Luke 15:19Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

These expressions are enough for my salvation; my Father’s name serves as a steadfast advocate for me. When my Father hears this name on my lips, He cannot help but act as a true Father; His heart is moved to compassion, and when He hears, “I have sinned,” He cannot deny mercy to my repentance, nor can He remember His just anger when He hears my voice.

I understand the power that repentance holds before Him; I know the effectiveness of tears offered at His feet. I recognize that every sinner who approaches Him with heartfelt tears, like Peter, receives forgiveness for transgressions. I am aware of the goodness of my God and the tenderness of my Father. He will show mercy to me as I repent, just as He did not punish the one who sinned in the parable of the prodigal son.

I confess that I have angered You, grieved Your Holy Spirit, and stained the radiant garment of faith with sin: “I am no longer worthy to be called Your son.” I have chained my soul, which was liberated by baptism and shone with holiness, and sullied it with my sins: “I am no longer worthy to be called Your son; receive me among Your hired servants.” My senses, burdened by intoxication, have betrayed my spirit, my own sovereign, to immorality; but now, as I educate them through discipline, I will cleanse my soul: “receive me among Your hired servants.”

I am aware of the enemy's deceit, his traps laid against me, and the allurements of indulgence; I will shun the intoxication that undermines the strength of my virtue. Instead, I will adhere to the fast that grants me sobriety: “receive me among Your hired servants.” I will labor in Your vineyard, pruning with the Spirit's knife the excess branches of my innermost spiritual vine, or rather, the vices: “receive me among Your hired servants.”

I will nurture the sweetest vine of love, raising up the commandments of the Lord as supports for my soul, ensuring that as it is drawn to earthly concerns, it does not fall prey to the serpent: “receive me among Your hired servants.” I will strive for my soul to gaze upon heaven, extending its hands in humility, embracing those who are weighed down by the world: “receive me among Your hired servants.”

Grant me once more, Father, the yoke of the cross upon my shoulders; I will tend to the soil of my soul, uprooting the thorns and harmful weeds spread by the evil one and sowing heavenly seeds within it. When Your grace shines down from above, the soil of my soul shall yield a harvest of thirty, sixty, and one hundredfold: “receive me into the number of Your hired servants.”

Do not cast me away, Father! The adversary has worn me down but has not completely stripped me of the garment of faith. Although he has tarnished the beauty of my purity, I have never surrendered to his idols; I have not turned my back on You, my Lord! Even though I have erred in my youth, I have rejected the way of false idols, toppled demonic images, scorned false gods, and denounced the works of the enemy. Now, I fall at Your feet, my Lord and my God: “accept me as one of Your hired servants.” Reflecting on the Gospel of Luke, concerning the lost coin, and the words, “A certain man had two sons.” The writings attributed to St. John Chrysostom, noted in Minya's edition as Spuria.

Struck by a beneficial fear, he became appalled by his filthiness and the torturous pangs of starvation. He found himself akin to a servant, longing for a reward, and desired to join the hired hands. "How many of my father's hired servants," he reflected, "have an abundance of bread, while I perish here of hunger; I will rise and go to my father and say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants’" (Luke 15:17-19).

Throughout this time of indulgence, he never considered his father, but when he found himself in dire straits, on the brink of starvation, he recalled his father and, in a moment of hope for mercy, declared: “I will get up, I will go to my father and say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you’” (Luke 15:18). He then made his way back to his father.

How often do we distance ourselves from God, convinced by the weight of our sins that we are beyond forgiveness! We may say, “My transgressions are too monumental for God to pardon, regardless of my prayers; thus, praying seems pointless.” In doing so, we attribute our flaws to God, believing that since we would struggle to forgive a brother who has wronged us, God must feel the same about forgiving us. However, a thoughtful reflection on the parable reveals the boundless love and limitless grace of God. Let us recall this parable frequently, and no matter how far we have strayed, let us not succumb to despair. We must acknowledge the seriousness of our wrongdoings, turn away from our sinful ways, and remember that we have a Father who mourns our absence and awaits our return to His path of divine truth. Let us say: “I will go to my Father!” and approach Him with confidence, trusting in His mercy. In acknowledging God's graciousness, let us likewise forgive those who have wronged us, keeping in mind the words of Jesus Christ: “If you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses” (Matthew 6:15). Let our forgiveness be genuine, not laced with bitterness, but filled with joy at the realization that those who have sinned against us are aware of their faults and thus are on the brink of freedom, extending our forgiveness with the same joy as the father in the parable who welcomed his wayward son home.

The thought of facing his once-beloved father filled him with dread, knowing he had so deeply wounded him with his foolish actions. Yet, overwhelmed by hunger and despair, he conquered his fears and resolved to return to his father, fully intending to express his repentance.

While he was still a distance away, his father spotted him, and out of love, he ran to him, embraced him, and kissed him. The son said, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. The father then instructed his servants, Bring the finest robe and dress him, place a ring on his hand, and sandals on his feet. Then, let us bring the fatted calf, slaughter it, and celebrate, for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. So they began to rejoice.