Prodigal Son Articles by St Pishoy Kamel

Repentance in the Bosom of the Father By St Pishoy Kamel

Repentance in Christianity is different from any other ‎repentance; it is the return of the son to his Father and the Father ‎falling on the neck of His son to embrace him and kiss him (Luke ‎‎15:20). This is the gospel of the third Sunday.‎

The Father’s paternity to us is not because of our ‎righteousness, but because of His paternity to his children, ‎especially the sinners.‎

The Father’s paternity for us challenges all our sins, our ‎failures, our betrayal of His love and our mistreatment of His ‎name.‎

Practice: Brother, do not permit this week to go by without a ‎true repentance and resorting to the Father’s embrace....Examine ‎this in your chamber and taste the Father’s embrace and His kisses ‎which are reserved only for those who repent. This is the week of ‎repentance in the Father’s bosom, the repentance of the whole ‎Church...the communal repentance.‎

Embrace of the Father By St Pishoy Kamel

Fasting is the continuous act of repentance. Repentance means continual rising up and falling into the embrace of the Father where you discover the unlimited love of God’s heart. Hence, the church reads this particular gospel in the third week. We grumble and complain saying, “the Lord has forsaken us,” while in actuality we have journeyed into the country of the swine. When we return, we discover an eternal surety, the love of the Father cannot be decremented. In addition, we increase in the depth of its understanding.

How beautiful is the bosom of the Father! How beautiful are His kisses and His lack of disgust from my filthiness! This is the best motivator for me throughout my journey and during my fall. Therefore, I walk with strong strides in repentance for my Father is waiting for me, His kisses encourage me, His blood purifies me and the first robe is waiting for me.

The purpose of repentance is deepening the comprehension of the dimensions of the love of God and the breadth of His heart. I wasted His inheritance that He gave me, whether that was my talents, money, health, etc. and spent it in prodigal living. How would my Father meet me after all of that? He would run, fall on my neck and kiss me… O what is this love?!

The purpose of repentance is discovering the richness of the house of the Father, the richness of the church.  In it, the first robe (Baptism), the ring (Chrism), the sign of the eternal union with the Father, the fatted calf (Eucharist), and the feast of the Millennial reign (the body of the Lord and His blood on the altar) (Revelations 20).

Joy is the best characteristic of repentance. This joy is another great motivator in the journey. The joy of the repentant children of God with their Father around the heavenly table (the altar) is joy that is inexpressible and full of glory. This is the nature of the repentant church that lives in eternal joy, the joy through Christ, who is the provision of the church in its journey and its holy struggle.

Joy of the Son is the Joy of the Resurrection By St Pishoy Kamel

The Holy Joy of the Resurrection has its roots in the good tidings that the shepherds had received from the archangel at the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people (Luke 2:10). This deep everlasting joy is exactly the joy of which Christ had foretold his disciples before his crucifixion, in order that they might not be swollen by despair once they see Him on the cross. It is also the same deep everlasting joy that the repentant prodigal Son had felt but kept to himself and of which the father was very vocal and expressive. What could it be, if not the same type of Joy that Jesus Christ, the second Adam, had granted to His brethren, us, the total human race, when He delivered Barabas (our prototype) dying in his place.

OTHERS

"The Grace of God" by Saint Athanasius

And that young man who went into a far country, and there wasted his substance, living in dissipation, if he receive a desire for this divine feast, and, coming to himself, shall say, ‘How many hired servants of my father have bread to spare, while I perish here with hunger!’ and shall next arise and come to his father, and confess to him, saying, ‘I have sinned against heaven and before you, and am not worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired servants’–when he shall thus confess, then he shall be counted worthy of more than he prayed for. For the father does not receive him as a hired servant, neither does he look upon him as a stranger. But he kisses him as a son, he brings him back to life as from the dead, counts him worthy of the divine feast, and gives him his former and precious robe. So that, on this account, there is singing and gladness in the paternal home.

For this is the work of the Father’s loving-kindness and goodness, that not only should He make him alive from the dead, but that He should render His grace illustrious through the Spirit. Therefore, instead of corruption, He clothes him with an incorruptible garment; instead of hunger, He kills the fatted calf; instead of far journeys, [the Father] watched for his return, providing shoes for his feet; and, what is most wonderful, placed a divine signet-ring upon his hand; whilst by all these things He begot him afresh in the image of the glory of Christ. These are the gracious gifts of the Father, by which the Lord honors and nourishes those who abide with Him, and also those who return to Him and repent.

Patriarchal Edict on Pastoral Care by Pope Kyrillos V (1907)

Use every means to this end: whether it be preaching in the midst of the assembly or guidance and advice on an individual level, that you might lead souls to their Saviour. Do not delay your search for the sinner, but ask after him and seek him with diligence until you have brought him back, just as the shepherd searches for his lost sheep. Use all your strength with all gentleness to bring him back to the fold, happy and rejoicing at his return. Like a wise physician, give the appropriate medicine for every sickness. Spend the majority of your time seeking for the prodigal son, knowing that the return of a sinner is the greatest sacrifice you can offer to God Most High, for souls are exceedingly precious and valuable in the eyes of God, and Christ died for their sake, for He did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance (Lk 5:32). He came to seek that which was lost (Lk 19:10), so when the sinner comes to you in remorse, present Him immediately to God, make the path easy for him, prepare the way for him and teach him that God is ready to accept him. Do not dismiss him or send him back empty, and do not cut off his hope. Do not delay his repentance, do not be a stumbling block in his way, and do not lay severe laws upon him. Do not be an obstacle between the soul and God, but rather be a means of bringing souls near unto Jesus their Redeemer who is seeking them. Remember how the Lord accepted the repentance of David and the tax collector and the thief, and how he rebuked Simon when he blamed Him for accepting the adulteress (Jn 7:37).