God is always good and abounding in love toward all; He is more than patient with us. Yet He manifests His great goodness especially toward those who fall into sin. At times, it may seem that He allows the righteous to be pressed on every side, granting them little rest, while showing greater compassion toward sinners and being more readily moved to mercy for them. He draws them out of the corruption of sin and leads them to repentance.
The Lord says: “As I live, I do not desire the death of the sinner, but that he should turn and live. Should not those who have fallen rise again? Should not those who have turned away return? Turn to Me, and I will turn to you.”
To the righteous He says: “If you keep all righteousness and truth and observe all My commandments, but then fall into sin, I will not remember your righteousness; you shall die in your sin.” The Lord is exacting with the righteous, yet He shows compassion—immeasurable compassion and boundless goodness—toward sinners. Being all-wise, He knows not to terrify those who have sinned against Him lest they fall into despair; and if He were to praise the righteous excessively, He would foster self-satisfaction in them. Thus He extends mercy to sinners, while placing holy fear within the righteous, as He is awesome among the saints.
Therefore, in His compassion and in His desire for the salvation of sinners, He has given us repentance as a remedy and a healing medicine. He teaches each of us the path of return and repentance through sayings, parables, and exhortations, urging us toward inner transformation. For this reason, today’s parable reveals Him as merciful and compassionate.
“There was a man who had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided his livelihood between them.” In this parable, the power of repentance and the boundless depth of divine compassion are revealed, through which God calls and urges sinners to return. God, who loves mankind, is called “Father,” and both orders of humanity—the righteous and the sinful—are called “sons.”
Because righteousness was the original adornment and possession of human nature, the elder son is called “righteous,” for from the beginning humanity was created noble and dignified in righteousness. Holy Scripture tells us that God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. Since sin came later, the younger son is called sinful, for his mind and outlook became unstable and uncertain.
The younger son asked for his portion, and the father, who loved them both equally, granted it, leaving each free. He gave heaven, the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, and all that is upon it for the enjoyment of both righteous and sinners alike. No one possesses more than another: the sun rises on both equally; the rain falls upon all; and the blessings and gifts of God, bestowed in such abundance, are offered without hindrance or distinction.
The younger son beheld the heavens and deified them; he saw the fruits of the earth and misused them. He did not honor the law of God but turned away from the righteous and the holy prophets. Ungodly and sinful, he took the sun for his pleasure and worshiped the gift as though it were god. He honored the gifts but did not acknowledge the Giver. He worshiped the creation rather than the Creator.
The elder, righteous son used all these created things for God’s glory and praise. Seeing the heavens, he recognized through their beauty the Creator and Forefather.
“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers; the moon and the stars, which You have ordained…”
He saw the world and glorified the Lord who adorned it. The righteous man, grateful and faithful as a servant, marveled at creation and thus magnified and glorified the Creator. The sinner, however, ungrateful and corrupt, also saw creation—but mistakenly bowed down to it.
All of us possess reason and free will, and we act as we judge best. We are not compelled; virtue and vice depend upon our inclinations. Each of us can live rightly and in a God-pleasing manner, for we have been given both reason and freedom. Therefore, we rightly praise those who choose the good willingly and freely, without coercion. It is neither proper nor reasonable to commend those who are driven from evil by force; rather, honor belongs to those who amend their lives by their own free will.
If someone possesses virtue merely by nature, it is not tested; it becomes praiseworthy and redemptive only when it is consciously embraced and exercised.
What, then, did the younger son do after receiving his inheritance? He sold it and lived prodigally. He squandered his abundance, and after a few days, gathering what remained, he departed to a far country, where he wasted his wealth in dissipation and every kind of transgression.
From the *Kyriakodromion* of Monk Agapios
Reprinted with permission from:https://kinonija.rs/aktuelno/nasa-preporuka/o-ljubavi-ocevoj/
