have left their origins and abandoned their traditions, but neglected and despised God’s commandments, and if their system was useful, their children and people would benefit from it. There are those who encounter a small problem with a person or a misunderstanding of a certain situation and then rush to reject the whole system and reject its church and run after strangers who were seduced by the insatiable pods. Many young people complain about their parents and their life system, which is described as dry and late, and they desire to live like their friends in their freedom and looseness. But does he realize that he will also suffer their fate of decay, loss, pornography and violence? Do you have to go to the point where you sit and herd pigs and crave their pods until you realize the value of your father’s house?? .. The prodigal son was great in his return to himself. This was not an easy decision, as he expected that his father and brother would reject him and put in his heart to convince him of the share of the wage earners if he can get. There are many today who may wish to return to their father’s house, but they find it very difficult. Man, often implicates himself to the point of closing himself on the way back. Maybe out of fear of others gloating over him or out of fear that they will refuse his return and repentance. He may even be met with contempt and mistreatment of the people closest to him. But the loving Lord announces to you today that the door to your father’s house is always open. But your father is standing waiting for you, longing for your return and repentance, and he will never allow you to come to him as a hired servant, but as a beloved son. He will be happy with you and slaughter the fattened calf for you and robe you in the first suit and put a ring in your finger and a shoe in your legs He will make up for all that you lost in the markets of this world and its amusement parks and crowds. They have deprived you of your father’s fulfilling food, and they unclothed you from your father’s garment that covers you, and they have bloodied your feet among the thorns of the sins of the world, and they have stripped you of your position and authority, for you are the son of the king. And it is appropriate for the son of the king to return to his father’s palace. The loving Lord rejoices in your return, and the whole Church rejoices, and the Lord commands us to rejoice and be glad, for this brother of yours was dead, and now lived, and he was lost, and we found him.