The parable of the prodigal son: interpretation. About the Prodigal Son The Parable of the Prodigal Son

The gospel parable of the prodigal son - what is it about? In this article you can find the text of the parable, its interpretation and the message that this story carries.

Parable of the Prodigal Son

Let's start with remarks about the teaching of the Holy Fathers - mainly the "Christological era" - about man and humanity, which for centuries remained in oblivion. This is the doctrine of the consubstantiality of mankind, that is, that people were created to be consubstantial with each other, remaining different hypostases in the image of the existence of the Holy Trinity.

About this, in particular, St. Anastasius of Sinai writes in his treatise “On the Creation of Man by God in the Image and Likeness” . He calls Adam, Eve and the son of Adam three consubstantial hypostases in the image of the consubstantial Trinity; while saying that Adam was not begotten and had no cause. His son is born from him. Eve is not born, but comes from the essence of Adam. Thus, St. Anastasius writes, Adam is the image of the Almighty God and the Father, his son is the image of the Son of God, and Eve is the image of the Holy Spirit. Further, he writes that the breath of life was not breathed into Eve because she herself was the image of the Holy Spirit and His breath.

The Holy Trinity is consubstantial because "God is love." The One Essence of God means that each Divine Hypostasis, that is, the Personality - a separate and not merged with others Self-Consciousness - does not claim its “His” essence, but in the aspiration of kenotic love sacrifices it for the sake of Others, and thus the Divine Essence “becomes”, then there is a common - United. This aspiration of kenotic love is expressed in the Gospel of John: “And the Word To God" - καὶ ὁ λόγος ἣ ν πρὸς τờν Θεόν

According to the same image, the consubstantial humanity was to be realized - through the self-sacrifice of love. This self-sacrifice means giving up all rights to oneself, from "one's" thoughts, "one's" desires, "one's" feelings - all in favor of another. However, the first people did not manage to live by such a feat of love, and consubstantial humanity broke up into individuals, each of whom felt that he had a right to himself. This isolation of human nature reached its logical conclusion in the murder of Abel by Cain.

In the Church, humanity again received the opportunity to achieve consubstantiality, that is, the Church is humanity in its conception. The coexistence of the early Christian communities is described in the Acts of the Apostles: “But all the believers were together and had everything in common<…>And every day they dwelt with one accord in the temple” (2:44-46). had everything in common does not mean only an estate, but All- that is, the soul, and thoughts, and feelings. No one was isolated in anything: “The multitude of those who believed had one heart and one soul; and none of his possessions called his own, but they had everything in common” (4:32). Word estate here translated ὑπάρχον.

The beginning of the parable of the prodigal son speaks of the split of consubstantial humanity into separate fragments of individuals:

What is this estate? In the original Greek it is denoted by the word οὐσία, which really has the meaning of an estate, but also meansessence : δός μοι τὸ ἐπιβάλλον μέρος τῆς οὐσίας.

Thus, the son lays claim to his essence and wants to own it alone, not wanting to share it with others out of love. This also means the expression ἐπιβάλλον μέρος, which is translated into Russian asdue part . However, ἐπιβάλλον means “put on” - ἐπιβάλλω. That is, the son lays claim to that part of the essence on which he can impose his will, which is subject to him - on his body and soul.

The same is true in the text of the Vulgate: da mihi portionemsubstantiae quae me contigit.

He asksessence , although in Latin substantia also means ‘estate, state’.

However, in the Latin translation it is not as clear as in the Greek text that this essence is under the control of the will, the hierarchy is not traced: ἐπιβάλλον - movement from top to bottom. But it is said: quae me contigit - ‘which concerns me, relates to me’.

The father shares βίον ‘life’. We are talking here not only about the estate, but also about everything that makes up life: about thought, soul, desire, etc. He allowed them to liveapart , not a single entity . In Latin, the meaning of the Greek text is again shifted: et divisit illis substantiam; it is again about essence, whereas in the Greek text, when the son asks that οὐσία be divided, βίος is divided.

Perhaps this is because a person, as soon as he has claimed his rights, cannot immediately subordinate everything to himself, but for some time he lives in communication, which is multifaceted and is carried out at all levels of the human hierarchy. Disunity begins with the isolation of life in its external manifestations - what in Greek is called βίος. This nuance is not noticed in the Vulgate.

Meanwhile, this ownership processtheir reaches a certain level after a few days. It is said: καὶ μετ' οὐ πολλὰς ἡμέρας συναγαγὼν a πάντα ὁ νεώτερος υἱὸς.

Although the text sayscollecting everything , a person cannot completely collect “for himself” everything, because both love and selfishness have no limit. The image of egoism can be the model of a “black hole”, as it is constructed by science: constantly collapsing, collapsing matter, infinitely intensively “sucked in” to the center, which is infinitely small, that is, which, in fact, physically, as if does not exist. He is imaginary, as an imaginary object of our pride in ourselves. Nevertheless, despite its imaginary nature, it “pulls” everything towards itself with infinite speed and force. This process is endless and infinitely intensifies; he is hell.

Gone : ἀπεδήμησεν - from the verb αποδημώ, which has the root δῆμος – ‘country, people, community’. The son leaves his country and thus from fellowship.

Greek word 'society',κοινωνία, occursfromκονωνῶ – ‘to communicate, to join’. The same word, in turn, has one root with the word ‘general’ – κοινόν. The same etymology is repeated in Russian:common nature -common enen -common her. The Latin societas carries a different meaning; it means ‘cohabitation, coexistence, union of interests’.

Squandered his estate - διεσκόρπισεν τὴν οὐσίαν αὐτοῦ. Δ ιεσκόρπισεν – διασκορπίζω ‘scatter’. The more the prodigal son wants to collect the essence “for himself”, the more it “disperses”, that is, does not obey him. Personality, the hypostasis of a person passes into the possession of the essence. The mind loses its support - the heart. The flesh conquers the spirit. The hierarchy of human existence is perverted and turned upside down. The soul begins to be torn apart by passions, the mind - by uncontrolled and uncontrollable thoughts.

Living slutty - ζῶν ἀσώτως. Ἀσωτία in the New Testament means 'fornication'. In this sense the word is used three times: 1 Pt. 4:4; Tit 1:6; Eph 5:18. This word comes from the verb σώζω ‘to save’.Ἄσωτος is the one who is not saved. Throughout the New Testament, this word is used only by Luke in this place.

Jerome translated it as ‘luxurious’ luxuriose, which, of course, only indirectly corresponds to the Greek ἀσώτως.

It is said:lived it all - δαπανήσαντος δὲ αὐτοῦ πάντα. One of the meanings of the verb δαπανῶ is ‘I destroy’, ‘I absorb’. Thus, this line could be translated as follows: he destroyed everything in himself, in an ontological sense, undermining the foundations of his existence.

It is said: when he had lived everything, famine set in.

If this happened in ordinary life, we would say: it turned out to be a coincidence, because it cannot be that because one person is wasted, hunger sets in throughout the country. However, in the parable between the waste of property and famine in the country, a strict causal relationship is established.

This place can be viewed from at least two sides.

First, a person has a deep and mysterious connection with the rest of the world. The state of the world depends on the state of human nature in all its psycho-somatic integrity. To see this, you need to go back to the first chapters of the book of Genesis, which describes the introduction of man into the paradise created by God: “And God blessed them, and God said to them: be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea ... ” (Genesis 1:28).

The connection between man and the world is expressed in the words:fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea etc.

Consider what the text of the Septuagint says about this:Fill up - πληρώσατε - usually understood as ‘fill with yourself’, i.e. ‘populate’ the earth. However, this is not the only meaning of this expression.

God, creating the world, set for him the goal of deification, as well as for man. The deification of the world was to be performedthrough person. Therefore, a person had to fill the earth with grace, which is the uncreated energy of God, which, if anyone is involved, is adored. By adoring himself, man also made it possible for the world to be adored. He was placed to rule over the world as an extension of his nature; it is a dominion of the same kind as the dominion of his spirit over the flesh.

The same idea is expressed in the following words:ἄρχετε τῶν ἰχθύων . Ἄ ρχετε literally means ‘be the beginning, the basis’. The world does not have an independent existence, but its existence is determined by the existence of man.

After the fall, people lost the grace they had and could not pass it on to the world. There was a distortion of their being, a violation of its hierarchy: the flesh prevailed over the spirit, nature - over the hypostasis. And this was reflected in the state of the creature: it turned out to be cursed. Here the mistake is often made, thinking that God has cursed the creature. However, nowhere in Scripture does it say:

In the words addressed to Adam, the curse of the earth is spoken of as an already accomplished fact. Moreover, it is said: Cursed is the earth for you. That is, a direct connection is established between such a state of the creature and Adam.

Corruption entered the being of Adam and was transmitted from him to the world. The earth began to grow thorns because they first grew in the soul of Adam.

The prophet Isaiah speaks of the corruption of the world:

“Complains, the earth is sad; drooping, sad universe<…>Crying grape juice; the vine hurts” (Isaiah 24:4,7).

The fact that the world came out of the subordination of Adam, as well as its nature, is said by Schiller in “The Gods of Greece” (translated by A. Fet):

... Without consciousness, wasting joy,

Seeing no brilliance,

Unaware of the leader above you,

Not sharing my delight,

Without love for the Creator of creation,

Like a clock - not animated and sir,

Slave only to the law of gravity

Godless serves the world...

The apostle Paul speaks of the dependence of the state of the creature on the state of human being:

“Creation awaits with hope the revelation of the sons of God, because the creation was subjected to futility, not voluntarily, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in the hope that the creation itself will be freed from the slavery of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation is groaning and travailing together until now…” (Rom 8:18-22).

The Apostle writes that the creation was subjected to vanity not voluntarily, but by the will of the one who subdued it, that is, the one to whom the command Ґrcete was given - a man.

“The creation waits with hope for the revelation of the sons of God,” that is, the restoration of their being, because then its being will also be restored. Examples from the life of the saints show that the world around them is being restored. The lion serves St. Gerasim of Jordan, St. Mary of Egypt, the bear - St. Seraphim of Sarov. Let us give in more detail the following characteristic case, described in the Spiritual Meadow by John Moschus, but not included in any of the editions of this book.

“One Christ-loving person said: we decided to visit the cinnamon of a holy elder in the Thebaid, and when we arrived at the monastery, large dogs began to bark at us high from the wall. I was frightened and wanted to get off the horse, but my companions, figuring out the barking of dogs, told me: “Do not get down, sir, because the dogs have an order from the abba not to get off the walls.”

When we had already entered the monastery and received a blessing from the fathers, we were led to the well during the service. The camel that raised the water with a winch stood motionless. To our bewilderment - why the camel does not rotate the gate, they answered us: “Our abba commanded him so that during the service, that is, when the bell is rung, he should not rotate the gate - until the service is over. Because there was no time that one brother, who was fulfilling his obedience at the well, because of the noise of the gate, did not hear the sign to go to the service and did not come to church. Then the abba came to the well and said to his brother: Why didn't you come to church at the right time? - And he answered: Forgive me, father, the noise from the device did not allow me to hear the bells. - Then the abba, standing up, gave an order to the camel that raised the water, saying: Blessed be God; from now on, when they call the church, you will not move even a little bit until the service is over. - And the camel obeyed the order. Also, every other camel, put to the winch, also kept this command.

When we heard this, we glorified God.”

How the saints sanctify the world is described by Elder Ephraim, Abbot of the Filofeu Monastery on the Holy Mountain, in his Chapters on Prayer:

“St. Gregory Palamas says that prayer, done through inhalation and exhalation, makes that, over time, a sweet exhalation of grace comes from the nostrils of the one praying, the smell of spiritual fragrance: “a life-giving scent,” according to the great Paul.

See how prayer gives grace not only to the one who prays, but, overflowing, pours out through him on the whole creation. Inhaling, [the one who prays] is cleansed, revives, sanctifies himself, while exhaling, he cleanses, revitalizes, sanctifies the creature; not he, but Divine grace.”

However, this is not yet the complete liberation of the creature from the “slavery to decay”. Full liberation awaits her after the general resurrection and is described in the last chapters in the book of the prophet Isaiah:

"The wolf and the lamb will feed together,

and the lion, like the ox, will eat the straw,

and for the serpent, the dust will be food:

they will not cause harm and harm

on all my holy mountain” (Isaiah 65:25).

From all of the above, it is clear why, when the son squandered his property, famine began in the country. If under country mean the whole created world, then the son, having lost grace, also deprived him of well-being, becoming the cause of corruption in him.

However, in the phrase from the parable that after the prodigal son squandered his possessions, famine came in that country, there is another meaning. A person's view of the world depends on his inner state. The world in its totality is seen by him differently depending on the state of his being. The Son, closing in on himself, turning on himself, thereby caused a change in the way of his existence. From this, his view of the world has changed - the world for him has become a gray desert: there was a great famine in that country.

In the Greek text, hunger is not “great”, but “strong” - ἰσχυρὰ, that is, irresistible. A person cannot change his mode of existence himself, but only with outside help: “It is impossible for someone to defeat his nature: and where nature is defeated, there is knownthere the advent of Him who is above nature is known” .

He began to need : καὶ αὐτὸς ἤρξατο ὑστερεῖσθαι. Ὑστερῶ means ‘to be deprived of something’, as well as ‘not to achieve something’ .

The son tries to achieve the former pleasure, but cannot. He is deprived of the pleasure that he had, although the means to achieve it remain the same and even increase. They no longer have the same effect. Such is the nature of sin. It is sweet at first, and then it becomes more and more bitter, so that a person no longer wants to create it, but he cannot help doing it, because he has acquired passion.

The son went and made his way from sin to passion, which is sticking to the subject of sin. It is the verb ‘cling’ - ™koll»qh used in the original Greek.

The Son clings to the object of sin, trusting in it, because cling means to follow wherever he leads, to trust his will. However, this object, as soon as the son clings to it, pushes him away from himself: and he sent him into his fields to feed swine; that is, it does not give him what he wants, does not justify his hopes.

Expression in Russian translationI was glad may allow him to think that the filling of the womb could give him joy. However, there is no joy in such a spiritual state. In the Greek text: ‘he desired’ - ἐπεθύμειfill the womb . And again,fill the womb does not mean 'eat', much less 'taste'. This is the lowest degree of relation to food. Figuratively, this means a person's sliding down to the most primitive pleasures. However, even with them, in the end, no one gives himfill the womb ; it is not said: “but could not”, but:but no one gave him .

A person lives by entering into communication with the world around him. Communication, in particular, is cognition. Cognizing, a person does not remain an outside observer, but enters into a living and direct communication with those whom or what he cognizes. For example, a person is one when he is alone with himself, and another when he knows that someone is looking at him. A thing in the depths of which lies a certain meaning - logos - as if directed towards us, opens up to meet us when we want to know it.

Knowledge is not valuable in itself; it must grow into love. Man learns in order to love. Knowledge should be only a preliminary stage of love. If it does not pass into love, then it means that it has failed. Curiosity is therefore condemned by the Church as a sin because it is not moved by love and does not pass into it.

Thus, between man and the world there must be mutual orientation and mutual orientation. In total and universal love is the meaning of the existence of the world, because, as the Greek poet Kostis Palamas (1859–1943) put it, Ό,τι δεν αγαπούμε, δεν υπάρχει – ‘what we do not love does not exist’.

The egoist is incapable of either love or true knowledge. He has no connection with the world, the logos of things does not come out to meet him. Therefore it is said:but no one gave him . The world for a person in such a state becomes silent, becomes an “object”. From here ideas are born about the dead empty spaces of the universe, about man as a clockwork, his feelings and thinking as biochemical processes, etc.

Recover implies that before that he “went beyond himself”, that is, his attention was directed to external objects, he left his inner world and the spiritual world in general without attention. Having come to his senses, he again directed his gaze into his inner world.

Recover To come to your senses also means to begin to adequately assess your actions and your condition. To come to his senses for his son meant to realize the fatality of his condition.

In general, any assessment is possible when we compare a certain given with what we consider to be its ideal. The son in this case compares his current state with the one he had before, that is, he mentally returns to what he lost. This sense of return is contained in the Latin interpretation of this passage: in se autem reversus est.

Dostoevsky’s idea is very suitable here, that a person does not lose the chance of salvation until at least one bright memory of childhood remains in him, that is, as long as he still has something to return to, there is something to compare his condition with.

It is characteristic that it is not love for him that makes the son return to his father, but hunger, that is, not the father himself, but that mercenaries him abound in bread. So, as a rule, a person turns to God because he loses either his health or his former spiritual lightness and joy, but not from self-valuable love for God.

Here it must be said that there are three different relations of man to God: the relation of a slave, the relation of a servant, and the relation of a son. The attitude of a servant is when a person is afraid of God's punishment and fulfills the commandments out of fear of it. The attitude of a servant is when a person fulfills the commandments in the hope of receiving a reward. He renounces earthly pleasures in order to receive “incomparably greater”, and most importantly, legitimate pleasures “up there in heaven”. The attitude of the son can be expressed in the words of one saint: Lord, with You it will be good for me in hell, but without You it will be bad in paradise.

These categories are alien to the worldview of love. It lives in other coordinates: you - life - death - near - in the distance - reciprocity - immensity ...

The prodigal son is in the state of a servant. He, having no love and not being able to love in his condition, does not take into account that his father loves him. He believes that since he squandered his father's fortune, his father would have fair don't accept it. However, he remains right together with all the rest to be hired by the father, and then he must will feed him - as fees. This worldview is expressed in the old Latin principle do ut des ‘I give so that you give me’.

Ἀναστὰς πορεύσομαι, literally:rise, I will go . From the same verb ἀνίστημι happening wordἀνάστασις , 'Sunday'.

The conversion of the son to the father is the resurrection of which it is said:

“This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection: over them the second death has no power” (Rev. 20:5-6).

Πορεύσομαι πρὸς τὸν πατέρα μου. In ancient Greekπρός except for the meaning‘ To’ also has the meaning 'towards'. A person can either move towards God, never reaching Him. As St. Gregory of Nyssa says, virtue has one limit - to have no limit. Christianity is alien to ancient autarchy, sufficiency. He is more likely to have Goethe's "forward and upward." This is because there is no limit to love. You can never say: I love someone in such a way that it is impossible to love more.

It was not the father who took pity, but the son finally felt that his father took pity on him. Also, although it is said that he saw him from afar, this does not mean that before that he had not seen his son; The son just didn't feel it. Now, while on the road, he began to feel it.

He took pity - an inaccurate translation of the Greek ἐσπλαγχνίσθη, the initial form of which εὐσπλαχνίζομα means ‘to be compassionate’.

It is said:ran . It is noteworthy that the songoes towards the father, and the fatherrunning . The fact that his love for his son is much higher than the son's feelings for his father is also expressed in the fact that hefell on his neck , that is, embraced him. To embrace someone means, as it were, to enclose him in yourself, to make him a part of himself. God embraces man in His arms “so that,” as the apostle Peter writes, “you<…>become partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet 1:4).

In the story, the father's love is clearly expressed, while the son does not seem to show any feelings. This is all because of the stiffness of the soul, which becomes so due to sin. He can only repent now, so that later his soul would come to life.

The father, as it were, does not hear what his son says to him, does not answer him anything, but immediately tells his slaves to bring clothes.

In many manuscripts there is an adverb ταχύ ‘soon’, i.e. ‘bring soon…’. The same in the Vulgate:cito proferte…

Ἐξενέγκατε - lit. ‘wear out’.

The Russian translation saysbest clothes , while in the original - ‘first clothes’ - στολὴν τὴν πρώτην, that is, the one that the son lost when he left his father. Here you need to keep in mind that “clothes” in Russian does not sound the same as it sounded for the Greeks στολή . This word comes from στολίζω ‘to decorate’; so fatherdecorates son with clothes.

Δακτύλιον - a ring, a sign of sonship. When a person advances in spiritual life, he passes from the state of a slave and servant to the state of a son. Then he, abiding in the love of God, is no longer wounded by earthly things, as St. John the Theologian says: “He who loves God does not sin,” that is, what lies or grows from the earth does not hurt his feet.

Thisfattened calf - ὁ μόσχος ὁ σιτευτός - is Christ, who gives Himself in the Eucharist.

Θύσατε means not just ‘slaughter’, but ‘devour’, ‘sacrifice’. That is, this word has a connotation of sacred action, which confirms that we are talking about the Eucharist.

Let's eat and be merry . It is not said, Let us rejoice, but, Let us rejoice. We are talking about constant joy, and the joy of joint, common. Father and son rejoice in the same joy. Therefore, the deification of a person means the acquisition of the feelings and mind of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 2:16).

Staying outside of God leads a person to death, while returning to Him leads to life.Ἧ ν ἀπολωλώς - ‘was perishing’. The verb ἀπόλλυμι also has the meaning ‘to lose something completely’. The son has lost himself. Therefore, then it is said: he found himself (found ): εὑρέθη.

started having fun : ἤρξαντο εὐφραίνεσθαι. This fun has a beginning, but no end.

The eldest son was on the field , that is, in the field of spiritual labor. It is said:returning . However, in the Greek text: ὡς ἐρχόμενος, i.e. ‘walking’, being on the spiritual path.

Approached the house Andheard singing and jubilation . According to the original Greek, he heard ‘concord’ (συμφωνίας) and ‘dancing’ (χορῶν).Agreement means a single aspiration of the soul, heart, will and all nature of the son and father.Dance is an expression of harmony in human nature, the harmony of all its forces, their reconciliation with each other.

Everything that follows takes place outside the home, in which harmony and rejoicing reign. The eldest son is talking to the servant and father outside the house. He does not participate in this joy, but remains outside of it. He is driven by spiritual envy, its rationale is a legal worldview. He appeals to justice, forgetting about the goodness of his father, shows himself to be a servant, but not a son.

your brother has come : Ὁ ἀδελφός σου ἥκει.

The verb ἥκει is used here in the present tense. It means not just some kind of action, but has a connotation of state: the brother is present,is who came.

Because I took it healthy .

According to the Greek original, the son was received by the father "healthy", ὑγιαίνοντα. Thisverbal form, and therefore there is action. Spiritual health, which we are talking about here, is not something that is given once and for all and remains unshakable. You have to constantly fight for it.

Sin is a disease of human nature, both in its spiritual and in its bodily manifestation. It is not just a violation of the commandment and a legal crime, but a consequence of corruption that has made its way to the very roots of human nature. For the sake of correcting this corruption, God took human nature upon Himself in order to correct and heal it with Himself.

accepted : ἀπέλαβεν; in this verb there is a connotation of removal from something. It is attached with an attachmentἀπο -. The son leaves the arms of death and comes into the arms of the father.

He did not enter, because in the realm of love there is no place for legal claims and rights. But the father, like love itself, descends to his infirmity - he leaves the house of harmony and calls to join their joy. He not only called him, but called, asked him to enter into the common joy, leaving his grievances behind. The verb παρεκάλει is used in an imperfect form; this means that the father is constantlycalled his son - more than once. Even more clearly this idea is expressed in the Vulgate: coepit rogare ‘began to call’. The beginning is said, but the end is not said.

The eldest son sees himself as righteous: he never transgressed his father's orders. For him, joy lies not in being with his father, but in having fun with friends over a goat somewhere away from him. The kid is not the calf of the Eucharist; the joy that this son dreams of is outside the Eucharist. He is a paid servant, not a son.

The eldest son does not call the returnee his brother, but "your son."

He who squandered his possessions with harlots - literally: ‘devouring your life with harlots’: καταφαγών σου τὸν βίον a μετὰ πορνῶν.

Two worldviews speak in father and son: grace-filled and legal. The father eliminates the very sendings of the son:all mine is yours - πάντα τὰ ἐμὰ σά ἐστιν, that is, the father is ready to give all his to his eldest son. He does not understand and does not know and does not want to take it.

And then the father continues that you should leave your claims and rights, but have fun and rejoice the acquisition of a son, for in this true love is manifested. St. Simeon the New Theologian has a catechetical word called "On perfect love and what is its effect." Here he writes that true love consists in grieving for the evil deeds of one's neighbor more than that one; and rejoice in his salvation and correction more than he himself.

Uthemann, Karl-Heinz. Anastasii Sinaitae Sermones Duo in Constitutionem Hominis Secundum Imaginem Dei: Necnon, Opuscula Adversus Monotheletas , Turnhout: Brepols; Leuven University Press, 1985, 58–82.

By the way, St. Anastasius does not say that the son of Adam is born from him and Eve; otherwise the doctrine of the Filioque would have been confirmed.

See also: Anastasius Sin. Viae Dux, XVII, 3-34; Maximus Conf. Opusc., 60D 5 -61A 9 ; Pseudo-Athanasius. Quaest. aliae, 15, 785 B4–D9; Ioh. Dam. De vol., 30, 4–6, p. 215 sq. (168B 8–11); Meth. Olympic. Fragm. incertae originis, III, p. 521, 2–9.

The editions of the Spiritual Meadow contain 219 stories, while the number of stories in the manuscripts exceeds 300, as St. Photius also testifies to this (PG 103, 665). For a critical edition of the text of the Meadow stories not included in regular editions, see:Nissen Th . Unbekannte Erzählungen aus dem Pratum spirituale // Byzantinische Zeitschrift 38 (1938), 351–376.

One day, seeing the people gathered around Him, Jesus went up the mountain and sat on the top. And then His disciples surrounded. And this is what Jesus taught them and what he said to them: Blessed are those who are content with little, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. Blessed are those who weep, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are the hungry and the thirsty, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for the Lord will call them his sons. Blessed are the persecuted, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. Blessed are those who will be persecuted for loving Me, for you will receive your reward in heaven. You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its potency, how can it be made salty? She's no longer fit for anything. It remains only to throw it away. And whoever breaks one of these least commandments, he himself will be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Do not think that I have come to break the law or the commandments of the prophets. I came not to break, but to fulfill, because until the end of days everything written in the law must be fulfilled. And if your righteousness does not surpass the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, then you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. And if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift before the altar, go make peace with your brother, and then return to offer the gift.

And again I say to you: do not swear at all: neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor by your head. But let your word “yes, yes” or “no, no” be enough, and everything else is from the evil one.

And again I say to you: do not resist evil, and if someone strikes you on the right cheek, offer him the left as well, and whoever wants to take your shirt, give him your outer garment as well.

And this is what Jesus taught them:

Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.

Pray like this: Our Father who is in heaven! May your name be hallowed; let your kingdom come; may Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us our daily bread this day; and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one; for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

And if you do not forgive people for their sins, then your Heavenly Father will not forgive you.

And do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where everything is corruptible and where thieves steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where nothing is corruptible and where thieves do not steal. For only the treasure that lies in your heart.

And again I tell you: no one can serve two masters, because either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be zealous for one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Therefore, do not worry about what you eat and what you drink and what you wear. Look at the birds of the air: they don't sow, they don't reap, they don't gather into barns. your heavenly father feeds them. But aren't you better than them?

And what do you care about clothes? Look at the lilies of the field, how they grow: they don't toil or spin, but the richest man didn't dress like any of them. But if the Lord clothes the grass of the field in this way, then think about how He can dress you, unbelieving ones.

So don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will take care of itself. Enough for every day and your care.

And when Jesus had finished speaking, they all marveled at his teaching and that he taught them as having authority.

Marriage at Cana of Galilee

Jesus turns water into wine

And soon in the city of Cana in Galilee there was a wedding feast, to which Jesus and His mother Mary were invited. The disciples of Jesus were also invited. And when the wine ran out, Mary told Jesus about it. Jesus replied that His time had not yet come. But Mary told the ministers, "Do what Jesus tells you to do."

Here stood six stone jugs, which contained two or three measures of liquid. And Jesus then said to the ministers, "Fill these vessels with water." And the ministers filled them to the brim. Then Jesus said to them, "Now scoop it up into small vessels and take it to the steward of the feast." They did so.

The steward, having tasted what was brought to him, discovered that it was wine. But he didn't know where the wine came from—only the ministers knew that. And then the manager of the feast approached the groom and said to him: “Every host first serves good wine, and when the guests are already drunk, then he serves worse wine. Your feast has been going on for a long time, and yet you still managed to save good wine.

Thus Jesus laid the foundation for His miracles in Cana of Galilee, thus He manifested His power. And the disciples believed in him.

The glory of Jesus and His miracles began to spread throughout the earth. When, some time after this wedding, Jesus and his disciples again came to Cana, a certain courtier from Capernaum appeared to Him. This man asked to go with him to his city and heal his sick son, who was dying. And then Jesus said to him: "Come back home, your son is healthy." This courtier believed Jesus and went home. And on the road his servants met him and said: "Your son has recovered." The courtier asked the servants at what time his son felt better, and when they answered, it turned out that this happened immediately after his conversation with Jesus.

End of introductory segment.

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The content of the parable told by Jesus Christ about the prodigal son:

The father had two sons. The younger one wanted to take his share of the parental property without waiting for the inheritance. The father satisfied his desire by giving away at once all the property that the youngest son would receive later.

Having left for foreign lands, the young man squandered his share on empty amusements. Famine began in the country, the young man was left without a roof over his head, without a piece of bread, without money. Out of hopelessness, he hired himself to herd pigs - an occupation that was considered in those years worthy of completely degraded people.

The shepherd was paid so little that he simply died of hunger, he even agreed to eat their food with the pigs. But this was not available to him. Then the youngest son remembered his father, how well even the last slaves live there. He decided to ask his parent for forgiveness for his behavior, to ask him to accept him as a simple worker, so as not to let him die of hunger. Having made up his mind, the young man went on his way.

The father noticed his son approaching from a distance and ran towards him. He hugged and kissed the dirty, barefoot, emaciated traveler and recognized him as his child. The young man asked to be forgiven for past deeds, to be settled with slaves, since he lost the right to be called a son, squandered his share of the inheritance due to him.

The father said he was glad to have his son back, who was thought to be dead and missing. He ordered to dress him in the best shoes, clothes, put a ring with a seal on his finger, ordered to kill a fat calf, feast and have fun with everyone, rejoicing at the return of the prodigal son.

The eldest heir at that time worked in the field, and when he saw with what honor the father of his younger brother received, resentment and envy ignited in his heart. He began to reproach his father that he had never treated him with such love and generosity, although he worked and always obeyed and obeyed the will of the parent.

He could not sincerely rejoice at the return of his brother, moreover, he does not recognize his brother as equal to himself, believing that the younger one deserved such a fate by his behavior. The eldest son could not understand his father's words that one should rejoice and love a person who came to his senses, admitted his wrong, repented, which means he must be forgiven.

What does the parable say

The parable of the prodigal son is a story about sin and repentance. Everyone makes the interpretation of history in their own way, but everyone agrees that the father of sons is an almighty God who always loves his children. No matter what sins people commit, God always accepts their repentance, always forgives sinners, loves them as parents love their children.

What did the youngest of the children

It follows from the parable that the youngest son represents youth devoid of knowledge. Young people want to get everything at once, they want freedom from duties. They do not listen to what older, more experienced people tell them. Young people believe that they can handle everything, that they can break into the people with their talent. They look down on old people, considering them obsolete. No wonder pride, pride is considered a sin that destroys a person's life, especially in youth. Moving away from God the Father, people give themselves into the hands of the devil.

Not realizing that it is better to be under the protection and patronage of God, people move away from Him “to foreign lands”, where they indulge in sinful pastimes, wasting their talents and strength in vain. A person considers the gift of God his personal property, he wants to dispose of it at his own discretion. But when people, forgetting about the Almighty, indulge only in idle deeds, they destroy their soul, depriving it of purity and spiritual food. Having had their fill, they feel spiritual hunger, not knowing what else to do with themselves.

How did the elder react to the repentance of his brother

Interpretation of the role of the eldest son. An obedient young man always fulfills the will of his father, lives strictly according to the laws, considers himself a righteous man. But his soul is dead - he has forgotten how to sympathize with others, putting his "merits" in serving God above the rest. The same sin of pride, pride. Plus, jealousy.

At the call of the father to rejoice together with the rest that the repentant sinner younger brother has returned, the elder expresses his grievances and claims to the parent. Pointing out that his father's son is no longer his brother, who himself is to blame for his fate. He does not understand why a parent welcomes the return of a repentant sinner with such joy. Considering himself a righteous man, he does not see his shortcomings, his sin. As scribes and Pharisees, who talk about their service to God, in fact they do not love others “as themselves”, violating God's main commandment.

What is the meaning of this story

The young man, having gone through suffering and deprivation, understands his mistakes, humbles his pride, at first being hired for the most black, shameful work, later comes to repentance. The parable of the prodigal son teaches that repentance comes through material deprivation and spiritual suffering.

You can read the parable several times, discovering a new interpretation of its meaning. The younger son, being away from God, was insane. And when he came to his senses, assessed his current state, realized how low he had fallen. When he was near his Father, he was well-fed, clothed, shod. However, he did not notice these God's blessings, believing that he would receive much more in a foreign country. There will be no moralizing, he will be able to achieve success and wealth with his mind.

The alien side is associated with distance from God. Without faith, a person dies, loses his soul. He was dead and returned alive - the father rejoices at the repentance of the youngest child. Now there is hope that the son understood, felt how wrong he was when he renounced God.

An interpretation of the parable of good intentions, which are only useful when they are fulfilled. The young man decided that he would go to ask for forgiveness from his parent, without delay, he fulfilled his intention. You can mentally imagine hundreds of times how good things will be done, but not do them, remaining an empty dreamer.

God the Father sees people striving for Him and is always the first to show His forgiveness. As in the parable: clean clothes for sons, comfortable shoes to walk the path of life for the salvation of the soul, His love of the Father. The fattened calf, which is slaughtered for the feast of the return of the son, symbolizes the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who himself, by the will of the Heavenly Father, gave himself to the executioners in order to atone for the sins of all mankind.

Each of the living people was on the path of the youngest son from Christ's parable. You should know that this path leads to the death of the soul. But Our Merciful Father will always accept the sincere repentance of His erring children.

The parable of the prodigal son is told by Jesus Christ to his disciples. It is given in the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke. The plot of the parable is used in many works of world art.

Below is a summary of the parable of the prodigal son. It is the most popular among Christians, regardless of their denomination, as it teaches forgiveness.

The Bible Parable of the Prodigal Son: A Summary

The father had two sons. One took his part of the property and squandered everything away from his family. When the need arose, he was starving and decided to return to his father to become his mercenary, as he felt guilty. But his father was happy that his son returned unharmed, and arranged a feast on this occasion. The older brother was unhappy that the father had received the dissolute younger brother so well. But the father said that he did not infringe on him in any way, because he was always there in contentment and owns everything together with his father; the younger son was as if dead, who knows where, and now we must rejoice at his return.

The plot of the parable, a detailed retelling

One man had two sons. The younger asked to give him the due inheritance, and the father yielded to his son, dividing the property between the brothers. After some time, the younger took his and went to a distant country, where he drank and debauched.

Having spent everything he had, he became poor. He was employed in the service, began to herd pigs. And he would be glad to eat at least what the pigs ate, but they did not give him. And then he remembered his father, what a rich estate he had and how many servants were not in need, and thought: why die of hunger, I will return to my father and ask him to accept me as a mercenary, because he is no longer worthy to be called his son.

And he went to his father. And the father saw him from afar and took pity on his son, ran to meet him, hugged and kissed him. The younger son said: "Father, I have sin against heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy to be your son." And the father ordered the slaves to bring him the best clothes, shoes and a ring on his hand and kill the well-fed calf to eat and celebrate. Because his youngest son was dead, but became alive, was missing, but was found. And everyone started having fun.

The eldest son, meanwhile, was in the field, when he returned, he heard songs and jubilant exclamations from the house. Calling a servant, he asked what had happened. They answered him that his brother and father had returned, out of joy that his son was unharmed, and had slaughtered a whole calf. The eldest son became angry and did not want to enter the celebrants, and the father went out to call him. But the eldest son said: “I have been with you for so many years, I work, I always obey you, but you didn’t even give me a goat to feast with friends; and this son, who squandered all your property with harlots, returned, and you immediately stabbed for him well-fed calf." The father replied to this: "Son, you have always been there and all mine belongs to you, and you need to rejoice because your younger brother was dead and became alive, was missing and was found."

The Parable of the Prodigal Son: What's the point?

A person familiar with Christianity, who believes in God, who is the Father of all living things, can depart from the faith, tempted by earthly entertainment and fuss. Take your property and go to a distant country - move far from God, lose all connection with him. He will have some reserve of grace and spiritual strength, just as the prodigal (or erring) younger son had money at first. But over time, the forces will run out, the soul will become empty and sad. Hunger will come, as he came to the youngest son, only not physical, but spiritual. After all, people, according to Christian teaching, were created by God for communication and unity with Him and with each other.

And if a person then, in despair, remembers his Heavenly Father, he will want to return. But he will feel repentance and unworthiness to be the Son of God, just as the younger son in the parable felt that he was not worthy to be called a son. Then we return to God with repentance, begging him to help, to console our devastated soul, to fill it with the light of faith at least a little - no longer as children of God, but at least as his mercenaries (it’s not for nothing that Orthodox prayers say “servants of God”).

But God is Love, as the Gospel of John says. And He, in His love, is not angry with us and does not remember our sins - after all, we remembered Him, desired His goodness, returned to Him. Therefore, He rejoices in our insight and return to the truth. We were dead in sin, but we are made alive. And the Lord gives a lot to repentant people who have returned to faith, often happily arranging fates, and always sending peace and grace to tormented souls. Just like the father in the parable gave his returning son all the best he had.

The image of the elder brother here is people who formally did not depart from the faith, did not commit serious sins, but forgot the main commandment - about love. The older brother, with resentment and jealousy, tells his father that he tried to do everything right, but the younger son did not. Why is he honored? This is also the case with believers who condemn "sinners" and may in church discuss other people's outfits that are inappropriate for the occasion, or incorrect behavior. And they forget at the same time that if a person came to church, turned to faith, one should rejoice for him, because all people are our brothers and sisters, also created by the Lord, who is infinitely glad for their return from darkness.

Another meaning of the parable

The parable of the prodigal son, the summary in particular, can be considered more straightforward. It applies not only to God's relationship to people, but also to those who love each other. We can say that this is a parable about love.

Any close person can leave us - a husband or wife, a child, a friend, even parents sometimes leave their children. But if our hearts are pure and there is love in our souls, then we will become like the father from the parable and will be able to forgive betrayal. And then, meeting a dissolute son who cheated on her husband, a father who disappeared, a friend who forgot about us, it would not even occur to him to blame them or listen to unkind people who do not understand Christian forgiveness - it will be enough for us that they are nearby, found, returned, alive.

THE WEEK OF THE PRODIGAL SON

Two weeks (weeks) before the beginning of Great Lent, the Orthodox Church recalls the gospel parable of the prodigal son, set forth in the Gospel of Luke (chapter 15, verses 11-32).

This Sunday is called Prodigal Son Week . In 2019, Prodigal Son Week falls on 24 February .

The parable of the prodigal son is one of the parables of Jesus Christ. It teaches the virtues of repentance and forgiveness.

Parable of the Prodigal Son

“11 A certain man had two sons;
12 And the youngest of them said to his father, Father! give me the part of the estate next to me. And the father divided the estate between them.
13 After a few days, the youngest son, having collected everything, went to a far country, and there he squandered his possessions, living dissolutely.
14 And when he had lived all, there came a great famine in that country, and he began to be in want;
15 And he went and attached himself to one of the inhabitants of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine;
16 And he was glad to fill his belly with horns that swine ate, but no one gave him.
17 When he came to his senses, he said, How many of my father's hirelings have plenty of bread, and I am dying of hunger;
18 I will get up and go to my father and say to him, Father! I have sinned against heaven and before you
19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son; accept me as one of your hired hands.
20 He got up and went to his father. And while he was still far away, his father saw him and had compassion; and, running, fell on his neck and kissed him.
21 And the son said to him, Father! I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
22 And the father said unto his servants, Bring forth the best garment, and clothe him, and put a ring on his hand, and sandals on his feet;
23 And bring a fattened calf and kill it; Let's eat and be merry!
24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. And they started having fun.
25 And his elder son was in the field; and returning, when he approached the house, he heard singing and rejoicing;
26 And calling one of the servants, he asked, What is this?
27 He said to him, Your brother has come, and your father has slaughtered the fatted calf, because he received him healthy.
28 He became angry and did not want to enter. His father went out and called him.
29 But he answered and said to his father, Behold, I have served you for so many years, and I have never transgressed your command, but you have never given me even a kid to make merry with my friends;
30 But when this son of yours, who had squandered his possessions with harlots, came, you slaughtered a fattened calf for him.
31 And he said to him, My son! you are always with me, and all mine is yours,
32 but you should have rejoiced and rejoiced because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” (Luke 15:11-32).

According to the plot of this parable, the prodigal son, having left his parental home, squandered his father's inheritance, suffered hardships and humbly returned to his father in order to become one of his hired workers. The happy father completely accepted and forgave the fugitive, despite the fact that his other son was unhappy with this.

In this parable, multifaceted in content and remarkable in its brightness of colors, the father is the Heavenly Father, and the two sons are a repentant sinner and an imaginary righteous man. "Prodigal son" - this is a prototype of all fallen humanity and, at the same time, of each individual sinner, who with his soul moves away from God and indulges in a self-willed, sinful life; .

"Part of the estate" , i.e. the share of the estate of the youngest son is the gifts of God with which every person is endowed (life, health, strength, abilities, talents). The demand from the father of a part of the estate to use it at will is the desire of a person to overthrow his obedience to God, and follow his own thoughts and desires. Having received his part of his father's property, the youngest son leaves "to a distant land" , to a foreign land - a place of distance from God, where he stops thinking about his father, where he "lives dissolutely", that is, indulges in a sinful life that alienates a person from the Creator. There, with his sins, he destroys his soul and squanders all the gifts that he received from God. This leads him to poverty - complete spiritual devastation. This is not surprising, because a person who has embarked on the path of sin follows the path of selfishness, self-pleasing. And now, as if after a serious illness, he understands his plight. Then there appears in him the determination to leave sins and repent. When a sinner, having come to his senses, brings sincere repentance to God the Father, with humility and with hope for His mercy, then the Lord, as a merciful Father, rejoices with His angels at the conversion of the sinner, forgives him all his iniquities (sins), no matter how great they are. were, and returns to him His favors and gifts. It should be noted here that external calamities are often sent by God to sinners in order to enlighten them. This is God's call to repentance.

The eldest son returns from work and does not want to enter his house, where they are having fun on the occasion of the return of his brother, despite the call of his father; he reproaches his father for his dislike for him, exposes his labors, speaks insensitively coldly about his brother, reproaches his father for doing this in the present case. "Oldest Son" - this is the image of a Pharisee, a strict executor of the Law, boasting of the fulfillment of the will of God, not wanting to have communion with tax collectors and sinners, a proud, self-important righteous and envious person. The eldest son was not guilty before his father, he was always a good worker in his father's house and his life was impeccable until his sinful brother returned. The return of the prodigal brother caused envy in the eldest son - this terrible sin, which led to the first human murder and to the murder of the Savior Himself.

With the story of the eldest son, the Savior teaches that every believing Christian should wholeheartedly wish everyone salvation, rejoice at the conversion of sinners, not envy God's love for them and not consider themselves worthy of God's mercy more than those who turn to God from their former lawless life.

According to Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, “This parable is extremely rich in content. It lies at the very core of Christian spirituality and our life in Christ; it depicts a man at the very moment when he turns away from God and leaves Him to follow his own path to a "foreign land", where he hopes to find fullness, an excess of life. The parable also describes both the slow beginning and the triumphant end of the journey back to his father's house, when he, in contrite heart, chooses obedience.

In this parable, almost the main place is occupied by Father's behavior His kindness transcending all human concepts, love for the sinner and joy at the return of the prodigal son to Him. "... When he was still far away, his father saw him", - the Gospel tells us, which means that the father was waiting and, perhaps, every day he looked to see if his son was returning. “I saw and took pity, and ran, threw myself on his neck and kissed him”. The son began to confess, but his father did not let him finish; He has already forgiven and forgotten. The father did not demand proof of his son's repentance because he saw that his son had overcome shame and fear in order to return home. He does not speak: "When you tell me everything about yourself, I'll see if I can trust you". The father does not ask anything. He does not speak: "Let's see". He tells his servants to give him the best clothes, shoes and a ring on his hand. The ring is an indication of God's gift to the forgiven sinner - the gift of God's Grace, in which he puts on for the salvation of the soul. According to the interpretation of the blessed Theophylact's ring in the parable testifies to the resumption of the unity of the sinner with the Church on earth and in heaven.

It is difficult to convey in words the fullness of God's love for fallen sinners. Perhaps no one better reveals to us this love of God, which we read about in the parable of the prodigal son, than the Apostle Paul in his 1st Epistle to the Corinthians: “Love is long-suffering, merciful, ... love is not proud, ... does not get irritated, does not think evil. He does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. Covers everything, believes everything, hopes everything, endures everything.(1 Cor. 13:4-7). It is appropriate to mention here that SIN, every sin, is a crime against LOVE and that, truly, repentance can be accomplished only in the face of Perfect Love, for God is Love(1 John 4:8).

Meaning of the Week of the Prodigal Son

This week, the Orthodox Church sets an example of God's inexhaustible mercy towards all sinners who turn to God with sincere repentance. Thus, the Church teaches Christians that the true fullness and joy of life lies in a grace-filled union with God and constant communion with Him, and the withdrawal from this communion serves, on the contrary, as a source of all kinds of disasters and humiliations.

Features of the week

During this week, the Church accustoms the faithful to the feat of fasting by the gradual introduction of abstinence: after a continuous Week about the publican and the Pharisee, she restores the post on Wednesday and Friday , then, at the end of the Week of the Prodigal Son, he raises Christians to an important stage of preparatory abstinence by prohibiting eating meat food and allowing them to eat only cheese.

Week after the Week of the Prodigal Son (25 February - March 2) and the Week concluding it is called "meatless" for the reason that this Week completely ends the eating of meat.