Sermon 112A

SERMON 112/A The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon. Alleluia.

On the Two Sons from the Gospel

A sermon about this same Gospel was begun on the previous Lord's day.

It is not fitting for us to dwell on matters already discussed, but just as it is not fitting to dwell on them, so it is fitting to remember them. Your prudence remembers that on the previous Lord's Day we undertook to speak about the two sons, who were also mentioned in today's Gospel reading, a discussion which could not be brought to completion. But the Lord our God wished us to speak with you again today after that tribulation. The debt of the sermon must be repaid, the debt of love must always be maintained; the Lord will be present so that our humility may suffice for your expectation.

What the two sons and the prostitutes mean.

A man having two sons, God is having two peoples; the older son is the people of the Jews; the younger is the people of the Gentiles. The substance received from the Father, the mind, intellect, memory, ingenuity, and whatever else God has given us to understand and worship Him. Having received this inheritance, the younger son went off into a distant country; distant, that is, even to the forgetfulness of his Creator. He squandered his substance by living prodigally; spending, and not acquiring; expending what he had, and not receiving what he did not have; that is, consuming all his ingenuity in luxuries, in idols, in all depraved desires, which Truth called harlots.

Illicit curiosity is a lack of truth.

Nor is it surprising that famine followed that excess. There was, however, a famine in that region; not a famine of visible bread, but a famine of invisible Truth. From the famine, he fell into the possession of a certain ruler of that region. It is understood that this ruler of demons is the devil, into whom all the curious fall; for all illicit curiosity is a pernicious lack of truth. Indeed, he, driven by hunger of intellect away from God, was reduced to servitude, and was assigned the task of feeding swine; that is, in whose servitude the extreme and impure demons are accustomed to rejoice; for not without reason did the Lord allow the demons to enter into a herd of swine. This man, however, fed on husks, from which he himself was not satisfied; we understand secular teachings as husks, sounding, but not nourishing, fit for the food of swine, not for men; that is, from which the demons rejoice, not from which the faithful are justified.

What it means to return to oneself and the bread of the hired servants

At last he saw where he was, what he had lost, whom he had offended, and whom he had rushed against; and he returned to himself; first to himself, and thus to the father. For he had perhaps said: My heart has abandoned me; whence it was necessary that he first return to himself, and thus recognize that he was far from the father. Scripture rebukes some for this, saying: Return, you transgressors, to the heart. Having returned to himself, he found himself miserable: I found trouble and sorrow, he said, and I called upon the name of the Lord. How many of my father's hired servants have bread in abundance! But here I am perishing with hunger. From where did this thought come to him, unless the name of God had already been proclaimed? There was bread among some, though not held well and seeking other things, about whom it is said: Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. For such hired servants are to be regarded, not as children, as Paul indicates when he says: Whether by pretense or by truth Christ is proclaimed. For some are to be understood as hired servants who seek their own gain, but by proclaiming Christ they have abundance of bread.

The prodigal son thinks about returning to the father.

He rises and returns; for by lying down and falling, he had remained. The father sees him from afar and runs to him; for his voice is in the psalm: "You understand my thoughts from afar." What thoughts? Those by which he said to himself: "I will say to my Father: I have sinned against heaven and before you, I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants." For he was not yet saying this, but was thinking of saying it; yet the father already heard it as if he were saying it. Sometimes, when someone is placed in a certain tribulation and temptation, he thinks of praying, and in this very thought, he meditates on what he will say to God in his prayer, as a son justly demanding his father's mercy. And he says to himself: "I will say this and that to my God; for I am not afraid, when I have said this, when I have wept thus, that my God will not hear me." Often He already hears him saying these things; for when he thought of these things, he did not hide his thought from God's eyes. He was there when he planned to pray, who would be there when he began to pray; thus it is said in another psalm: "I said, I will confess my transgression to the Lord." See how he still said to himself what he would plan; and immediately he added: "And you forgave the iniquity of my heart." How close is God's mercy to the one confessing! For God is not far from the broken-hearted; for it is written: "The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart." Therefore, this one had already broken his heart in the region of want; for he had returned to his heart to break it; he had left his heart in pride, he had returned to his heart in wrath. He was angry at himself to punish himself, but his own evil; deserving his father's good, he had returned. He said in his anger, as it is said: "Be angry, and do not sin." For every penitent is angry with himself; because he is angry, he punishes himself. Hence all those moves in the penitent, who truly repents, who truly grieves; hence the tearing of hair, hence the wearing of sackcloth, hence the beating of the breast. Surely all these are signs of a man raging against himself and being angry at himself. What the hand does outwardly, the conscience does inwardly; in thoughts it strikes itself, beats itself, and, to say it more truly, kills itself. For by killing himself, he offers a sacrifice to God, a contrite spirit; "a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." Therefore, breaking his heart, humbling, striking, killing his heart.

The burden of Christ is light.

Although he was still thinking of saying to the father, and said to himself: I will arise, and go, and say, when he knew his thoughts from afar, the father ran to meet him. What does it mean to meet, if not to show mercy in advance? While he was yet a long way off, he says, his father saw him and was moved with compassion. Why was he moved with compassion? Because the son was already weakened by wretchedness. He threw himself upon him as he ran to meet him; that is, he placed his arm over his neck. The arm of the Father is the Son: He gave as Christ to carry; a burden which does not weigh down, but lifts up. My yoke is easy, he says, and my burden is light. He leaned upon the one who stood upright; he did not allow the one he leaned upon to fall again. The burden of Christ is so light that it not only does not weigh down, but also lifts up. For the burden of Christ is not like burdens which, though said to be light, have some weight; it is one thing to carry a heavy burden, another to carry a light burden, another to carry no burden. He who carries a heavy burden seems to be pressed down; he who carries a light burden is less pressed down, but still pressed; clearly, he who carries no burden seems to walk with unencumbered shoulders. The burden of Christ is not like this: for it is expedient to carry it, so that you are lifted up; if you lay it down, you are more pressed down. And do not think this is impossible, brothers. Perhaps some example can be found where you can see bodily what I am saying, and it is indeed a wonder and altogether incredible. Notice this in birds. Every bird carries its own feathers: observe how they fold their wings when they come down to the earth, to rest, and in a way place them on their sides. Do you think they are burdened? If you take away their load, they will fall; the less the bird carried that load, the less it flew. Therefore, you take away that load from them as if you were merciful; if you want to be merciful, spare them; or, if their feathers are already taken away, nurture them, so that the load grows, and they can fly from the ground. For the one who said: Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly and rest, desired such a load. Therefore, when the father placed his arm over the son’s neck, he lifted him up, not weighed him down; he honored, not burdened him. For how is man capable of bearing God, unless it is because God is borne by him?

The ministers of the Church give sacraments from the treasury of God.

The father therefore orders the first robe to be brought to him, which Adam had lost by sinning. Now having received peace, now having been kissed, he orders the robe to be brought forth, the hope of immortality in baptism. He orders a ring to be given, a pledge of the Holy Spirit, and sandals for the feet in preparation for the Gospel of peace, so that the feet of the one announcing good news might be beautiful. Therefore, God does this through His servants, that is, through the ministers of the Church. Do they give the robe from their own? The ring or the sandals from their own? They owe the ministry, they provide the service; He gives, from whose abundance and from whose treasury these things are brought forth. He ordered the fattened calf to be killed, that is, that he may be admitted to the table at which Christ is fed upon, having been killed; for the one coming from afar and rushing to the Church then the calf is killed, when it is preached that He was killed, when he is admitted to His body. The fattened calf is killed because he who was lost is found.

Why Jews, even if rarely, convert.

And the older brother, returning from the field, became angry and refused to go in. He represents the people of the Jews, whose attitude was evident even among those who had already believed in Christ. For the Jews were frustrated that the Gentiles were coming with such great speed, without the burdens of the law imposed upon them, without the pain of carnal circumcision, to receive the saving baptism in their sins; they were annoyed by the feast of the fattened calf. Indeed, those Jews had already believed: and an account was given to them, and they were pacified. But even now, perhaps some Jew, who kept God's law in his heart and lived blamelessly with it, as Saul claimed to have done there, who became Paul among us, the greater he was, the lesser he became, the higher he was exalted, the smaller he was made—for Paul is the least; hence we say: I speak to you shortly, a little before. See what it is, a little before: a short time before. What then is Paul? For I am the least of the Apostles, he said himself—therefore any Jew of that kind, who knows and has it in his conscience, having worshipped the one God from early age, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God proclaimed through the Law and Prophets, and observed the proclamations of the Law, begins to think about the Church, seeing the human race rushing in the name of Christ; as he thinks of the Church, he approaches the house from the field. For it is written: When the older brother came in from the field and approached the house. Just as the younger son grows daily among the believing pagans, so the older son, though rarely, nevertheless returns among the Jews. They think of the Church, marvel at what it is; they see the law among themselves, the law among us: the Prophets among themselves, the Prophets among us: among themselves no longer any sacrifice, among us the daily sacrifice; they see themselves in the Father's field, yet do not partake of the calf.

What a symphony is.

There is also heard from the house a symphony sounding, and a chorus. What is a symphony? A harmony of voices; they who are discordant, are dissonant; they who are in accord, consonant. The Apostle was teaching this very symphony, saying: But I beseech you, brethren, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you. Who would not be delighted by this holy symphony, that is, the agreement of voices not differing, not in any way absurd and dissonant, which would offend the hearing of a good listener? And the chorus pertains to this harmony itself; in a chorus, nothing delights but one voice of many tempered together, having unity from all, not dissonant in any discordant variety.

It is not enough for the Jews to be convinced from the Scriptures by the ministers of the Church.

When he heard this sound coming from the house, he was angry and did not want to enter. How did it truly happen that the Jew of good merit among his own people would say that Christians could accomplish so much? We hold to the laws of our fathers; God spoke to Abraham, from whom we are born. Moses received the Law, who, delivering us from the land of Egypt, led us through the Red Sea. Behold, those holding our Scriptures sing our psalms throughout the whole world, and they have a daily sacrifice; but we have lost both the sacrifice and the temple. He also asks the servant what is happening here? Let the Jew ask any servant; let him open the Prophets, let him open the Apostle, let him ask anyone; neither the Old Testament nor the New kept silent about the calling of the Gentiles. Let us understand the questioned servant as the examined Book; you will find the Scripture there saying to you: Your brother has returned, and your father has killed the fattened calf for him, because he has received him safe. Let the servant say this: whom did the father receive safely? The one who was dead and has come back to life, he received to be saved. And the killing of the fattened calf was due to him who had gone far away; for by going far away from God, he was impious. The servant, the apostle Paul, answered: For Christ indeed died for the ungodly. Angrily, he did not enter when he was enraged, but when the father spoke to him, he entered; he did not want to enter at the servant's response. And indeed, my brothers, this happens; we often convince the Jews from the Scriptures of God, but the servant still speaks, and the son is angry; thus, although they are conquered, they do not want to enter. What is this? The voices of the symphonies moved you, the chorus moved you, the celebration and festivity of the house, the banquet of the killed fattened calf, these moved you. No one excludes you. To whom do you say this? As long as the servant speaks, he is angry, he does not want to enter.

The superior employs greater force in requesting than in commanding.

Return to the Lord saying: No one comes to me, unless the Father draws him. Therefore the Father goes out and asks the son: this is to draw; the superior applies greater force by asking than by commanding. But this is what happens, dearest, when such men occupied with Scriptures and having some conscience in good works hear, so that they can say to their father: Father, I did not neglect your commandment. Then, therefore, when they are conquered by the Scriptures, and they do not find what to answer, they get angry, they resist, as if wanting to overcome. Afterwards, you leave him with his thought, and God begins to speak internally; this is the Father going out and speaking to the son: Enter and feast.

The inner thoughts of the Jews, where the Father now speaks in hidden ways.

And he answered: Behold, I have served you for so many years, and I have never transgressed your command; and you have never given me a young goat, that I might feast with my friends. Behold, this son of yours has come, who has consumed his inheritance with prostitutes, and you have killed the fattened calf for him. Thoughts are inward, where the Father speaks in hidden ways; for he acts and responds within himself, not with the servant replying, but with the father in some way asking, gently admonishing: What is this? We hold the Scriptures of God, and we have not departed from the one God; we have not extended our hands to a foreign god: we know that one God, always worshipping him, who made heaven and earth; and we have not received a young goat. Where do we find the young goat? Among sinners. Why does this elder son complain that a young goat was not given to him? He was seeking to sin, from which he would feast; clearly, he was vexed about this. This is what the Jews now grieve over, this is what they realize and understand—that Christ was not given to them because they considered him a young goat. For they recognize their voice in the Gospel, in those former Jews saying: We know that this man is a sinner. He was the calf, but since you considered him a young goat, you remained without this feast. You never gave me a young goat; because the Father did not have a young goat whom he knew as the calf. You are outside: because you did not receive the young goat, now come in to the calf.

Jews who are serious and observe the law must be distinguished from Jews who are corrupt and seditious.

What then does the father respond? Son, you are always with me. The father testified that the Jews were near, who always worshiped one God. We have the testimony of the Apostle saying that they were near, but the Gentiles were far away. Speaking to the Gentiles, he said: Christ indeed came preaching peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near. Far off, like the younger son; showing that the Jews did not go far away to feed pigs, did not forsake the one God, did not worship idols, did not serve demons. I do not speak of all: lest you think of the lost and seditious Jews; let those come to mind, by whom these are reproved, grave, keeping the mandates of the Law, not yet entering the fatted calf, but already able to say: I have not transgressed your command; who, when he begins to enter, his Father says to him: You are always with me. Indeed, you are with me, because you have not gone far, but you are still badly outside the house; I do not want you to be away from our banquets. Do not envy the younger brother: You are always with me. Indeed, God did not attest to that which was perhaps less cautiously and boastfully said: I have never transgressed your command; but he said: You are always with me; he did not say: You have never transgressed my command. This is true, which God said, not what he perhaps rashly boasted of, although perhaps a transgressor in some things, but not departing from the one God; so that the father might truly say: You are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. Is it because they are yours that they are not your brother's? How are they yours? In common holding, not separate disputing. All, he says, that is mine is yours. What he says is his, he gives as if in possession. Did he subject heaven and earth, or the heights of the angels? It is not to be understood in this way; for indeed the angels will not truly be subject to us, to whose equality the Lord promises we will come in great reward: They will, he says, be equal to the angels of God. But there are other angels, about whom the saints will judge: Do you not know, says the Apostle, that we will judge angels? For there are always holy angels, there are transgressing angels; we will be made equal to good angels, we will judge bad angels. How then are all that is mine yours? Truly all of God's are ours, yet not all are subjected; for you say differently: My servant, differently: My brother. Whatever you say is mine, truly you say, when you speak the truth, it is yours; but is it with the same right a brother, as a servant? You say differently: My house, differently: My wife; differently you say: My children, differently you say: My father, my mother; apart from me, I hear, all are yours. You say: My God; but yet, my God, is He like my servant? Rather my God, like my Lord. Therefore, we have a superior, our Lord, whom we enjoy; we have all other inferior things, over which we rule. Therefore all ours, if we are His.

By what condition all things of the Father are ours.

All that is mine is yours, he says. If you are peaceful, if you are pleasing, if you rejoice at your brother's return, if our feast does not make you sad, if you do not remain apart from the house, even though you have already come from the field, all that is mine is yours. But we must feast and rejoice, because Christ died for the ungodly and has risen. For this is what was said: Because your brother was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.