The Ring and the Robe

The Ring and the Robe

By Jenny Komenda

“But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.”

Luke 15:22-24

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Pope John Paul II said the parable of the prodigal son “expresses the essence of the divine mercy.” In this painting, a robe and a ring wait for a son who has taken his inheritance and gone to a far country, giving visible form to his parents’ hope that he will one day return and their conviction that he still has a place in the family. Although his leaving has temporarily wounded the relationship, their love keeps making room for his return.

Alexander MacLaren wrote, “Filial love may die in the son's heart, but paternal yearning lives in the father’s.” When the son finally turns toward home, poor and ashamed, he believes he has forfeited his place and plans to ask for a servant’s. Before he can make that offer, his father runs to him, falls on his neck, and kisses him. Considering all the father might have said, Matthew Henry remarked, “It is strange that here is not one word of rebuke.” Perhaps the father knew how nearly his son had been lost: souls separated from God, Henry wrote, are “lost as a traveler that is out of his way, and, if infinite mercy prevent not, will soon be lost as a ship that is sunk at sea.”

Then came the robe, the ring, and the shoes, and with them the comforting reassurance to the son’s deepest fear: he will still be received as a son. Pope Francis described a father who “hastens to restore to his son the signs of his dignity: his fine robe, his ring, his shoes.” The earliest manuscripts have the father call for the robe “quickly,” and the Greek names it literally “the first robe.” Some have read this as the very robe the son wore before he left. Timothy Keller suggests instead that it was “the father’s own robe, the unmistakable sign of restored standing in the family.” In Keller’s telling, the son will not earn his way back; his father simply takes him back. Together these gifts show that forgiveness opens into restored relationship. The son returns to the life and love of the household, where he can begin again. Though his past is real, so is the mercy that receives him.

Charles Spurgeon promised, “You shall have all your privileges restored... he was received with many kisses, he wears a son’s robe, the family ring is on his finger, and the shoes of the home are on his feet.” He taught further, “Even thus shall it be with you if you return to God. Though you smell so strongly of the hogs among which you have been living, your Father will not notice these marks of your occupation in the far country. Because he knows his own child.” Henri Nouwen saw the same generosity: “There is nothing the father keeps for himself. He pours himself out for his sons.” This is because the Father “does not want any of them to be hired servants or slaves. He wants them to wear the robe of honor, the ring of inheritance, and the footwear of prestige” as honored sons. 

Through Jesus Christ, this homecoming is possible for each of us. His Atonement offers forgiveness and reconciliation with our Father. Whatever distance we have traveled, we can turn toward Him; whatever shame we carry, we can trust His welcome. As Joseph Smith taught, “our Heavenly Father is more liberal in His views, and boundless in his mercies and blessings, than we are ready to believe or receive.” And as we learn to receive that mercy, we can keep room in our hearts for those whose return we still await.

Jeffrey R. Holland testified, “I know that if we will be faithful, there is a perfectly tailored robe of righteousness ready and waiting for everyone.” To all who are still in a far country, Vaughn J. Featherstone extended the same promise: “We gaze steadily down the road, anxious for your return. We will run with open arms, and hearts filled with compassion. There are shoes for your feet, a robe, a ring for your hand, and a fatted calf. Come home and we will rejoice together.”

The waiting robe and ring remind us of the Father’s hope for us, and invite us to take the next step home.

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