Kontakion 49

I have rivalled the Profligate by my senseless deeds
And like him I fall down before you and I seek forgiveness, Lord.
Therefore do not despise me,
Master and Lord of the ages.

Of your mystical table, O Immortal,
Count me worthy, who have been corrupted by living as a profligate.
And the first robe of grace,
Which I have befouled, wretch that I am, by the stains of the passions,
In your unattainable mercy give me once again,
Master and Lord of the ages.

Let us contemplate a supper magnificently spread
For the former Profligate now become temperate,
For his Father, or rather the Father of all mankind,
Receives him repentant, in his love for mankind.
Rejoicing at his repentance,
He says to the slaves, ‘Hurry, make ready for us the all-holy supper.
Hurry, above all sacrifice the calf
To which a virgin heifer gave birth,
Because my son was lost before
And has now been found. But let us celebrate.
He was dead and has returned to life. And I have taken him to my bosom, I the
Master and Lord of the ages.

So let us now hasten and share in the supper;
If we have been counted worthy to rejoice with the Father.
Let us banquet with the king of the angels.
He provides bread which gives blessedness.
As drink there is given holy blood,
Source of life without corruption and without end. While Angels stand and wait.
Let us see, how the first to take his place
Was the Lord himself who urges us.
Then at once patriarchs, choirs of apostles
And the prophets with the martyrs.
He makes his son, the profligate, take his place next to him, the
Master and Lord of the ages.

What is the banquet?. Let us first learn of the supper
From the Gospels, that we too may celebrate.
I will therefore recall the parable of the Profligate.
For he was formerly stripped bare of every grace,
Having squandered all his substance,
And he runs to his father with many lamentations crying out, ‘Father, I have sinned’.
So the one who sees all things saw, hurried,
And met him and kissed him,
Flung his arms round the neck of the one who had returned,
For he is the God of the repentant.
In his compassion he had mercy on his son who had fallen, he the
Master and Lord of the ages.

The Saviour of all seeing his son then clothed
In filthy apparel was filled with compassion;
And so he cried at once to the slaves who were serving,
‘Quickly give my child the first robe,
Which the baptismal font weaves for all,
Which the grace of my Spirit prepares, and hasten and clothe him.
Remember how when he was clothed
The enemy stripped him and made him a spectacle
For all the demons, as he attacked with envy
The king of the whole earth,
For whose sake I arrayed the whole world which I had created, I the
Master and Lord of the ages.

I saw him and I cannot rest content to overlook his nakedness;
I cannot endure to see my divine image like this.
For the disgrace of my child is my shame;
I will consider the glory of my child my own glory.
Hurry then, my servants and ministers
To make all his limbs beautiful once again, for they are objects of my love.
For I judge it improper to see
Unprovided for or unadorned
The one who has run to me in repentance
And been found worthy of forgiveness.
Clothe him with the robe of grace, as I have commanded, I the
Master and Lord of the ages.

That my child may be for creation an honoured monument.
Adorn his hand with a ring,
For it is a pledge of the undivided Trinity,
That he may be guarded by it as he has had recourse to it,
That when he displays this seal
It may appear from afar that he is my son, mine the ruler of all.
That he may become known to the enemies
And appear most fearful to the demons
And the overweening devil,
That he may no longer approach him.
For he will not stand his ground on seeing my seal, which I give, I the
Master and Lord of the ages.

Nor will I allow his feet to be unprotected.
I do not wish that they should be stripped of my care.
Quickly put shoes on the one who was stripped naked,
That the all-wicked and crafty serpent may not find once again
The heel of my child stripped naked,
Nor may the all-evil one through his wickedness lay a trap for the meek one;
I give power to my son,
That he may trample on the dragon as powerless,
That he may march with confidence
Upon asp and basilisk
And walk in Paradise which I planted, I the
Master and Lord of the ages.

But now, as I said, sacrifice for the one who has stumbled
The virgin calf, the Son of the Virgin.
He has never been tamed by the yoke of sin,
With eagerness he goes ahead of those who drag him,
For he does not revolt against the sacrifice,
But willingly bows his neck to those who hasten to sacrifice him.
Drag in, sacrifice, the giver of life,
Who is sacrificed and not put to death,
Who gives life to those in Hell,
That as we eat we may celebrate,
For he was dead, as I said before, and has come to life the one whom I have had mercy, I the
Master and Lord of the ages.

Now priests, my faithful servants, sacrifice this calf
And give to eat to all who are worthy of my supper
The spotless calf, pure in every way,
Fattened from the unsown earth which he fashioned.
Give to them a precious drink,
Blood and water which springs from his side for those who believe;
Eat this then all of you always,
For though it is parted, it is not divided,
Not separated, not consumed,
But to the ages satisfies all,
For he offers himself as all-holy food, the lover of mankind,
Master and Lord of the ages.

As the whole company of those who were invited were supping,
And as all were celebrating they sang a godly hymn.
The Father first of those present began,
‘Taste’ he said ‘and see that I am good’.
Then after this the Psalmist,
Striking the lyre, cries with sweetest voice, ‘Quickly bring
Sacrifices, pure, blessed
To the all-holy altar.
Bring a calf with thanksgiving’.
And after him Paul cried out,
‘Our Passover has now been sacrificed, Jesus Christ,
Master and Lord of the ages.

The Angels who were serving at the supper saw them
Celebrating like this and singing with one accord,
And they rivalled them and began their song of praise.
What was the hymn? Let us hear, if you will,
‘Holy are you, Father, who have been well pleased
That the spotless calf be now slaughtered for mankind.
Holy is your Son also,
Willingly sacrificed as an unblemished calf,
Who also sanctifies those who are baptized
By the power of the font.
Again holy is the Holy Spirit, whom he gives to those who believe, the
Master and Lord of the ages.

The first son knew nothing at all of these things, because
He happened to have gone to the fields.
But as he returned he hears the music
And summons a servant and asks him,
‘So what is all this? Tell me at once;
For a mysterious sound of a great festival strikes my ears.
Tell me what is this event?
The mysteries which belong to me
And all the wealth of the divine sacrifice,
Who, in my absence, is sharing them with others?
Can he be bestowing once again gifts of grace, he who begot me, the
Master and Lord of the ages?’

Then the servant who had been questioned said to him eagerly,
‘Your young brother has arrived.
On receiving him your father rejoiced,
And, as he has recovered him in good health,
He has sacrificed the fatted calf
And he has now summoned his friends and acquaintances to the supper.’
On hearing all this
He was instantly beside himself and was not willing
To take part in the supper of festivity,
For angered by what was happening
He said, ‘I will not go in. I will not look on what he has done, the
Master and Lord of the ages.’

Christ teaches us through this an example
Of his own compassion and measureless pity,
Which rouses even the just to indignation.
Come then, let us learn how he stood and entreated him,
He who begot them both,
He who is Governor and Creator of all things, the God who wishes all to be saved.
Ineffable, inexpressible is your compassion
For those who are saved, lover of mankind,
For you always heal the righteous,
While sinners you call back again.
The righteous you kept safe, while the other you saved, you the
Master and Lord of the ages.

Offering his right hand the Compassionate raised the fallen son,
Likewise he supported the other who was standing.
The one who was laid low he raised up in his compassion,
While he would in no way allow the one who stood to fall.
The one in poverty he enriches,
The one in wealth he would not allow to become poor, but saved them all.
Come then, let us learn what the youth said
To his father, and would not
Be present at the supper which had been prepared,
For he was angered at what was happening;
And how his Father stood imploring him, he who is
Master and Lord of the ages.

The indignant son spoke these words to his Father,
‘For so long a time I have been slave to your will
And have always served your commandments,
And not a single commandment of yours have I transgressed at all.
You know, even if I do not say it, that I speak true.
And for these toils you have not granted me as your child even a kid.
I am oppressed unceasingly in desert places
And deprive myself and am tormented
By the fiercest heats and by the winters,
That I may satisfy your power,
Yet to the profligate on his return you have given far greater honour, you the
Master and Lord of the ages.

When you saw this son who has devoured
Your wealth with harlots, you slaughtered the calf at once.
You should, in my opinion, have at least reproached him in words
And rebuked him, and at the same turned away your face.
But you instantly received him,
And you had compassion on him. First you embraced him, then decked him out in a robe.
You showed him honour with a ring,
You shod him with sandals;
You made a supper for celebration
And invited all his friends.
Such are the honours you gave the offender on his return, you the
Master and Lord of the ages.

No sooner had the Father heard these words from his child
Than he answered him with meekness,
‘Incline your ears and listen to your father.
You are with me, for you have never left me.
You have not been separated from the Church.
Your place is always with me, with all my angels.
But he has come covered with shame,
Naked and ugly crying out, ‘Have mercy.
I have sinned, Father, and I implore,
I who have offended before you.
Accept me as hired servant and nourish me, for you love mankind, you the
Master and Lord of the ages.’

Your brother cried, ‘Save me, holy Father’.
What should I have done as I heard his lamentation?
How could I not have pity and save
My son as he grieved and wept?
You, the prosecutor, I appoint as judge.
Sentence me, my child, as you blame me, and become my arbitrator.
For I always rejoice in loving humankind.
How then could I become inhuman?
How should I not have mercy on the one I fashioned of old
And take pity on him when he repents?
It was my entrails that begot my child on whom I have had mercy, I the
Master and Lord of the ages.

Understand what I say, my son. All that is mine is yours,
And to him I wanted to grant some of my goods.
The property which you have is not any less.
For I did not take from it to give to your brother;
I provided for him from my own treasures.
Of you both, I am creator and loving father, lover of mankind and compassionate.
I honour you, my child, for by choice
You have always loved me and served me,
And to him I show compassion because of his eagerness
And persistence in repentance.
You should be celebrating then with all whom I invited, I the
Master and Lord of the ages.

Therefore, my son, with all those who have been invited to the supper.
Celebrate and make melody with all the angels.
For your brother was lost and has been found.
He was dead and beyond expectation he has returned to life.’
When he heard these words he was persuaded
And shared the gladness with his brother. And he began to sing and say,
‘All of you shout with praise,
Sin is forgiven, and whose iniquity
Has been covered and wiped away.
I bless you, lover of mankind, who have saved my brother also, you the
Master and Lord of the ages.’

O Son and Word of God, creator of all things,
We your unworthy servants ask and implore you:
Have mercy on all who call upon you.
As you did the profligate spare those who have sinned.
Accept and save through compassion
Those who in repentance run to you, O King, crying, ‘We have sinned’.
Give us tears as you did the harlot
And pardon for the sins we have committed.
And as you did the publican take pity on us all,
At the intercessions of the Mother of God.
Make us partakers of your supper, as you did the Profligate,
Master and Lord of the ages.

[1] This translation of St Romanos’s kontakion for the Second Sunday of Lent is taken from my book, On The Life of Christ. Kontakia, published for the International Sacred Literature Trust by AltaMira Press [ISBN 0-06-064943-7], which includes notes and introduction.