Church Fathers Commentary Luke 15:17-24

"But when he came to himself he said, How many hired servants of my father`s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight: I am no more worthy to be called your son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But while he was yet afar off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight: I am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth 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 be merry." — Luke 15:17-24 (ASV)

Gregory of Nyssa: The younger son had despised his father when he first departed and had wasted his father’s money. But over time, he was broken down by hardship. After becoming a hired servant and eating the same food as the swine, he returned, chastened, to his father’s house.

This is why it is said, And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, but I perish with hunger.

St. Ambrose of Milan: He rightly returns to himself, because he had departed from himself. For he who returns to God restores himself to himself, and he who departs from Christ rejects himself from himself.

St. Augustine of Hippo: He returned to himself when he brought his mind back from those external things that unprofitably entice and seduce, returning to the inner depths of his conscience.

St. Basil the Great: There are three distinct kinds of obedience. Either we avoid evil out of fear of punishment, and are thus servilely disposed; or, seeking the gain of a reward, we perform what is commanded, like mercenaries; or we obey the law for the sake of the good itself and our love for Him who gave it, and so have the disposition of children.

St. Ambrose of Milan: For the son who has the pledge of the Holy Spirit in his heart does not seek the gain of an earthly reward but preserves the right of an heir. These are also the good husbandmen to whom the vineyard is leased. They do not abound in husks, but in bread.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But how could he know this, having that great forgetfulness of God which exists in all idolaters, unless it was the reflection of someone returning to his right mind when the Gospel was preached? Such a soul might already see that many preach the truth, among whom are some not led by the love of the truth itself, but by the desire for worldly profit.

Yet these do not preach another Gospel, as the heretics do, and therefore they are rightly called mercenaries. For in the same house there are men who handle the same bread of the word, yet are not called to an eternal inheritance but hire themselves out for a temporal reward.

St. John Chrysostom: After he had suffered in a foreign land all the things that the wicked deserve, constrained by the hardship of his misfortunes—that is, by hunger and want—he becomes aware of what had been his ruin. He realizes it was he who, through the fault of his own will, had thrown himself away from his father to strangers, from home to exile, from riches to want, and from abundance and luxury to famine.

He significantly adds, But I am here perishing with hunger. It is as if to say: "I am not a stranger, but the son of a good father and the brother of an obedient son. I, who am free and noble, have become more wretched than the hired servants, sunk from the highest pinnacle of exalted rank to the lowest degradation."

Gregory of Nyssa: But he did not return to his former happiness until, coming to himself, he had experienced the presence of overpowering bitterness and resolved to speak the words of repentance, which are added: I will arise.

St. Augustine of Hippo: For he was lying down. And I will go, for he was a long way off. To my father, because he was under a master of swine. But the other words are those of one meditating on repentance and a confession of sin, but not yet acting on it. For he does not now speak to his father, but promises that he will speak when he comes.

You must understand, then, that this "coming to the father" must now be taken to mean being established in the Church by faith, where a lawful and effectual confession of sins can yet be made. He says, then, that he will say to his father, Father.

St. Ambrose of Milan: How merciful! He, though offended, does not disdain to hear the name of Father. I have sinned; this is the first confession of sin to the Author of nature, the Ruler of mercy, the Judge of faith. But though God knows all things, He still waits for the voice of your confession. For with the mouth confession is made unto salvation, since the one who takes the weight upon himself lightens the load of error, and the one who anticipates the accuser by confessing shuts out the hatred of accusation.

It is in vain that you would hide from Him from whom nothing escapes; and you may safely reveal what you know is already known. Confess, rather, so that Christ may intercede for you, the Church plead for you, and the people weep over you. Do not fear that you will not obtain what you ask; your Advocate promises pardon, your Patron favor, and your Deliverer promises you the reconciliation of your Father’s affection. But he adds, Against heaven, and before you.

St. John Chrysostom: When he says, Before you, he shows that this father must be understood as God. For God alone beholds all things, from whom not even the simple thoughts of the heart can be hidden.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But was this sin "against heaven" the same as that which is "before you," so that by the name of heaven he described his father’s supremacy? I have sinned against heaven—that is, before the souls of the saints; but before you—in the very sanctuary of my conscience.

St. John Chrysostom: Or, by "heaven" in this place may be understood Christ. For he who sins against heaven (which, although above us, is still a visible element) is the same as he who sins against man, whom the Son of God took into Himself for our salvation.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Or, these words signify the heavenly gifts of the Spirit, which are impaired by the sin of the soul; or they signify that he ought never to have departed from the bosom of his mother, the heavenly Jerusalem. But being cast down, he must by no means exalt himself. Hence he adds, I am no more worthy to be called your son. And so that he might be raised up by the merit of his humility, he adds, Make me as one of your hired servants.

The Venerable Bede: He by no means lays claim to the affection of a son, who does not doubt that all things that are his father’s are his. Instead, he desires the condition of a hired servant, as one who is now about to serve for a reward. But he admits that he could not deserve even this, except by his father’s approval.

Gregory of Nyssa: The Holy Spirit has engraved this story of the prodigal son upon our hearts, so that we may be instructed how we ought to deplore the sins of our soul.

St. John Chrysostom: After he said, I will go to my father (which brought about all good things), he did not delay but undertook the whole journey, for it follows, And he arose, and came to his father. Let us do likewise, and not be wearied by the length of the way. For if we are willing, the return will become swift and easy, provided that we forsake the sin that led us out from our father’s house. But the father pities those who return, for it is added, And when he was yet afar off.

St. Augustine of Hippo: For before he perceived God from afar, while he was still piously seeking him, his father saw him. For it is well said that God does not see the ungodly and proud, as not having them "before his eyes." For people are not commonly said to be "before the eyes" of anyone except those who are beloved.

St. John Chrysostom: Now the father, perceiving his penitence, did not wait to receive the words of his confession, but anticipated his supplication and had compassion on him, as it is added, and was moved with pity.

Gregory of Nyssa: His meditation on his confession so won his father to him that he went out to meet him and kissed his neck; for it follows, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. This signifies the yoke of reason imposed on the mouth of man by the tradition of the Gospel, which annulled the observance of the law.

St. John Chrysostom: For what else does it mean that he ran, except that we, through the hindrance of our sins, cannot by our own virtue reach God? But because God is able to come to the weak, He fell on his neck. The mouth is kissed, as it is the source from which the penitent's confession proceeded, springing from a heart that the father gladly received.

St. Ambrose of Milan: He runs, then, to meet you, because He hears you meditating on the secrets of your heart within; and when you were still far off, He runs so that no one might stop Him. He also embraces you (for in the running there is foreknowledge, and in the embrace, mercy) and, as if by an impulse of paternal affection, falls upon your neck, so that He may raise up the one who is cast down and bring back to heaven the one who was loaded with sins and bent down to the earth.

I would rather, then, be a son than a sheep. For the sheep is found by the shepherd; the son is honored by the father.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, by running He fell upon his neck, because the Father did not abandon His Only-Begotten Son, in whom He has always been running after us in our distant wanderings. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. To fall upon his neck is to lower to his embrace His own Arm, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. But to be comforted by the word of God’s grace with the hope of the pardon of our sins—this is to return after a long journey to obtain from a father the kiss of love.

But, already established in the Church, he begins to confess his sins, but does not say all that he promised he would say. For it follows, And the son said unto him... He wishes that to be done by grace, of which he confesses himself unworthy by any of his own merits. He does not add what he had said when meditating beforehand: Make me as one of your hired servants. For when he had no bread, he desired to be a hired servant—a status which, after his father's kiss, he now most nobly disdained.

St. John Chrysostom: The father does not direct his words to his son but speaks to his servants. For he who repents prays, indeed, but receives no answer in words; yet he beholds mercy at work. For it follows, But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him.

Theophylact of Ohrid: By the "servants" (or angels), you may understand ministering spirits, or priests who, by baptism and the word of teaching, clothe the soul with Christ Himself. For as many of us as have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, the best robe is the dignity which Adam lost; the servants who bring it are the preachers of reconciliation.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Or, the robe is the cloak of wisdom, by which the Apostle covers the nakedness of the body. But he received the best wisdom, for there is one wisdom which did not know the mystery. The ring is the seal of our unfeigned faith and the impression of truth, concerning which it follows, And put a ring on his hand.

The Venerable Bede: That is, his works, so that faith may shine forth by works, and his works may be strengthened by faith.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, the ring on the hand is a pledge of the Holy Spirit, because of the participation of grace, which is well signified by the finger.

St. John Chrysostom: Or, he orders the ring to be given, which is the symbol of the seal of salvation, or rather, the badge of betrothal and the pledge of the nuptials with which Christ espouses His Church. The soul that recovers is united by this ring of faith to Christ.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But the shoes on the feet are the preparation for preaching the Gospel, so as not to touch earthly things.

St. John Chrysostom: Or, he bids them put shoes on his feet, either to cover the soles of his feet so that he may walk firmly along the slippery path of the world, or for the mortification of his members. For the course of our life is called a "foot" in the Scriptures, and a kind of mortification takes place in shoes, inasmuch as they are made of the skins of dead animals.

He also adds that the fatted calf must be killed for the celebration of the feast. For it follows, And bring the fatted calf. This is the Lord Jesus Christ, whom he calls a calf because of the sacrifice of a body without spot. But he called it "fatted" because it is rich and costly, inasmuch as it is sufficient for the salvation of the whole world. But the Father did not Himself sacrifice the calf, but gave it to be sacrificed by others. For the Father permitting, the Son consenting, He was crucified by men.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, the fatted calf is our Lord Himself in the flesh, loaded with insults. But in that the Father commands them to bring it, what else is this but that they preach Him? And by declaring Him, they cause the inner being of the hungry son to revive, though he is not consumed by hunger. He also bids them kill Him, alluding to His death. For He is, in effect, killed for each person who believes He was slain. It follows, And let us eat.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Rightly the flesh of the calf, because it is the priestly victim which was offered for sin. But he introduces him feasting when he says, Be merry, to show that the food of the Father is our salvation, and the joy of the Father is the redemption of our sins.

St. John Chrysostom: For the father himself rejoices in the return of his son and feasts on the calf, because the Creator, rejoicing in the acquisition of a believing people, feasts on the fruit of His mercy by the sacrifice of His Son. Hence it follows, For this my son was dead, and is alive again.

St. Ambrose of Milan: He is dead who was. Therefore the Gentile is not; the Christian is. Here, however, this might be understood as one individual of the human race: Adam was, and in him we all were. Adam perished, and in him we all have perished. Man himself is restored in that Man who has died. It might also seem to be spoken of one working repentance, because he does not die who has never lived. And the Gentiles, indeed, when they have believed are made alive again by grace. But he who has fallen recovers by repentance.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Thus, with respect to the condition of his sins, he had been despaired of; so, in regard to human nature, which is changeable and can be turned from vice to virtue, he is said to be "lost." For it is less to be lost than to die. But everyone who is recalled and turned from sin, by partaking of the fatted calf, becomes an occasion of joy to his father and his servants—that is, the angels and priests. Hence it follows, And they all began to be merry.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Those banquets are now celebrated, the Church being enlarged and extended throughout the whole world. For that calf, in our Lord’s body and blood, is both offered up to the Father and feeds the whole house.