John Chrysostom, On the Parable of the Prodigal Son

to take up these things again; so that, being drenched with the divine streams, I may wipe away the shame of the shameful songs, the filth that lies upon my ears so that seeing your pearls being seized by pious men, I too may desire to acquire hands worthy of their reception. As the prodigal stumbled and cried out with tears, The father said to his servants. To which servants? Listen; to the priests and ministers of his commands. Bring out the first robe and clothe him; bring out the robe woven from above, the one fashioned from spiritual fire; bring out the robe woven in the waters of the font. Bring out the robe made from spiritual fire, and clothe him. Clothe the one who stripped himself, clothe the new Adam, whom the devil stripped bare; clothe the king of creation; adorn this one, for whom I adorned the world; beautify the dearest members of my son; for I cannot bear to see him unadorned; I cannot bear to leave my own image stripped bare; I consider the reproach of my child my own reproach, I consider his good repute my own glory.

3. Give a ring for his hand also; so that he may wear the pledge of the Spirit, and wearing it he may be guarded by the Spirit himself; so that carrying my seal, he may be fearsome to all enemies and adversaries; so that it may be seen from afar whose son this is. Give sandals for his feet also; so that the serpent may not again find his heel bare, and strike him with its sting; but rather that he himself may tread on the head of the dragon, that he may crush the stings of the enemy, and that he may run the way that leads to God. And bring the fatted calf and kill it. What fatted calf does he mean? Which one? The one whom the heifer Mary the virgin bore. 59.520

Bring the untamed calf, the one that has not accepted the yoke of sin, the virgin, and from a virgin, the one following those who follow him, not by necessity, but willingly; the one not using its strength, nor its horns, but readily bowing its own neck to those wishing to slay it. Sacrifice therefore the one willingly sacrificed, sacrifice the one who gives life to those who sacrifice, sacrifice the one who is sacrificed and is not made dead; sacrifice the one who is dismembered, and sanctifies those who dismember him; sacrifice the one who is eaten by those who know him, and is never consumed; sacrifice the one who makes blessed those who eat. And let us all eat and be merry, For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. You know the spiritual merriment, you who have tasted of it and are initiated in the awesome mysteries, of the ministers of the divine liturgy, of those who imitate the wings of angels with the fine linens placed upon their left shoulders, and run about in the church and cry out: Let none of the catechumens, none of those who do not eat, none of the spies, none of those unable to behold the Calf being eaten, none of those unable to behold the heavenly blood being shed for the remission of sins, none unworthy of the living sacrifice, none uninitiated, none unable with unclean lips to touch the awesome mysteries; and then of the angels from heaven acclaiming and saying: Holy is the Father, who willed the fatted Calf to be sacrificed, the one who knew no sin, as the prophet Isaiah says: Who did no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth; holy is the Son, at once also the Calf who is always willingly sacrificed, and always living; holy is the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, who perfected the sacrifice. While these things therefore are being celebrated within, the

ταῦτα πάλιν ἀναλαβεῖν· ἵνα τοῖς θείοις νάμασιν ἐπαντλούμενος, ἀποσμήξω τὴν αἰσχύνην τῶν αἰσχρῶν ᾀσμάτων, τὸν ῥύπον τὸν ἐγκείμενον ταῖς ἐμαῖς ἀκοαῖς ἵνα θεωρῶν τοὺς σοὺς μαργαρίτας ἁρπαζομένους παρὰ τῶν εὐσεβῶν ἀνδρῶν, ἐπιθυμήσω κἀγὼ κτήσασθαι χεῖρας ἀξίας τῆς τούτων ὑποδοχῆς. Ταῦτα τοῦ ἀσώτου προσκρούσαντος, καὶ μετὰ δακρύων βοῶντος, Εἶπεν ὁ πατὴρ πρὸς τοὺς δούλους αὐτοῦ. Πρὸς ποίους δούλους; Ἄκουε· πρὸς τοὺς ἱερεῖς καὶ λειτουργοὺς τῶν αὐτοῦ προσταγμάτων. Ἐξενέγκατε τὴν στολὴν τὴν πρώτην, καὶ ἐνδύσατε αὐτόν· ἐξενέγκατε τὴν στολὴν τὴν ἄνωθεν ὑφαντὴν, τὴν ἐκ τοῦ πνευματικοῦ πυρὸς καταρτιζομένην· ἐξενέγκατε τὴν στολὴν τὴν ἐν τοῖς ὕδασι τῆς κολυμβήθρας ὑφαινομένην. Ἐξενέγκατε τὴν στολὴν τὴν ἐκ τοῦ πνευματικοῦ πυρὸς κατασκευαζομένην, καὶ ἐνδύσατε αὐτόν. Ἐνδύσατε τὸν ἑαυτὸν ἀποδύσαντα, ἐνδύσατε τὸν νέον Ἀδὰμ, ὃν ἐγύμνωσεν ὁ διάβολος· ἐνδύσατε τὸν βασιλέα τῆς κτίσεως· κοσμήσατε τοῦτον, δι' ὃν τὸν κόσμον ἐκόσμησα· καλλωπίσατε τοῦ υἱοῦ μου τὰ φίλτατα μέλη· οὐ φέρω γὰρ αὐτὸν ἀκαλλώπιστον καθορᾷν· οὐ φέρω τὴν ἐμὴν εἰκόνα γεγυμνωμένην καταλιπεῖν· ἐμὸν ὄνειδος ἡγοῦμαι τὸ ὄνειδος τοῦ ἐμοῦ παιδὸς, ἐμὴν δόξαν ἡγοῦμαι τούτου τὴν εὔκλειαν.

γʹ. ∆ότε καὶ δακτύλιον εἰς τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ· ἵνα φορῇ τὸν ἀῤῥαβῶνα τοῦ

Πνεύματος, καὶ φορῶν αὐτὸν φρουρηθῇ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ Πνεύματος· ἵνα τὴν ἐμὴν σφραγῖδα περιφέρων, φοβερὸς ᾖ πᾶσι τοῖς πολεμίοις τε καὶ ἐναντίοις· ἵνα πόῤῥωθεν φαίνηται, ποίου πατρός ἐστιν οὗτος υἱός. ∆ότε καὶ ὑποδήματα εἰς τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ· ἵνα μὴ πάλιν εὕρῃ ὁ ὄφις γυμνὴν τὴν πτέρναν αὐτοῦ, καὶ πατάξῃ αὐτὸν διὰ τοῦ κέντρου· ἀλλ' ἵνα μᾶλλον αὐτὸς καταπατῇ τὴν τοῦ δράκοντος κεφαλὴν, ἵνα συντρίψῃ τοῦ πολεμίου τὰ κέντρα, καὶ ἵνα τρέχῃ τὴν κατὰ Θεὸν ὁδόν. Καὶ ἐνέγκαντες τὸν μόσχον τὸν σιτευτὸν, θύσατε. Ποῖον μόσχον λέγει σιτευτόν; Ποῖον; Ὃν ἡ δάμαλις Μαρία παρθένος ἐγέν 59.520 νησεν.

Ἐνέγκατε τὸν μόσχον τὸν ἀδάμαστον, τὸν μὴ δεξάμενον ἁμαρτίας ζυγὸν, τὸν παρθένον, καὶ ἐκ παρθένου, τὸν ἀκολουθοῦντα τοῖς ἀκολουθοῦσιν αὐτῷ, οὐκ ἐξ ἀνάγκης, ἀλλ' ἑκουσίως· τὸν μὴ χρώμενον τῇ δυνάμει αὐτοῦ, μηδὲ τοῖς κέρασιν, ἀλλ' ἑτοίμως ὑποκλίναντα τὸν ἑαυτοῦ αὐχένα τοῖς σφάττειν θέλουσι. Θύσατε οὖν ἑκόντα θυόμενον, θύσατε τὸν ζωοποιοῦντα τοὺς θύοντας, θύσατε τὸν θυόμενον καὶ μὴ νεκρούμενον· θύσατε τὸν μελιζόμενον, καὶ τοὺς μελίζοντας αὐτὸν ἁγιάζοντα· θύσατε τὸν ἐσθιόμενον παρὰ τῶν εἰδότων αὐτὸν, καὶ μηδέποτε δαπανώμενον· θύσατε τὸν τοὺς ἐσθίοντας μακαρίους ἀπεργαζόμενον. Καὶ φαγόντες πάντες εὐφρανθῶμεν, Ὅτι οὗτος ὁ υἱός μου νεκρὸς ἦν, καὶ ἀνέζησεν· ἀπολωλὼς ἦν, καὶ ηὑρέθη. Καὶ ἤρξαντο εὐφραίνεσθαι. Ἐπίστασθε τὴν πνευματικὴν εὐφροσύνην, οἱ ταύτης γευσάμενοι καὶ μεμνημένοι τῶν φρικτῶν μυστηρίων, τῶν λειτουργῶν τῆς θείας ἱερουργίας, τῶν μιμουμένων τὰς τῶν ἀγγέλων πτέρυγας ταῖς λεπταῖς ὀθόναις ταῖς ἐπὶ τῶν ἀριστερῶν ὤμων κειμέναις, καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ περιτρεχόντων καὶ βοώντων· Μή τις τῶν κατηχουμένων, μή τις τῶν μὴ ἐσθιόντων, μή τις τῶν κατασκόπων, μή τις τῶν μὴ δυναμένων θεάσασθαι τὸν Μόσχον ἐσθιόμενον, μή τις τῶν μὴ δυναμένων θεάσασθαι τὸ οὐράνιον αἷμα τὸ ἐκχυνόμενον εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν, μή τις ἀνάξιος τῆς ζώσης θυσίας, μή τις ἀμύητος, μή τις μὴ δυνάμενος ἀκαθάρτοις χείλεσι προσψαύσασθαι τῶν φρικτῶν μυστηρίων· εἶτα καὶ τῶν ἀγγέλων οὐρανόθεν ἐπευφημούντων καὶ λεγόντων· Ἅγιος ὁ Πατὴρ, ὁ θελήσας τυθῆναι τὸν Μόσχον τὸν σιτευτὸν, τὸν μὴ γνόντα ἁμαρτίαν, καθώς φησιν ὁ προφήτης Ἡσαΐας· Ὃς ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ ἐποίησεν, οὐδὲ εὑρέθη δόλος ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ· ἅγιος ὁ Υἱὸς, ἅμα καὶ Μόσχος ὁ ἀεὶ θυόμενος ἑκὼν, καὶ ἀεὶ ζῶν· ἅγιος ὁ Παράκλητος, τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, τὸ τὴν θυσίαν τελεσιουργῆσαν. Τούτων οὖν ἔνδον ἐπιτελουμένων ὁ