In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
Before someone’s death, none has rights to an inheritance. And from the Father’s perspective he could have refused His son’s request. But He does not do this. He desires not a slave nor a robot but for His son to be a person with dignity and worth, a person capable of becoming divine.
And I come to the Father and I say to Him, “Father, give me the share of the property that falls to me.” Because, to me He is already dead and I am severing my relationship with Him. I have been offered all, to “dwell in the House of the Lord to the end of my days,” (Psalm 22:6 lxx) but I want to leave Him, to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17)—to me it was the Father Who is dead whereas in reality, in that very day I asked for my inheritance, I died. Even though I am still in the Father’s House, I am separated from Him and therefore separated from Life.
A few days later I leave the Father’s House. And I am given great boldness in my descent into sin. How often in our lives do we feel great confidence and power at the moment of sin? “I am in control, I need God for nothing!” Though even the inheritance with which I sin has come from the Father. “I am in control,” I lie as I start to realise instantly, for the assurance I felt only moments ago has gone, it was not truly I who was in control but another working through me. The Devil gives us great daring up until the moment of sin and then abandons us leaving us bereft and alone.
And I wallow with the pigs. My sin has led me to be alone and without personhood, without dignity, without worth. In self-pity I am the most miserable of creatures.
But when he came to himself.
The prodigal son in today’s Gospel “came to himself.” In his sin he had given up his identity and worth, now he is taking it back. He is taking it back but he is still in the pigsty, still in the mess he has created for himself. He is not magicked back to the Father’s House at the click of his fingers. And he resolves to return to the Father’s House, to make an effort, to ascend back, to undo his descent, to apply himself to repentance.
And I am called to do the same. I want to stay in the filth of my sin, to wallow in my despair and blame the Father, or the Devil, or my brother, or anyone and everyone by whom I feel wronged. I want to call out to God, “Forgive me!” and then curse Him when I am still in my desperate state having not had an angel come to carry me back with no effort on my part. But the prodigal gives me the path by which I may return,
I will arise and go to my Father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before You; I am no longer worthy to be called Your son; treat me as one of Your hired servants.’
And if I make even an effort, if I make a start, if I take this responsibility on myself and do not expect others to carry me, if I undo the sin I have brought into the world—even having lost the inheritance—the Father will see me at a distance, run to me and embrace and kiss me. He will rejoice that I have regained my personhood, despite the filth in which I am still covered, and honour me as His son.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, wallowing in self-pity is not repentance, bemoaning our misery is not repentance: to repent is to accept our mistakes—our sin—as our own and to undo them to the best of our ability. And the Lord will run out to us and greet us. But we must make the effort, we must turn back to Him, we must come to ourselves. And, should we do this, we would sing out with the Psalmist,
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow [us]
All the days of [our lives];
And [we] will dwell in the House of the Lord to the end of [our] days.
— Psalm 22:6 lxx
To our incarnate, crucified and risen God and Saviour Jesus Christ be all glory, honour and worship, together with His unoriginate Father and the All-holy, Good and Life-creating Spirit. Amen.
Brethren, “all things are lawful for me, ” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me, ” but I will not be enslaved by anything. “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food” — and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two shall become one flesh.” But he who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Shun immorality. Every other sin which a man commits is outside the body; but the immoral man sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body and in your spirit which belong to God.
— First Corinthians 6:12–20
The Lord said this parable: “There was a man who had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that falls to me.’ And he divided his living between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living. And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his belly with the pods that the swine ate; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants.’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly 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, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to make merry. Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'”
— Luke 15:11–32