Chapter 15
Chapter XV.
The impiety of the Jews is refuted in three ways.
1. Now there were drawing near
etc. After he refuted the deceitfulness of the Pharisees who calumniated Christ's power in miracles, in this part he refutes their impiety
in murmuring against his clemency in works of piety. Now this part is divided into three parts. In the first of which is set forth the expression of Jewish impiety.
In the second is added the manifestation of divine piety,
at: And he spoke to them a parable
etc. In the third is joined a commendation and persuasion of human piety,
below in the sixteenth chapter: And he said also to his disciples: There was a certain rich man.
The expression of Jewish impiety is described in three ways.
Now concerning the expression
of Jewish impiety,
three things are introduced, namely the occasion for expressing impiety, the expression of impiety already conceived,
and the pretense of equitable justice.
2. (Vers. 1.). First therefore, as regards the occasion for expressing impiety,
it says: Now there were drawing near to him publicans and sinners;
in which is shown the supreme piety of Christ toward public sinners, from which the Pharisees took occasion for judging impiously, because it is the custom of the impious to increase their impiety from seeing works of piety. Whence in the Psalm: "He has dispersed, he has given to the poor" etc., and immediately adds: "The sinner shall see and shall be angry." Now Christ was showing great piety, because he received publicans,
who were public sinners: whence the Gloss: "Publicans,
who exact or collect public taxes, and who pursue worldly gain through business dealings," and such men were intent upon many unjust gains. Now sinners of this kind, although they seem to deserve rejection according to justice, are nevertheless received through mercy; trusting in which, they were drawing near to him
as to a most clement Lord,
according to that word of James 4: "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." Draw near,
I say, through devout supplication; the Psalm: "Let my prayer draw near in your sight, O Lord." Also as to a most skilled master:
whence it adds: that they might hear him,
according to that counsel of the Wise Man in the last chapter of Sirach: "Draw near to me, you unlearned, and gather yourselves together into the house of instruction"; because, as it is said in Deuteronomy 33, "those who draw near to his feet shall receive of his doctrine."
3. To this supreme teacher Christ both the Pharisees and the publicans were drawing near, but the Pharisees with pretense,
according to that passage of Jeremiah 12: "You are near in their mouth and far from their reins"; because such men through feigned righteousness appear to be near,
but through hidden pride are far off,
according to that passage of Isaiah 58: "For they seek me from day to day and desire to know my ways, as a nation that had done justice and had not forsaken the judgment of their God: they ask me judgments of justice and desire to draw near to God. Why have we fasted, and you have not regarded? We have humbled our souls, and you have not known"; And he adds: "Behold, in the day of your fast your own will is found," etc. The publicans,
however, were drawing near truly,
so that they might hear and, having heard, might come to their senses from their evil ways through repentance, according to the Lord's exhortation in Matthew 4: "Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand"; and so that by hearing they might obey, according to that passage of Ecclesiastes 4: "Guard your foot when you enter the house of God, and draw near to hear. For obedience is much better than the sacrifices of fools."
4. (Vers. 2.). Second, with regard to the expression of conceived impiety, he adds: And the Pharisees and scribes murmured. Murmuring is a speaking-against which is neither fully expressed nor fully kept silent: Wisdom 1: "The ear of jealousy hears all things, and the tumult of murmurings shall not be hidden. Keep yourselves therefore from murmuring, which profits nothing, and refrain your tongue from detraction, because a secret word shall not go in vain." And therefore 1 Corinthians 10: "Neither murmur, as some of them murmured and perished by the destroyer." The Lord hates this murmuring most of all, because it profits nothing, neither oneself nor one's neighbor: Lamentations 3: "Why does a living man murmur, a man for his sins?" — as if to say: in vain. And because it proceeds from a malicious mouth, which neither dares to accuse openly nor is able to conceal the malice of the heart. Hence the very word murmur sounds this out, concerning which Huguccio says that it is derived from mutio, mutis, as if to wish to speak and not to dare. But nevertheless it sometimes arises from weakness, as Numbers 11: "A murmuring of the people arose, as it were of those grieving on account of their labor, against the Lord"; sometimes from ignorance and error, according to that passage in John 7: "There was much murmuring among the crowd. Some said that he is good; but others said: No, but he seduces the crowds. Yet no one spoke openly about him"; sometimes also from malice, as Deuteronomy 1: "Unbelieving in the word of the Lord your God, you murmured in your tents and said: The Lord hates us, and therefore he led us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites." Likewise these men also turned good into evil, both the repentance of the tax collectors and also the mercy of Jesus; and they fell into this vice because they were proud and inhumane. Concerning whom that passage of Isaiah 65 can be understood: "Who say: Depart from me, do not come near me, for you are unclean. These shall be smoke in my fury, a fire burning all the day."
5. Third, with regard to the simulation of the equity of justice,
it is added: Saying: Because this man receives sinners,
with regard to the affability of conversation, and eats with them,
with regard to the familiarity of table fellowship. In this they wished to reprove him as a supporter of the wicked and a despiser of the commandments; whence the Gloss: "As if he were contrary to the Law, which prohibits this." For in the Law contact with an unclean thing is prohibited, Leviticus eleven and thirteen; in which is understood the avoidance of evil company. Whence Deuteronomy seven: "You shall not enter into a covenant with them, nor shall you join in marriages with them." But, as the Gloss says, "they err in two ways, because they both consider themselves just, when they are proud, and those men sinners, when they are already repenting." Whence they themselves, by simulating equity, fell into impiety, sinning against themselves
through pride, which the Pharisees were accustomed to do; below in the sixteenth chapter: "You are they who justify yourselves before men." Likewise, sinning against their neighbors
by judging badly, so that what is said above in the sixth chapter could be said to them: "Hypocrite, first cast out the beam from your own eye," etc. Likewise, sinning against Christ
by reproving his mercy, who received sinners,
according to what he had promised through Jeremiah, Jeremiah three: "It is commonly said: If a man puts away his wife, and she, departing from him, marries another man, will he return to her again? But you have fornicated with many lovers; yet return to me, says the Lord, and I will receive you." For this is of the most excellent mercy; whence John six: "Everyone who comes to me, I will not cast him out." They also reproved his mercy, because he condescended to eat with them,
although this is of the highest mercy, according to that of Revelation three: "I stand at the door and knock," etc.; and Matthew eleven: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened";
and John seven: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink," etc. For the Prophet also, from the fullness of the spirit, calls all; Isaiah fifty-five: "All you who thirst, come to the waters." And the reason for this is that, as is said in Romans ten, "there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord of all is rich toward all who call upon him," etc.
The manifestation of divine piety is described in a threefold parable.
6. And he spoke a parable to them.
After he manifested the Jewish impiety, so secondly he makes known the divine mercy
for confuting the Jewish impiety. And since the mercy of God is especially toward man in the restoration of the human race, in which man needs a reconciling sacrifice, a redeeming price,
and an adopting spirit:
therefore in this part he introduces a threefold parable; of which the first is about the sheep,
which is sacrificed; the second, about the drachma,
which is a royal coin; the third is about the father and son,
who is mercifully received. Furthermore, since the mercy of God is especially toward man by reason of three things which God placed in man, namely by reason of implanted gentleness,
by reason of the impressed image,
and by reason of the conferred likeness:
and through the first, man is likened to a sheep,
through the second to an imperial coin,
through the third to the Son of the Eternal Father:
therefore in this part the Evangelist, illumined by the Spirit, sets forth a threefold parable, uttered through the mouth of the flesh of God, to denote the mercy of God toward human nature, of which the first is about the shepherd and his sheep;
the second is about the woman and the drachmas,
at the passage: Or what woman having ten drachmas;
the third about the father and sons,
at the passage: And he said: A certain man had two sons;
in which he manifestly shows that every creature in a certain way prefigures the mercy which God has with respect to man: the brute
creature, as the sheep, and the merely corporeal,
as the drachma, and the rational,
as man.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep.
Concerning the parable of the lost sheep,
therefore, he proceeds in this order. For first is expressed the solicitude of sorrow
for the lost sheep; second, the greatness of joy
for the sheep found, at the passage: And when he has found it,
etc.
In explaining the solicitude of sorrow
concerning the lost sheep, four things are introduced by the Evangelist, namely the possession of the whole multitude, the loss of the hundredth sheep,
the leaving behind of the multitude possessed,
and the seeking of the one lost.
7. (Vers. 3.). First, therefore, as regards the possession of the whole multitude,
which he wishes to be understood not literally, but parabolically, he says: And he spoke to them this parable.
He therefore speaks parabolically, because it befits his wisdom;
Psalm: "I will open my mouth in parables" etc.; and because the faithlessness of the Jews required this,
from whom the mysteries had to be veiled, according to that passage of Matthew thirteen: "Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear"; or because it befitted Sacred Scripture,
in which not only words but also things are signs for leading by the hand the understanding of little ones and the simple to conceive within themselves the manifold character of divine meanings, according to that passage of Proverbs one: "The Parables of Solomon, to know wisdom and discipline, to understand words of prudence and to receive the instruction of doctrine, that astuteness may be given to little ones, and to the youth knowledge and understanding".
8. (Vers. 4.). And since he speaks to little ones, he therefore sets forth manifest examples, when he says: What man of you, having a hundred sheep.
This man
among men is the Son of God, of whom Baruch three says: "After these things he was seen upon earth and conversed with men"; and Philippians two: "Made in the likeness of men, and found in appearance as a man". The sheep
of this man are rational creatures by reason of their implanted meekness; Matthew ten: "Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves"; and John ten: "My sheep hear my voice, and I give them eternal life". Moreover, these are called a hundred
on account of perfection, which is signified by the number one hundred because of the return of ten upon itself. Whence Bede says: "Because the number one hundred is perfect, God had a hundred sheep, that is, a perfect number, when he created the substance of Angels and men". For this reason it is also placed in the designation of perfect merit;
Matthew thirteen: "Another fell on good ground and brought forth fruit a hundredfold"; and Genesis twenty-six: "Isaac sowed in that land and found in that year a hundredfold". Likewise also as regards the perfection of reward:
Matthew nineteen: "Everyone who shall have left" etc., there follows: "He shall receive a hundredfold and shall possess eternal life". To have,
therefore, a hundred sheep
is to have creatures in a perfect number and in the state of their perfection.
9. Second, as to the loss of the hundredth sheep, he adds: And if he shall lose one of them. God lost one sheep out of a hundred when man sinned. Whence Bede: "One sheep perished when man by sinning abandoned the pastures of life. Of this sheep it is said in the Psalm: I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost; seek your servant, O Lord." Now man is called one sheep because all proceeded from one man, in whom they also sinned, according to that passage in Romans 5: "Through one man sin entered into the world, and through sin death, in whom all sinned." But on account of the variety of sins added thereupon, they are called many sheep; Isaiah 53: "All we like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned aside into his own way"; and 1 Peter 2: "You were as sheep going astray," etc. And this was so as long as man lacked a shepherd: 3 Kings 22: "I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains like sheep without a shepherd." For this sheep had run into the wolf, the devil, of whom it is said in John 10: "The wolf snatches and scatters the sheep," etc.
10. Third, as to the leaving behind of the multitude possessed, he adds: Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert? By the ninety-nine are understood the Angels, both because the number nine most fittingly suits the designation of the number of Angels on account of the threefold triad in the orders of Angels, signifying God who is three and one; and because, with the angels falling and man being lost, their number remained imperfect: whence the Gloss: "He left the ninety-nine, because the number of rational creatures, with man perishing, was diminished." Christ left these, not abandoning them locally, since he is always everywhere, but because he in no way took hold of them: Hebrews 2: "Nowhere does he take hold of Angels, but he takes hold of the seed of Abraham." Now he is said to have left them in the desert, that is, in heaven, which had been deserted by angels and men, and no one could any longer enter there. On account of which that heavenly homeland is compared to a desert; whence the Gloss: "In the desert, that is, in heaven, which has been deserted by man sinning"; on account of which also that heavenly Jerusalem is called deserted, according to that passage in Galatians 4: "That Jerusalem which is above is free, which is our mother. For it is written: Rejoice, O barren one who do not bear, for many are the children of the desolate, more than of her who has a husband": and Isaiah 35: "The desert and the pathless land shall rejoice, and the wilderness shall exult and blossom like a lily," etc.
11. Fourth, as regards the seeking of the single lost sheep, he adds: And he goes after that which was lost. To save this sheep, namely man, God, the Son of God, came into this world; below in the nineteenth chapter: "The Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost"; whence First Timothy 1: "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners." And Christ did this as a good shepherd: whence Ezekiel 34: "Behold, I myself will seek my sheep and will visit them, as a shepherd visits his flock." - But because the good shepherd does not cease from seeking before salvation, he therefore adds: Until he finds it. Now this sheep is found by Christ when it is freed from perdition by his blood, according to Deuteronomy 32: "The Lord alone was his leader, and there was no strange god with him." "He found him in a desert land, in a place of horror and vast solitude." Now God found lost men with great difficulty, according to Hosea 9: "I found Israel like grapes in the desert and like the first fruits of the fig tree." Whence this shepherd labored even unto death for the finding of his sheep, according to John 10: "The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep." On account of which this shepherd was also made a lamb among the sheep, that he might redeem the sheep, according to Isaiah 53: "He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before his shearer he shall be silent and shall not open his mouth." - Whence also that finding prefigured this finding, by which Abraham, wishing to offer his son, found a ram; Genesis 22: "Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw a ram caught by the horns among the briars, which he offered as a holocaust in place of his son." Therefore all those other sacrifices offered, of sheep as well as of lambs and of goats as well as of rams and calves, signify this: that "Christ entered once into the holy place by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption." And this is what it means to say: "He seeks diligently until he finds it."
12. (Verse 5). And when he has found it. After the anxiety of sorrow for the lost sheep, there follows here the greatness of joy for the sheep that has been found, concerning which three things are introduced, namely private exultation, public congratulation, and the principally intended conclusion.
First, therefore, as regards the private exultation
over the sheep that was found, he says: And when he has found it, he lays it upon his shoulders, rejoicing.
" These shoulders
," as Ambrose says, "are the arms of the cross"; "there," he says, "I laid down my sins, upon that noble neck of the gibbet I found rest." Upon these shoulders, therefore, he placed the lost sheep, because there he bore our sins; whence Isaiah fifty-three: "Surely he himself has borne our griefs, and he himself has carried our sorrows"; and First Peter two: "Who himself bore our sins in his own body upon the tree, that being dead to sins, we might live unto justice." And this is what Bede says: "He placed the sheep upon his shoulders, because, taking on human nature, he himself bore our sins." And he bore our sins on the cross, and he bore the cross on his shoulders, according to that passage of Isaiah nine: "The government was made upon his shoulder"; and Isaiah twenty-two: "I will place the key of the house of David upon his shoulder."
Upon this shoulder, rejoicing,
he carried us on account of the greatest charity which he himself had for our liberation: Isaiah forty: "Like a shepherd he will feed his flock, in his arm he will gather the lambs"; "the ewes with young he himself will carry." And this with the greatest joy, according to that passage of the last chapter of Isaiah: "You shall be carried at the breasts, and upon the knees they shall caress you. As one whom his mother caresses, so I also will comfort you." "You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like grass."
13. (Vers. 6.). Secondly, with regard to the public rejoicing, he adds: And coming home, he calls together his friends and neighbors. This house is the heavenly Jerusalem, of which Isaiah 60: "I will glorify the house of my majesty"; and John 14: "In my Father's house there are many mansions." Into this house Christ came at the ascension, concerning which coming Isaiah 63: "Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?" Into this he carries the sheep, because, as is said in Ephesians 4, "ascending on high, he led captivity captive." And there he calls together the Angels, who are called friends on account of their familiarity in knowing secrets; for this is a sign of friendship; John 15: "But I have called you friends," etc.; and neighbors, on account of their nearness in sharing consolations: whence Matthew 18: "Their angels in heaven always behold the face of the Father who is in heaven." The Lord calls these together to rejoice in harmony over the salvation of men: whence he also adds: Saying to them: Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep, which was lost. He says this as though giving them matter for rejoicing over the attainment of so great a benefit and of the charitable love which God showed to man; whence the Eternal Wisdom says in Proverbs 8: "My delights were to be with the sons of men." Whence Bede: "He does not say: Rejoice with the sheep that was found, but with me, because his joy is our life." Whence also in the expression of this most magnificent joy, the joyful recovery of the human race is called a nuptial joy, over which the heavenly citizens exult: Apocalypse 19: "I heard a voice as the voice of many Angels saying: Alleluia." "Let us rejoice and exult and give glory to God, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and the wife of the Lamb has prepared herself." For the Lamb espouses to himself the holy Church gathered from sinners, and the Lamb has the little sheep recovered.
14. (Vers. 7.). Thirdly, with regard to the conclusion principally intended, he adds: I say to you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner doing penance; Isaiah 49: "Praise, O heavens, and exult, O earth; shout forth praise, O mountains, because the Lord has consoled his people and will have mercy on his poor ones."
Great is the joy, because it is a greater thing to heal the sick than to preserve the healthy; and therefore he adds: Than over ninety-nine righteous ones, who have no need of repentance.
This however is said, not because the penitent sinner is better than the ninety-nine righteous, but because in the redemption of the human race God wrought greater things than in the preservation of the entire heavenly multitude; because this is manifesting of greater power,
greater wisdom, and
greater mercy:
of greater power, because it is a greater thing to justify the ungodly than to create heaven and earth; of greater wisdom,
because, Job twenty-six, "by his understanding he struck the proud one"; of greater clemency
or mercy: whence above in the first chapter: "Through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the Dayspring from on high has visited us." For greater was the condescension in Christ,
greater also the exaltation of the human race,
according to that word of the Psalm: "For your magnificence is elevated above the heavens." Whence this is understood with respect to the cause of our repentance,
namely the redemption of the human race, in which there is greater matter for joy than in all other works of God.
If however it is understood of any individual sinner, then it is understood because the joy is more novel,
or because the sinner is frequently more fervent
than the righteous one. Whence Gregory in the Moralia: "Certain ones are strengthened in the service of God from some prior weakness, and the desire for future things draws them to keeping the commandments, and the memory of past things impels them." Whence this does not refer to all sinners nor to all the righteous, but to sinners who are fervent after conversion and to the righteous who are tepid. Whence Gregory also gives an example, and Bede in the Gloss: "Greater is the joy over the sinner than over the righteous one who stands firm: just as a commander in battle loves that soldier more who, having returned after flight, vigorously presses the enemy, than the one who never fled and never acted valiantly." Or, this is said by reason of the confusion of the adversaries, according to that word of Isaiah nine: "They shall rejoice before you, as those who rejoice in the harvest, as victors exult when the spoil is taken, when they divide the plunder," etc.
The Parable of the Lost Drachma.
15. (Verse 8.). Or what woman
etc. After the parable of the shepherd and his sheep, there follows here the parable of the woman and the drachmas
; in which indeed under the metaphor of the drachma
there is manifested the mercy of God toward man,
and this in four ways, namely toward man as created,
toward man as fallen,
toward man as restored,
toward man as justified.
First, therefore, as regards the loving-kindness of God with respect to man as created, he says: Or what woman having ten drachmas. This woman is divine wisdom, who is called woman because she is to be loved as a most beautiful bride; the Wise Man, speaking of wisdom in Wisdom eight, says: "Her I loved and sought out from my youth, and I sought to take her as my bride, and I became a lover of her beauty." She is called woman, however, not from the weakness of sex, but from the loving-kindness of divine affection and mercy, by reason of which God compares himself to maternal affection: Isaiah forty-nine: "Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb?" etc. And therefore Wisdom says of herself in Sirach twenty-four: "I am the mother of fair love" etc. Whence, since the wisdom of God is most powerful, most beautiful, most provident, and also most merciful, she is given to be understood through the strong woman, according to what is said in the last chapter of Proverbs : "Who shall find a strong woman," that is, wisdom, which "reaches mightily" etc.; through the strong and good and beautiful woman: Sirach twenty-six: "As the sun rising upon the world"; through the provident woman: Proverbs fourteen: "The wise woman builds her house," that is, wisdom; through the pious woman, as in this parable. Whence the Gloss: "The woman, that is, the wisdom of God, had ten drachmas when she created men and Angels." The drachma, however, is the rational creature, marked with the divine image; whence the Gloss: "The drachma is a coin of a certain value, bearing the image of the king." Such a coin is man, of whom it is said in Genesis one: "Let us make man in our image and likeness"; whence also Sirach seventeen: "God created man from the earth and made him according to his own image." Such a coin is the angelic spirit: whence Ezekiel twenty-eight: "You were the seal of his likeness, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty; you were in the delights of the paradise of God." Therefore the ten drachmas are the nine orders of Angels and the tenth of men, for the completion of the whole universe, because within the number ten the universality of numbers is enclosed; whence also in it there is a certain completeness of numbers. Whence Bede: "The woman had ten drachmas when man was added as the tenth to the nine orders of Angels, so that the number of the elect might be completed." In this, therefore, the loving-kindness of God toward the rational creature as created appears, as toward a thing marked with his own image.
16. Second, as regards the compassion of God
with respect to fallen man,
he adds: And if she lose one drachma,
namely in man's transgression. For this lost
drachma
is human nature: whence the Gloss: "The woman, that is, the wisdom of God, had ten drachmas when she created men and Angels in her own image; but she lost one when man departed from the likeness of the Creator." Whence, because man is the tenth after the nine orders of Angels, he is rightly understood by the tenth drachma.
Hence it is that, to prefigure the liberation of mankind, God commanded the tithe
to be offered to himself.
Hence also it is that ten commandments
were given to him, through which, as through certain steps, he might ascend all the way to God. Hence also it is that, in the prefiguration of the Incarnation, the sun is said to have gone back ten lines,
as is said in the twentieth chapter of Fourth Kings; for the sun went back ten lines when God descended beyond the Angels all the way to man, who is the tenth. Hence also it is that the denarius
is the wage of all those laboring in the vineyard of the householder: Matthew twenty, "When he had agreed," etc. Rightly therefore the lost tenth
designates fallen human nature.
17. Toward this lost drachma, divine wisdom has compassion from mercy;
on account of which he adds: Does she not light a lamp,
in the Incarnation. A lamp
is a light in an earthen vessel, that is, God in human flesh: whence the Gloss: "The wisdom of God lit a lamp for seeking when she appeared in the flesh, because a lamp is a light in an earthen vessel, that is, the Word in flesh"; Of this lamp it is said in the Psalm: "There I shall make the horn of David to spring forth; I have prepared a lamp for my Christ." Whence, concerning the lighting of this lamp, it is said in John one: "The Word was God"; "it was the true light, which enlightens every man"; and afterward: "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." Nor only this, but she also overturns the house,
namely in preaching: the Gloss: "She overturns the house, because she disturbed the consciences of men concerning their guilt." And this pertains to preachers; whence it is said in Zephaniah one: "I will search Jerusalem with lamps and I will visit upon the men who are settled on their dregs."
And she seeks diligently until she finds it,
in our redemption: whence Wisdom six: "She goes about seeking those worthy of her, and she shows herself to them cheerfully in the ways, and meets them with all providence." Whence also that word of the Psalm befits her: "If I shall give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the Lord, a tabernacle for the God of Jacob," etc.
18. (Vers. 9.). Third, as regards the lovingkindness toward restored humanity,
he adds: And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors.
By the friends
and neighbors
of divine wisdom are understood the good Angels and holy souls. Whence the Gloss: "The friends and neighbors are the heavenly powers, who are as close to God as they more nearly contemplate him." They are therefore called friends of wisdom because they love her and are loved by her, according to that passage of Wisdom 7: "Through the nations she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God and prophets. For God loves none but the one who dwells with wisdom." To call together,
moreover, is nothing other than to unite in the oneness and conformity of love: Job 25: "Power and terror are with him, who makes concord in his high places"; and through this concord of mutual love he bestows a common matter of joy. — And therefore he adds: Saying: Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.
For Wisdom invites to shared rejoicing,
because this is the law of charity: First Corinthians 13: "Charity does not rejoice over iniquity, but rejoices together with the truth"; and the Wise Man says in Wisdom 8: "Thinking on these things, that immortality is in the contemplation of wisdom, and in her friendship good delight," because she wills the joys of all to be shared,
not private, as especially in that heavenly Jerusalem above. Whence Tobit 13: "Give thanks to the Lord in your good things and bless the God of the ages, that he may call back to you all your captives, and you may rejoice for ever and ever." For in this rediscovery of the coin, the restoration of the number of the elect in that Jerusalem takes place; and this is a great matter of gladness: Isaiah 65: "Behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing and her people a joy," because they rejoice together with divine wisdom and with our salvation, according to that passage of the last chapter of Isaiah: "Rejoice with Jerusalem and exult in her, all you who love her; be glad with her in joy, all you who mourned over her, that you may suck and be filled from the breasts of her consolation; that you may drink deeply and abound in delights from her all-encompassing glory."
19. (Vers. 10.). Fourth, as regards the lovingkindness of God
toward justified humanity,
he adds: So I say to you: There is joy among the Angels of God over one sinner doing penance.
The Angels
rejoice over the penance of a sinful person because guilt
is destroyed, justice
is recovered, the pride of the demons
is confounded, the guardianship of the Angels
is made efficacious, the Church
is restored, divine
wrath is appeased, and because the heavenly Jerusalem
is rebuilt. And over these seven things the blessed Angels rejoice most greatly; and therefore also over the penance of the sinner,
in which they see the aforesaid seven things come to pass, there is joy among the Angels of God.
First, because fault is destroyed:
Acts 3: "Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out." Whence it is said in Mark 1 that "John was preaching the baptism of penance for the remission of sins," etc.
Second, because through penance justice is recovered:
whence Apocalypse 2: "Remember from whence you have fallen, and do penance, and do the first works"; and Ecclesiasticus 17: "To the penitent God gave the way of justice and strengthened those who were failing."
Third, because through penance the pride of demons is confounded:
the Psalm: "Depart from me, all you who work iniquity, for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping"; and afterwards: "Let all my enemies be ashamed and be greatly troubled," etc. For then the demons are ashamed of their impudence, when the sinner through penance is ashamed of his fault: Jeremiah 31: "After you converted me, I did penance." "I am confounded and I blushed, because I bore the reproach of my youth." Fourth, because through penance the guardianship of the Angels is made efficacious:
whence Apocalypse 3: "Those whom I love, I rebuke and chastise. Be zealous therefore and do penance. Behold, I stand at the door and knock." For the Angel guarding us does this with solicitude.
Fifth, because through penance the Church is restored:
on account of which it is said in Matthew 9: "I came not to call the just, but sinners" to penance. For Christ calls to ecclesiastical unity, in which the remission of sins is effected and heavenly grace is given, according to that passage in Ezekiel 18: "If the impious man shall do penance for all his sins, he shall live and shall not die."
Sixth, because the divine wrath is appeased:
Ecclesiasticus 12: "The Most High hates sinners and has mercy on the penitent"; and Jeremiah 18: "If that nation shall do penance for its evil, I also will repent of the evil that I thought to do to it."
Seventh, because through penance the heavenly Jerusalem is restored to wholeness.
Whence Matthew 4: "Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven shall draw near." And for this reason the heavenly citizens exult, as is declared here: There is joy among the Angels of God over one sinner doing penance.
For they see how great is the power of penance, which not only recovers what was lost but also obtains far more from the divine mercy; whence Job, last chapter: "The Lord was moved by the penance of Job. And the Lord added double all things that had been Job's."
20. And for this reason all who love God, who love the good, and who have an affection of piety ought to exult with the Angels over the conversion and repentance of sinners. Whence the Apostle, Second Corinthians seven: "Even if I made you sorrowful for an hour, now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because you were made sorrowful unto repentance. For you were made sorrowful according to God, so that you might suffer loss in nothing. For the sorrow that is according to God works repentance unto steadfast salvation." And afterward he adds: "For it works in you solicitude; but also defense, but also indignation, but also fear, but also desire, but also zeal, but also vindication." And from these things due honor is rendered to the divine majesty, the heavenly number is restored, and the unity of ecclesiastical peace is recovered. And therefore in the conversion and repentance of one sinner the supercelestial, celestial, and subcelestial hierarchy rightly exults.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son.
21. And he said: A certain man had two sons.
After the parable of the shepherd and his sheep and of the woman and the drachmas, there is here subjoined a third parable, of the father and sons,
so that, since the piety of a father toward his son is the greatest, the greatest piety of God toward the converted sinner might be shown here, who is understood through the prodigal son.
And since the mercy of the father is shown in this, that he relieved the misery of his son who first sinned and afterward repented, therefore in this parable the Evangelist describes four things. For first he describes the insolence of the prodigal son;
second, his misery and want,
at the place: And after he had consumed all things;
third, his repentance,
at the place: But he, returning to himself, said,
etc.; fourth, the mercy of the father,
at the place: But when he was yet a long way off.
And indeed he does this in a most correct progression and order. For insolence
cast him headlong into misery and want; want
aroused him to repentance; and repentance
prepared him to obtain the mercy of the father.
Concerning the expression of the insolence of the prodigal son,
three things are introduced by the Evangelist, namely: the condition of human liberty, the perpetration of voluntary fault,
and the dissipation of the good of grace and nature.
22. (Verse 11). First, therefore, with regard to the condition of human freedom, he says: And he said: A certain man had two sons. By this man, as has often been said, we understand the benign and merciful Lord. For he himself, by reason of his supreme mercy, which renders him benign and compassionate toward man, can rightly be called man; whence Daniel 10: "One like the appearance of a man touched me and strengthened me." For this signification also, God frequently appeared to the holy Patriarchs and Prophets in human form through a subject creature. By the two sons, however, we understand the universality of the human race, not only with regard to Gentiles and Jews, as the Gloss explains, but also generally with regard to the innocent and the penitent, as must be understood from the application of the parable itself. Whence Bede: "This parable can be understood concerning the Jew and the Gentile, and generally concerning the penitent and the just, or the one who seems just to himself." And these are called sons, because they were created in freedom of choice and for the possession of an eternal inheritance; John 8: "The servant does not remain in the house forever, but the son remains forever"; whence in the Psalm: "As a father has mercy on his children, so the Lord has had mercy on those who fear him."
23. (Verse 12). And because freedom of choice in the vain and sinful frequently presumes upon its own powers and usurps for itself what belongs to God, therefore he adds: And the younger of them said to the father: Father, give me the portion of the substance that falls to me. This younger one is said to be the one who is more vain and more intent upon sensible goods, according to that saying of Ecclesiastes 11: "For youth and pleasure are vanity"; and Ecclesiastes, in the same chapter above: "Rejoice, O young man, in your youth"; "and know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment." This youth seeks his portion when he wishes to be left to his own freedom, so that he might walk no longer according to the command of grace, but according to the inclination of his own will. Whence Bede: "Substance is everything that we do, that we live, understand, think, and speak. Therefore the younger asks that a portion of this substance be given to him, when man, delighting in his own rational sense, sought to govern himself through free choice and to depart from the dominion of the Creator." This petition was not for himself, but rather against himself, because he asked to be exposed to himself and to be abandoned to his own judgment; just as also the petition of the children of Israel by which they had asked for a king; 1 Kings 8: "The children of Israel said to Samuel: Appoint for us a king, that he may judge us." "And the Lord said to Samuel: They have not rejected you, but me, lest I reign over them."
And because the Lord, by just judgment, leaves to himself the one who presumes of himself, therefore he adds: And he divided unto them his substance.
For so it was fitting, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus fifteen: "God from the beginning made man and left him in the hand of his own counsel." For thus the Lord acts by just judgment, according to that passage of Matthew twenty-five: "To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability," etc.
24. (Verse 13). Second, as regards the perpetration of voluntary fault,
he adds: And not many days after, having gathered all together,
through the dominion of free will, which has authority over all the natural powers: the younger son went abroad into a far country,
and this by perpetrating sin. For a region
is called far
from God, not as regards local position, since God is everywhere, but through dissimilarity of will. Whence the Gloss: "He went into a far country,
not by changing place, but disposition. For the more one transgresses in wicked work, the further one recedes from the grace of God"; whence Proverbs fifteen: "The Lord is far from the wicked, and he will hear the prayers of the just." Now sin is a far country
from God because, since it is iniquity,
it distances from the highest goodness,
according to that passage of Isaiah fifty-nine: "Your iniquities have divided between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you." Since it is darkness,
it distances from the highest light and truth:
First John one: "God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth"; and a little after he adds, concerning which darkness he means: "He who hates his brother is in darkness," etc. Since also sin is nothing,
it distances from the highest being:
on account of which Jeremiah two: "What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they went far from me and walked after vanity?" Concerning these three together, Second Corinthians six: "What participation has justice with iniquity? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Belial?" "And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?" And therefore the sinner deservedly, who distances himself from God through sin and goes into a far country far from the heavenly region, is cast into hell, which is the region of death and darkness, according to that passage of Job ten: "Before I go to the dark land covered with the mist of death, the land of misery and darkness, where the shadow of death and no order," etc.
25. Third, as regards the dissipation of the good of grace and nature,
he adds: He wasted his substance. He wasted
it, I say, through spiritual sins,
which especially waste the soul, and this indeed through pride:
Nahum two: "As the Lord has restored the pride of Jacob, so the pride of Israel, for the despoilers have despoiled them and have corrupted their branches."
Likewise, through vainglory:
Isaiah three: "O my people, those who call you blessed, they themselves deceive you and scatter the way of your steps." Likewise, through envy,
according to that word of the Psalm: "Our bones are scattered beside hell," supply: through envy, of which it is said in Proverbs fourteen: "Envy is the rottenness of the bones."
Likewise, through wrath:
the Psalm: "They were scattered and felt no remorse; they gnashed upon me with their teeth." Whence the wrathful person is like one possessed by a demon, of whom above in chapter nine: "He suddenly cries out and dashes him down and scatters him with foaming."
Likewise, he squandered through sloth,
according to that word of Proverbs eighteen: "He who is soft and lax in his work is the brother of him who squanders his own works." — And because spiritual
sins frequently plunge one into carnal sins,
therefore he adds: Living dissolutely,
with respect to gluttony and lust,
according to that word of Proverbs twenty: "Wine is a luxurious thing, and drunkenness is riotous: whoever delights in these will not be wise." Whence in these is the consummation of squandering, according to that word of Job thirty-one: "It is a fire devouring unto destruction and uprooting all increase." Whence by these sins not only are the powers of the soul squandered, but also the members of the body and temporal riches, and through this the whole substance of a person is squandered, namely of possessions, members, and morals. On account of which, Proverbs twenty-nine: "A man who loves wisdom gladdens his father; but he who nourishes harlots will lose his substance," because in such things is fulfilled that word of the Psalm: "Man, when he was in honor, did not understand," etc.
26. (Verse 14.). And after he had consumed all things,
etc. After describing the insolence of the prodigal son, here he describes his misery and want,
and this with respect to three things, namely with respect to the hardship of famine,
with respect to the disgrace of servitude,
and with respect to the most extreme kind of beggary.
First, therefore, with respect to the hardship of famine,
he says: And after he had consumed all things,
namely with fault devastating everything,
according to that word of Wisdom three: "Dire are the consummations of a wicked nation"; concerning which consummation, James one: "Concupiscence, when it has conceived, brings forth sin; but sin, when it has been consummated, begets death."
There arose a great famine in that region,
namely by divine justice taking vengeance.
This famine
is the want of spiritual goods; whence the Gloss: "A great famine in a far country
is the want of the word of truth in forgetfulness of the Creator." And concerning this famine, Amos 8: "I will send a famine upon the land; not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the word of God"; and concerning this in the Psalm: "He called a famine upon the land," etc. And he himself began to be in want, with no one
namely helping:
whence Ambrose: "Of virtues, their source having been abandoned. Rightly therefore is he in want who has abandoned the treasures of wisdom and the height of heavenly riches"; whence Proverbs 13: "Poverty and shame shall be to him who forsakes instruction"; and this on account of fault: because, Proverbs 14, "sin makes peoples miserable." On account of which Bede says: "Every place, when the Father is absent, is destitution."
For just as, when wisdom comes, all the goods of wisdom come, Wisdom 7: "All good things came to me together with her, and innumerable riches through her hands"; so when she departs, all good things withdraw, and want comes upon one, according to that of Proverbs 3: "Want from the Lord is in the house of the wicked, but the dwellings of the just shall be blessed."
27. (Verse 15). Secondly, as to the reproach of servitude,
he adds: And he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that region: now a citizen
in the region of unlikeness and of sin is one who has established his permanent dwelling in sin. Among these citizens, the one and first is the devil himself; whence the Gloss: "That one of the citizens is he who, set over earthly lusts by the merit of his depravity, is called the prince of the world,"
according to that of John 14: "For the prince of this world comes," etc. One joins himself to this citizen when he wills to do his will in all things; which sinners do, as is indicated in 2 Maccabees 4 concerning certain ones, of whom it is said that "they desired to be like those whom they had as enemies and destroyers."
And note that it says he joined himself,
because the devil does not have power
except insofar as the sinner gives it to him of his own free will: whence in the person of the devil it is said in Isaiah 51: "Bow down, that we may pass over."
And because, having received power, the devil always incites man to sins, therefore he adds: And he sent him into his country estate, to feed swine.
By swine
are understood demons, on account of their coarseness,
by reason of which, Matthew seven: "Do not give what is holy to dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet." Likewise, on account of their carnality:
Second Peter two: "It has happened to them according to the true proverb: The sow that was washed returns to wallowing in the mire"; and carnality does this, whence Proverbs eleven: "A golden ring in the snout of a swine, a beautiful and foolish woman," because the devil through her defiles many. Now this coarseness
demons have in themselves, but carnality
they suggest to others; on account of which they are also called unclean spirits:
whence they are rightly akin to swine,
according to that passage in Matthew eight: "If you cast us out, send us into the swine." For these swine are fed on the filth of sins, because in this alone do demons take delight; whence Ambrose says: "The food of demons is drunkenness, fornication, and things of this sort, which are alluring and incite to their own enjoyment, nor is there any other care for the dissolute than to fill their belly: whose God is their belly."
Concerning these, Philippians three: "Whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things." Whence these swine are fed by swinish men, in whom reigns coarseness
of understanding, carnality
of concupiscence, cupidity
of avarice. And such men, after the manner of swine, avail for nothing whatsoever unto life,
but only unto destruction:
in designation of which it is said above in chapter eight, that "with a great rush the herd went into the lake and was drowned," etc.
28. (Vers. 16.). Third, however, as regards the extreme kind of beggary, he adds: And he desired to fill his belly with the husks that the swine were eating. "The husk, as the Gloss says, is a kind of legume with noisy and empty pods, which burdens the belly more than it refreshes it." And therefore it designates the pleasures of vices, which sometimes seem to the sinner to sound like something outwardly, but inwardly are nothing; whence pleasures of this kind are compared to dreams: Isaiah twenty-nine, "As when a hungry man dreams and eats, but when he has awakened, his soul is empty; and as when a thirsty man dreams and drinks, and after he has awakened, he is still weary and thirsts, and his soul is empty: so shall be the multitude of all the nations that have fought against Mount Zion." The swine eat these husks, because, Proverbs two, "they rejoice when they have done evil and exult in the worst things." And with these pleasures, as though they were his delights, the sinner seeks and desires to be satisfied; whence concerning such persons, Job thirty: "Who gnawed in the wilderness, squalid with calamity and misery. And they chewed herbs and the bark of trees, and the root of junipers was their food." "Who rejoiced among such things and counted it a delight to be under thorns." — And because man cannot be satisfied with such things, therefore he adds: And no one gave to him; because frequently, when a sinner seeks pleasures of this kind, by the just judgment of God he loses them. Whence Hosea two, the sinful soul says: "I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my waters and my wool and my linen and my oil and my drink. Therefore behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns and wall it up with a barrier, and she shall not find her paths"; and after: "I will cause all her joy to cease, and her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her feasts." And God does this so that sinners turned away from Him through pleasures He may call back to Himself through afflictions. Whence Augustine in the book of the Confessions: "All my pleasures," he says, "You sprinkled with bitternesses, O Lord God, so that I might seek to rejoice without offense and might not find it except in You." No one therefore gives of these husks when carnal consolation is withdrawn from the sinner, so that thus at least he may return to the knowledge of God and of himself; and just as he was intoxicated through pleasure, so he may awaken through tribulation, according to that saying of Isaiah twenty-eight: "Only vexation shall give understanding to the hearing"; whence also Leviticus twenty-six: "I will send pestilence in the midst of you, and you shall be delivered into the hands of enemies." "And you shall eat and not be satisfied."
29. (Vers. 17.). But he, coming to himself. After having described the prodigal son's insolence and misery, he describes here thirdly his repentance, which he describes as fully sufficient, namely as regards the humility of contrition, confession, and satisfaction.
First, therefore, as regards the humility of contrition, he says: But he, coming to himself, namely through the recognition of his own iniquity, because the pain of compunction causes one to examine the internal conscience; on account of which he says: Coming to himself, according to that passage of Isaiah forty-six: "Return, transgressors, to the heart."
The pain of compunction also causes one to consider the happiness that has been lost; on account of which he adds: He said: How many hired servants in my father's house abound in bread! That is, in the house of God they live happily and pleasantly. And note that some are evil hired servants, of whom John ten says: "But the hired servant flees, because he is a hired servant." These, even if they sometimes abound in the house of the supreme Father in material bread, yet not in spiritual bread; on account of which Matthew six says: "Amen I say to you: They have received their reward." And to such it is said in Isaiah fifty-five: "Why do you weigh out silver not for bread," etc. Others are good hired servants, of whom the penultimate chapter of Genesis says: "Issachar, a strong ass, saw that rest was good and that the land was excellent, and he bowed his shoulders." And these are they who serve for an eternal reward, and such frequently abound in the bread of faith, hope, and charity, of which above in the eleventh chapter: "Friend, lend me three loaves"; and of which in the Psalm: "I will satisfy his poor with bread."
Compunction likewise causes one to behold one's own calamity; whence he adds: But I here am perishing with hunger, namely on account of the lack of divine grace and doctrine; and this is a great calamity: Lamentations four: "Better were those slain by the sword than those killed by hunger, for these wasted away, consumed by the barrenness of the land"; and on behalf of these it is said in Lamentations two: "Lift up your hands for the souls of your little ones, who have fainted from hunger at the head of every street." From this affliction of compunction, however, the spirit is provoked and aroused; on account of which in the Psalm: "I am afflicted and humbled exceedingly; I roared from the groaning of my heart"; and there follows: "For I am ready for scourges."
30. (Verse 18). Secondly, as regards the humility of confession, he adds: I will arise and go to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, in which he confesses that he has sinned against ecclesiastical unity, which is understood by the name of heaven. For in this God dwells; the last chapter of Isaiah: "Heaven is my throne"; and in the Psalm: "The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven." — He also confesses that he has sinned against the divine majesty; whence he adds: And before you, because all things are open to him: Hebrews four: "All things are naked and open to the eyes of him with whom we have to do." On account of which it is said in Proverbs sixteen: "All the ways of men are open to his eyes, and the Lord is the weigher of spirits."
31. (Vers. 19.). And because an offense against such great majesty deprives us of the dignity of divine filiation, he therefore confesses his own unworthiness, when he adds: Now I am not worthy to be called your son:
and this indeed he confesses rightly and truly, because to be a son of God belongs to the greatest charity, according to that passage in 1 John 3: "See, brethren, what manner of charity the Father has given us, that we should be called and should be sons of God." Of this name the sinner is unworthy, because he despised his Father, according to that passage in Isaiah 1: "I have nourished and exalted sons, but they themselves have despised me."
And since it belongs to true confession not only to confess the impiety of sin and the unworthiness of the sinner, but also to implore mercy:
he therefore adds: Make me as one of your hired servants.
And note that here a distinction is made between son
and servant
and hired servant:
because a son
is one who serves out of love:
Galatians 4: "Because you are sons of God, God has sent the spirit of his Son" etc.; a servant,
who serves out of fear:
Malachi 1: "A son honors his father, but a servant shall fear his lord"; but a hired servant
is one who serves out of hope of the eternal inheritance,
concerning which hired servant Job 7 says: "The life of man upon earth is a warfare, and his days are like the days of a hired servant. As a servant longs for the shade, and as a hired servant awaits the end of his work, so too have I numbered for myself empty months and laborious nights."
From these things therefore it is gathered that confession ought to be true
and humble,
so that the gravity of sin may be recognized, the unworthiness of the sinner,
and the mercy of the loving father may be implored,
namely with a humble disposition, because it is said in Sirach 35: "The prayer of him who humbles himself shall penetrate the clouds." An example of this is found below in chapter 18 concerning the publican.
32. (Vers. 20.). Third, with respect to the humility of satisfaction,
he adds: And rising up he came to his father.
By this rising
is understood the abandonment of sin and a certain distancing from it, which is the beginning of satisfaction.
For "to make satisfaction is to cut off the causes of sins and not to grant them an entrance for sinning"; whence also as a figure of this, to the young man still dead
it was said above in chapter 7: "Young man, I say to you, arise," so that guilt might be abandoned.
Similarly to the man crippled
it was said in John 5: "Arise, take up your bed and walk," so that the consequences of sins might be left behind.
Similarly to Peter shackled
it was said in Acts 12: "Arise quickly," so that the occasion of sin
or evil company and habit might be left behind. On account of which it is said to the sinner in Ephesians 5: "Arise, you who sleep, and rise from the dead" etc.
And because "it is too little not to do evil unless one also strives to labor in good works," there is immediately added: He came to his father,
through imitation of him; John 14: "No one comes to the Father except through me." He came,
I say, so that he who had previously departed through proud transgression might now come to the father through humble satisfaction, according to that passage of Isaiah 60: "All who disparaged you shall come to you and shall worship the traces of your feet," etc. Everyone who thus comes is by God drawn:
John 6: "No one comes to me unless my Father has drawn him"; and the one so drawn is aided;
Job 23: "Who will grant me that I may know and find him and come even to his throne?"; and the one so aided is received:
John 6: "Him who comes to me, I will not cast out."
33. But when he was yet a long way off.
After having described the insolence, misery, and penitence, here in the fourth place is described the mercy of the loving father .
This part is divided into two. In the first of which is described the mercy of the loving father
in accepting the conversion of the sinner:
second, in placating the indignation of the obedient one,
at the passage : But his elder son was
etc.
The mercy,
moreover, accepting the conversion of the prodigal son,
the Evangelist manifests with respect to a threefold act, namely first, in receiving the unworthy one;
second, in clothing the naked one,
at the passage: But the father said to his servants:
third, in refreshing the famished one,
at the passage: And bring the fatted calf.
For this is the order of the restoration of the soul through the gift of paternal mercy: that first it is received
into the benignity of grace; second, it is clothed
with the garment of justice; third, it is refreshed
with the sweetness of joy and interior gladness. Concerning the mercy,
therefore, receiving the unworthy one,
two things are introduced, namely the clemency of the father receiving
and the reverence of the son accusing himself.
34. First, therefore, with respect to the clemency of the father receiving,
he says: But when he was yet a long way off,
on account of the fault that distances one from God: the Psalm: "Far from my salvation are the words of my offenses"; and again: "Salvation is far from sinners, because they have not kept your justifications."
His father saw him and was moved with compassion,
by pouring in prevenient grace,
concerning which regard, below in chapter 22: "The Lord looked upon Peter"; "and going out, Peter wept bitterly." And concerning this, Exodus 3: "I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and I have descended to deliver them." The Prophet sought this regard when he said: "See my humility and my labor and forgive all my offenses"; and again: "Look upon me and have mercy on me," etc.
And running to him, he fell upon his neck,
through concomitant grace:
as if to say: he embraced him, according to that passage of Song of Songs chapter two: " His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me"; and this is through concomitant grace,
which assists in bearing the yoke of the divine law. Whence Ambrose says: " Upon the neck
of his son he fell, while he placed upon him the light yoke of love ". For this yoke
assists in bearing the burden. The embrace
of the divine arm is the humanity of the incarnate Word; whence the Gloss says: "He humbled his arm, that is, his Son, into the embrace of the one returning"; concerning which arm it is said in the Psalm: " His right hand and his holy arm have wrought salvation for him ". And through this embrace
the chains of sins are loosed, according to that passage of Isaiah chapter fifty-two: " Loose the chains of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion ". And he kissed him,
through grace,
namely subsequent:
for a kiss is a sign of love and peace. Whence Bede says: " The one returning receives the kiss of charity from the father, when through grace he is assured of pardon ", according to that passage of Ephesians chapter one: "In whom believing, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the pledge of our inheritance ". This kiss of love and peace the bride seeks in Song of Songs chapter one: " Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth, for better are" etc. In this there appears an exceeding affection of loving-kindness, by which God the Father shows to the returning sinner the greatest sign of love. And through this God the Father knows whether we are his children, when we willingly kiss him through mutual love: Genesis chapter twenty-seven: " Come near to me and give me a kiss, my son; and he drew near and kissed him "; and it follows that " he blessed him ": because the fullness of blessing proceeds from this kiss. Whence in the Psalm: " You have blessed, O Lord, your land "; and it is added: " Mercy and truth have met each other; justice and peace have kissed". The origin of this kiss is in the incarnate Word, in whom there is the union of the highest love and the joining of a twofold nature, through which God kisses us and we kiss God in return, according to that passage of Song of Songs chapter eight: " Who will give you to me as my brother, that I may find you outside and kiss you, and now no one may despise me " etc.
35. (Vers. 21.). Second, with respect to the reverence of the son accusing himself
he adds: And the son said to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven,
namely through contempt of the Majesty
presiding over all things: Job 11: "It is higher than heaven, and what will you do? It is deeper than hell, and how will you know?"; and 22: "Do you not know that God is higher than heaven?" etc. Against heaven
therefore he sins who despises the God of heaven: whence it is said in 1 Ezra 9: "My iniquities are multiplied above my head, and our offenses have grown up even to heaven," etc. And before you,
through contempt of the Truth
beholding all things: Ecclesiasticus 23: "The eyes of the Lord are far more bright than the sun, looking about all the ways of men and the depth of the abyss, and beholding all hearts into hidden parts. For to the Lord our God, before they were created, all things are known; so also after their completion he beholds all things"; the Psalm: "Against you alone have I sinned, and done evil before you." - Now I am no longer worthy to be called your son,
on account of contempt of the Goodness
providing for all things: Wisdom 12: "But you, Lord of power, judge with tranquility and with great reverence dispose of us. For it is at your disposal, whenever you will, to act.
But you have taught your people that one must be just and humane, and you have made your children of good hope, because in judging you grant a place for repentance from sins." Because therefore I have despised this supreme goodness, whose office it is to give "the spirit of adoption of sons," according to that passage in Romans 8: "You have not received the spirit of servitude again in fear, but the spirit of adoption of sons"; whose office it also is to regenerate through water and the Holy Spirit into the kingdom of the sons of God, according to that passage in Colossians 1: "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love": now I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
36. And note that although the father runs to meet him, clasps his neck in an embrace, although he receives him with a kiss, nevertheless the true penitent never forgets his sin, according to that verse of the Psalm: "For I am ready for scourges, and my sorrow is continually before me. For I will declare my iniquity and will think upon my sin." Although he acknowledges this, he nonetheless yearns for perfect charity.
And therefore he does not here seek mercenary love,
as he did above, when he did not yet have infused grace. But now, fully turned back to the father, as one truly penitent he commends and entreats divine grace: and this is what the Gloss says: "He wills," it says, "to become through grace what he confesses himself unworthy of by merit," as that penitent asked in the last chapter of 2 Chronicles: "Now I bend my knees before you, imploring your goodness. I have sinned, Lord, and I acknowledge my iniquity: I ask and beseech you: Lord, forgive me, and do not destroy me together with my iniquities, nor reserve evils for me forever, for you will save me, unworthy as I am, according to your great mercy, and I will praise you always, all the days of my life; for the host of heaven praises you, and yours is the glory forever and ever."
37. (Verse 22). But the father said to his servants.
After the father's mercy in receiving the unworthy one has been shown, there is here subjoined mercy in clothing the naked.
And since the sinner is stripped of the garment of interior purity
and the adornment of exterior uprightness,
therefore with respect to these two things he shows that the prodigal son is restored through the father's mercy.
First, therefore, with respect to the garment of interior purity,
he says: But the father said to his servants: Quickly bring forth the first robe and clothe him. The first robe
is the garment of interior purity,
with which our mind ought to be clothed and with which it was clothed from the beginning of its creation. Whence Bede says: "The first robe is the garment of innocence in which the first man was created: but after the fall he knew himself to be naked and took on a garment of skins, that is, a mortal covering." Concerning this garment of purity it is said in Apocalypse 3: "That you may be clothed in white garments, and the shame of your nakedness may not appear." With these garments one is clothed who keeps himself in purity through the help of divine grace, according to that passage in Apocalypse 3: "You have a few names in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy." This garment of purity, moreover, is given through the reception of the Sacraments, namely of baptism,
which washes away all stains, as a sign of which the baptized person is clothed in a white garment; and also of penance,
which "strives to restore one to the purity of baptism," as Augustine says. And because this dispensation of the Sacraments is carried out through the diligence of ministers, therefore it is said that the father said to the servants,
that is, to the ministers. For thus he said in John 20: "Receive the Holy Spirit: whose sins you shall forgive," etc.
38. Second, as regards the adornment of outward propriety, there is added: And put a ring on his hand, signifying the beauty of modesty: for a ring on the hands signifies betrothal through chaste love. From this we understand that he bears a ring on his hand who preserves modesty in his works. This modesty, even though it appears in the integrity of the flesh, consists chiefly in the integrity of faith, according to that passage in Second Corinthians 11: "I have espoused you to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." Hence the ring is the seal of faith, by which the soul is pledged, so that its works may be pleasing to Christ: because, Hebrews 11, "without faith it is impossible to please God." Therefore blessed Agnes also said: "With the ring of His faith He has pledged me." But then the ring is on the hand when faith shines forth in action: because, James 2, "faith without works is dead." Hence the Gloss of Ambrose: "A ring, that is, the seal of faith, by which the promises are sealed in the hearts of the faithful: put it on his hand, that is, in action, so that through works faith may shine forth, and through faith works may be confirmed." As a figure of this, Genesis 41, "Pharaoh took the ring from his hand and gave it into the hand of Joseph."
And because it does not suffice that one be modest in his works unless he also be obedient and humble, therefore he adds: And sandals on his feet, signifying namely the readiness of obedience; for he who is shod is ready to journey: on account of which, Ephesians 6: "Having your feet shod in the preparation of the Gospel of peace." But this obedience is most pleasing when it proceeds from filial affection: Song of Songs 7: "How beautiful are your steps in sandals, O daughter of the prince!" And because no one is fit to pass "from this world to the Father" unless he has the readiness of obedience: therefore in the eating of the paschal lamb this form is given, Exodus 12: "You shall gird your loins and have sandals on your feet, holding staffs in your hands, and you shall eat in haste: For it is the Passover, that is, the passing of the Lord."
39. And this obedience is especially required in preachers by the example of Christ and the Saints: Isaiah fifty-two: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who announces and preaches peace, who announces salvation, who says to Zion: The Lord shall reign!" Whence Bede: "Sandals on the feet, that is, fortify the examples of those who came before in the office of preaching, so that his work may be adorned by living well and his course by preparing for eternal things." Whence, because sandals are made from the skins of dead animals, and through this they can signify the examples of the Fathers, as Bede says here in the Gloss, therefore it is said that they are given for the feet. Because they can signify the oldness of sin, therefore it is said to Moses in Exodus three: "Take the sandals from your feet"; and above in the tenth chapter: "Do not carry either a purse or sandals." Whence above he speaks of sandals in the literal sense, but here through a parabolic similitude.
40. (Verse 23). And bring the fatted calf. After the mercy in receiving the unworthy and clothing the naked, there is added here the mercy in refreshing the hungry. And this in right order, because after the remission of sins and the clothing with virtues there follows the delight of divine pleasures, which arises from a twofold consideration, namely from the consideration of our Savior and of the saved man.
First, therefore, with regard to the consideration of our Savior Christ, he says: Bring the fatted calf and kill it. This fatted calf is Christ slain for us, who is set before us in the Sacrament of the altar as the sweetest food. Christ, moreover, is called a calf because he was offered for sins: Leviticus one: "He shall immolate the calf before the Lord, and the sons of Aaron the priests shall offer his blood, pouring it around the circuit of the altar, which is before the door of the tabernacle." He is called fatted, moreover, because he is filled with all good things and most sweet for spiritual food; whence the Gloss: "Christ is the fatted calf, rich in every spiritual virtue, so as to suffice for the salvation of the whole world." Concerning this, in a figure, in Genesis eighteen, about the banquet made by Abraham for the Angels, it is said that "Abraham ran to the herd and brought from there a most tender and excellent calf." This calf the servants of Christ bring and kill, when they immolate him on the altar for the salvation of sinners and set him before us as food; whence the Gloss: "Christ is always immolated for believers." Or he is then brought and killed, when his death and the Sacrament of the altar are recalled to memory by the preacher for sustenance and food; whence Bede: "Preach that Christ was born and make known his death, so that he may both believe in his heart that Christ was slain by imitating him, and receive with his mouth the Sacrament of the Passion for amendment." Whence, even though all Christians have refreshment in the Passion of Christ, those are especially delighted who through it see themselves snatched and freed from greater evils and dangers and sins.
And therefore he adds: And let us eat and feast,
not at a carnal banquet,
of which the impious say: "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die," according to what Isaiah says in the twenty-second chapter; but at a spiritual one,
of which First Corinthians 5: "Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. Therefore let us feast, not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth"; of which Song of Songs 5: "Eat, O friends, and drink; be inebriated, dearest ones."
In this banquet Christ is the food, the guest,
and the steward,
because he himself delights with us, and we with him, and this by his own doing: Revelation 3: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone shall open to me, I will enter in and dine with him, and he with me."
41. (Verse 24). Secondly, as regards the consideration of the man who is saved,
he adds: Because this my son was dead,
through sin,
which makes men dead: Psalm: "The dead shall not praise you, O Lord"; and again John 8: "You shall die in your sin." And has come back to life,
through repentance:
Ephesians 5: "Rise, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall enlighten you"; and Psalm: "You shall take away their spirit, and they shall fail." "Send forth your spirit," etc. Was lost,
through the loss of justice:
Romans 2: "Those who have sinned without the Law shall perish without the Law"; and Second Peter 2: "They shall perish in their corruption, receiving the wages of their injustice." And is found,
through the recovery of grace,
according to that saying in Job 33: "I have found that whereby I may be merciful to him." And the Lord does this when he pours his grace into the soul: Psalm: "I have found David my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him."
And because all ought to rejoice at this, therefore he adds: And they all began to eat and feast.
Bede: "Not only is the son refreshed, for whom the calf was killed, but also the father and his servants, because the refreshment of God and the Saints is the salvation of sinners." As a figure of this it is said in Deuteronomy 16: "You shall feast at your festival, you and your son and your daughter and your servant and your handmaid, and also the Levite, the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are within your gates," etc.
42. Now his son was etc. After he showed the mercy of the loving father in accepting the conversion of the penitent, here secondly he shows his mercy in appeasing the indignation of the obedient son.
Now this part is divided into two. In the first of which is expressed the impatience of the son
in conceiving indignation; secondly, the clemency of the father
in appeasing the indignation, at the words: His father therefore went out etc.
Concerning the impatience of the indignant son,
the Evangelist introduces three things from which that indignation drew its origin, namely the difficulty of labor endured, the solemnity of joy heard,
and the liberality of the paternal benefit judged:
from the consideration of which that elder son fell into indignation.
43. (Vers. 28.). First, therefore, with regard to the difficulty of labor endured,
he says: Now his elder son was in the field.
This elder son
is said to be the one who is more mature in conduct, more conformed to the father and more obedient; because, Wisdom 4, "the understanding of a man is gray hairs, and the age of old age is a life unspotted." And because a good life is never idle, therefore he says that he was in the field,
namely to labor, so that he could say that word of Zechariah 13: "I am a husbandman, for Adam has been my example from my youth." Hence he labored in the field according to the counsel of the Wise Man, Proverbs 12, "He who tills his land shall be filled with bread"; and Proverbs 24: "Prepare your work outside and diligently cultivate your field"; because thus it was said to man in Genesis 3: "In the sweat of your face you shall eat your bread."
44. Second, with regard to the solemnity of joy heard,
he adds: And when he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.
By this house
is understood the congregation of the just: the Psalm: "God in his holy place, God who makes those of one manner to dwell in a house"; and 1 Timothy 3: "That you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth." In this house music and dancing
are heard through concordant joy with regard to the interior and exterior conformity of conduct, hearts, and words. "For symphony
is the concord and collection of any sounds whatsoever," and it designates the joy that comes from concord of hearts.
Hence also Ambrose: "Symphony is the undivided concord of diverse ages and virtues, as of various strings, according to what is said in Acts 4: The multitude of believers was of one heart and one soul."
"A chorus
indeed is a collection of voices" and signifies the joy that comes from concord
of voices and words
in preaching and praising God, according to that word of the Prophet in the Psalm: "Praise her with timbrel and chorus," and this is in the holy Church: 1 Corinthians 1: "I beseech you that you all speak the same thing." And concerning these two things it is said in Philippians 2: "If there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of charity, if any fellowship of the spirit, if any bowels of compassion: fulfill my joy, that you be of one mind, having the same charity, being of one accord, thinking the same thing."
He therefore who draws near to that house of God hears this delightful harmony. This drawing near,
however, is through the consideration of sacred Scripture, which is, as it were, a certain door to knowing those things which are within the unity of the holy Church: Sirach, last chapter: "Draw near to me, you unlearned, and gather yourselves together in the house of discipline." And then, when one attends to Scripture, in it one hears the concord and harmony of this Church among its members: because the whole of Scripture teaches nothing other than the concord and harmony of charity, according to that passage in Matthew twenty-two: "On these two commandments" etc.; and Romans thirteen: "He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law." For First Timothy one: "The end of the commandment is charity from a pure heart" etc.
45. (Verse 26.). Third, as regards the generosity of the adjudged paternal benefit,
he adds: And he called one of the servants and asked what these things were.
This one servant
called is the order of preachers and teachers, concerning which servant, above in chapter fourteen: "He sent his servant at the hour of supper to tell those who were invited"; where the Gloss says: "The servant is the order of preachers"; from this servant are to be sought the ecclesiastical Sacraments and the mysteries of the Scriptures, because, Malachi two, "the lips of the priest keep knowledge, and they seek the law from his mouth, because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts."
46. (Verse 27.). And since the true preacher is the chief announcer of divine mercy, he therefore adds: And he said to him: Your brother has come,
through the humility of penance;
Isaiah twenty-one: "If you seek, seek: be converted and come"; and chapter sixty: "Your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall rise from your side."
And your father has killed the fatted calf,
through the refreshment of the Eucharist,
according to that passage in John six: "My flesh is truly food, and my blood is truly drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood" etc.
Because he received him saved,
through the recovery of justice,
which Christ alone can restore, according to that passage of Acts 4: "There is no other name under heaven given to men, by which we must be saved." Moreover, the whole of sacred Scripture
preaches these three things, namely penance, grace, and salvation. Whence the forerunner of Christ
preached these things, namely: "Do penance," and promising grace and salvation; likewise also Christ himself:
"Do penance"; likewise also the whole chorus of the Apostles, and especially Peter and Paul, who cried out not only by word but also by example, according to that passage of 1 Timothy 1: "Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners, of whom I am the first. But therefore I obtained mercy, that in me first Christ Jesus might show all patience, for the instruction of those who would believe in him unto eternal life." Whence also on account of sinners he said that the fatted calf had been killed,
when he said in Romans 5: "But God commends his charity toward us, because, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more therefore now, being justified in his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him"; and a little later: "Where sin abounded, grace superabounded, that, as sin reigned unto death, so grace might reign through justice."
47. (Verse 28.) And because the just man, presuming upon his own merits, does not accept this justice, but rather is indignant against the mercy of God, as though he acts unjustly by rendering good things for evil, therefore he adds: But he was indignant and would not go in.
For he who does not accept the abundance of God's mercy, but rather the sufficiency of his own justice, cannot enter into the charity of ecclesiastical unity; and this is what is said of such persons in Romans 10: "Being ignorant of the justice of God and seeking to establish their own, they are not subject to the justice of God." Whence also for this reason the Jewish people does not wish to enter into ecclesiastical unity, because, being proud of its own justice, it does not accept the mercy of the most high Father bestowed upon sinners. And against such persons it is said in Romans 3: "Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation through faith in his blood," "that he himself might be just and the justifier of him who is of the faith of Jesus Christ. Where then is your boasting?" and it follows: "It is excluded." "For we reckon that a man is justified by faith without the works of the Law." This one therefore, presuming upon justice and being indignant on account of the mercy bestowed upon his brother, does not walk according to justice but according to injustice, because, Proverbs 29, "he who is quick to anger will be more prone to sins."
48. His father therefore went out
etc. After the described impatience of the son in conceiving indignation, here secondly is shown the clemency of the father in placating the indignation,
where three things are introduced. First indeed, on the part of the father, a pious address:
second, on the part of the son, an insolent response:
third, a placating persuasion is subjoined.
First therefore, as to the most pious address of the father, he says: His father therefore went out and began to entreat him
. The father goes out
to external things through condescension, according to that passage of Habakkuk 3: "You went forth for the salvation of your people and for salvation with your Christ"; namely, this going forth is nothing other than to manifest himself outwardly in the flesh: Isaiah 62: "For Zion's sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her just one goes forth as a splendor" etc.
And because this going forth was from great piety to save man, therefore he says: He began to entreat him:
Hebrews 12: "God offers himself to you as to sons." He entreats, therefore, even if we are disdainful toward him, according to that passage of Isaiah 30: "You shall hear the word of one admonishing behind you: This is the good way, walk in it." Whence God the Father himself is not indignant against the indignant son, but rather entreats and consoles him, so that what is said in Isaiah 66 may be fulfilled: "As a mother caresses someone, so I will comfort you"; and not without reason, because, as is said in 2 Corinthians 1, "he is the father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our tribulation." Whence in Jeremiah 3 it is said concerning this address: "Therefore at least from now on call me: My Father, you are the guide of my virginity" etc. And thus is fulfilled that passage of Job 19: "I entreated the sons of my womb."
49. (Vers. 29.). Second, as to the insolent response of the son,
he adds: But he answering said to his father: Behold, so many years I serve you:
where he responds insolently, both because he boasts of his own justice,
saying that he served his father for a long time, although the Father himself has no need of our service, according to that passage of the Psalm: "I said to the Lord: You are my God, for you have no need of my goods"; and Job 35: "Moreover, if you act justly, what will you give him, or what will he receive from your hand?" He makes a display of himself, therefore, in this, that he boasts of having done great things for his father. He also makes a display of himself in this, that he says he did nothing against him, when he adds: And I never transgressed your commandment.
And in this he justifies himself, although the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 4: "I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified in this." Against that arrogance it is said in 3 Kings 8: "There is no man who does not sin"; and 1 John 1: "If we say that we have no sin, we are liars"; because it is said in Romans 3: "All have sinned and are in need of the glory of God."
He therefore displays
his own righteousness, and accuses the father of harshness as well,
when he adds: And you never gave me a kid, that I might feast with my friends:
as if to say: you have always been harsh to me and never gave me any interior consolation that would be indicative of your love. And yet God does this by a just and hidden judgment, according to that passage of Ecclesiastes nine: "There are just men and wise men, and their works are in the hand of God: and yet man knows not whether he is worthy of love or of hatred, but all things are kept uncertain for the future." But this man, not heeding the hidden judgments of God, accuses the father of harshness, as if he were saying that passage of Job thirty: "You are changed to me into a cruel one, and in the hardness of your hand you oppose me." In this, therefore, he accuses the father of harshness.
50. (Verse 30.) Likewise he reproaches the father's clemency,
when he adds: But after this son of yours:
as if to say: not my brother; just as the Lord said out of indignation in Exodus thirty-two: "Go down from the mountain, for your people have sinned," yours, he says, not mine; because on account of his fault I disdain to acknowledge him as brother.
Whence he adds: Who has devoured his substance with harlots, has come,
and thus he would be worthy of wrath, because he is prodigal, unclean, and foul, and therefore deserving to be destroyed; the Psalm: "You will destroy all who commit fornication against you"; and Lamentations one: "Jerusalem has become as one polluted with menstrual blood among them. The Lord is just, for I have provoked his mouth to wrath." You have killed for him the fatted calf,
showing the highest benevolence, which he shows when he gives someone devotion concerning the benefit of the Lord's passion, according to that passage of Song of Songs one: "A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me; he shall abide between my breasts. A cluster of cypress is my beloved to me in the vineyards of Engaddi." You have killed for him,
that is, you have given through devotion, as if he had been slain for him alone, just as Paul also said in Galatians two: "But that I now live in the flesh, I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and delivered himself for me"; whence he also prefaced: "I am nailed to the cross with Christ."
Therefore this man by his insolent response both reproaches the father's clemency and accuses his harshness and displays his own righteousness, nor does he heed that "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble," as is said in James four. On account of which God is also sweet
to sinners, so that he may rouse them to hope, and harsh
to the just, so that he may incline them to humility; on account of which below in the seventeenth chapter: "When you have done all things that are commanded you, say: We are unprofitable servants," etc.
51. (Vers. 31.). Third, as to placating satisfaction, he adds: But he said to him: Son, you are always with me. Note here the most benign response of the father, because, although he could have accused the son of presumption, of indignation, of insolence, and of inhumanity, nevertheless he does not accuse him, lest he disturb him further, but lovingly soothes him, so as to calm him; because, Proverbs fifteen, "a soft answer breaks wrath." He does not therefore accuse the disturbed one, but sweetly and reasonably placates the angry one, praising, namely, the son's obedience in this, that he says: Son, you are always with me, that is, you always obey me, so that you are of the number of those to whom it is said below in the twenty-second chapter: "You are those who have remained with me in my trials"; so that you can say that word of the Psalm: "I have become as a beast of burden before you, and I am always with you." You are always with me, remaining in the house as a son; John eight, "The Son remains in the house forever."
He also placates by showing benevolence, when he adds: And all that is mine is yours, namely through the benevolence of charity, according to that word of First Corinthians three: "All things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollo, whether things present or things future. All things are yours, but you are Christ's, and Christ is God's"; because, as it is said in Romans eight, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him give us all things?" He means therefore to say that, although He does not display great things, nevertheless He reserves great things, according to that word of Isaiah sixty-four: "Eye has not seen, O God, apart from You, what You have prepared for those who wait for You." All things therefore belong to the just man, either in reality or in hope. For since some things are superior, some inferior, some equal; the superior things belong to the just man for enjoying: the Psalm: "God of my heart and God my portion forever." The equal things, namely the Angels, belong to the just for assisting; Hebrews one: "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for the sake of those who shall inherit salvation?" The inferior things belong to the just for using and ruling over: the Psalm: "What is man, that You are mindful of him, or the son of man, that You visit him?" "You have subjected all things under his feet," etc. And in this the wondrous benevolence of the father is made manifest.
52. (Verse 32.). He also placates by approving the mercy bestowed, when he adds: But it was fitting to feast and rejoice, namely because charity urges it, for it is charity that compels one to rejoice over what is good. Whence the Apostle, Second Corinthians five: "Whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God; or whether we be sober, it is for you. For the charity of Christ urges us." And just as it belongs to charity to burn over the scandal of another, according to that passage of Second Corinthians eleven: "Who is scandalized, and I am not on fire?" so also to rejoice and be refreshed by the remedy of another. Therefore he says: Because this your brother was dead and has come back to life, was lost and has been found: he was dead, by forsaking Christ, who says of himself, John fourteen: "I am the way, the truth, and the life"; and chapter one: "The life was the light of men." He was lost, by loving sin, because, Ecclesiasticus three, "he who loves danger shall perish in it." He came back to life, however, by returning to the grace of Christ: John eleven: "I am the resurrection and the life," etc. And he has been found, by returning to repentance, just as above in the same chapter the little sheep was found, and the lost drachma was also found. And therefore it was fitting to feast and rejoice, because, as was said above in the same chapter, "there is joy among the Angels of God over one sinner doing penance," joy also for the shepherd over the sheep, joy likewise for the woman over the drachma: therefore much more should there be joy for a brother over his brother and for a father over his son who has been found again.