Today, we hear the Parable of the Prodigal Son. It is one of the most well-known and, honestly, more powerful stories in all of Scripture. And at this point, most of us have heard it many times, and yet, there is always something really beautiful about it and we always take something fresh from it. I want to focus on one detail that we might have missed…or maybe overlooked. What is the detail? The father ran to meet his son.

At first glance, it may not seem like that’s a remarkable part of the story. Let’s be real, the son had been away from the family for some time, his father had been worried about him, and he was now returning home – any dad would be overjoyed at that! But we have to understand the cultural context.

In the time of Jesus, a man of the father’s stature would never run. It was actually considered undignified. Wealthy men, especially patriarchs, walked. Running would require them to lift up their robes, expose their legs, and look completely foolish. But when the father sees his son in the distance, he doesn’t care about appearances; he doesn’t care what that looks like. He takes off running – robe flying, feet pounding the dirt – all because his love for his son is much greater than any sense of pride or dignity.

This image of the father running to embrace his son is probably one of the most powerful depictions of God’s mercy within Scripture. The son had rehearsed his apology; he had prepared to beg for a place as a servant; he fully expected to have to earn his way back into the household. But before he can even utter the words, his father is already embracing him. There was no hesitation, no lecture, no demand that the son prove his repentance. There was only love; love poured out freely and without condition.

God Does Not Wait—He Runs

Jesus tells this parable to reveal to His disciples and to us the heart of God the Father. Guys, we so often think we have to earn our way back to Him, that we must clean ourselves up before we can approach Him, that we have to prove ourselves worthy of His love. But this parable tells us that’s not the case.

God does not wait for us to crawl back in shame. He runs to meet us. The moment we turn toward Him, He is already rushing toward us with arms open wide. It doesn’t matter where we’ve been, how far we’ve strayed, or how much we’ve failed – His love is so much more powerful and so much greater than our sins.

And that’s the true scandal of grace. The world teaches us that love has to be earned, that mistakes have consequences, and that we have to work to restore what we’ve broken. But God’s love is different – it is not a reward for good behavior; it’s a gift freely given. Yet, receiving that gift does require something of us. We need to have hearts open to transformation; there has to be a willingness to turn back to God, a desire to be changed by His mercy. Grace is not a license to remain the same; it’s an invitation to be changed, to turn away from sin, and to live as true sons and daughters of the Father.

Where Do You Need to Come Home?

The real question for us today is this: Where do we need to come home?

In many ways, all of us are like the prodigal son. We have been running away from God – chasing after things that have left us empty, making choices that have led us further from the Father’s house. Maybe we’ve been hesitant to return, thinking we are too broken, too lost, too unworthy. Y’all, that’s exactly what the Enemy want us to believe. He wants us to believe that “God could never love someone like me.” That’s the biggest lie we could ever believe. It’s straight from the pits of hell; it’s meant to keep us in shame and to keep us away from God.

But the truth is, the Father is already watching for us. In fact, He’s never taken His eyes off us. He is waiting, ready to embrace us, ready to restore us – not as servants, but as beloved sons and daughters.

We have to stop running! All we have to do is turn back.

Because when we do, we’ll find that the Father is already running to meet us.

---

Readings for Mass: Fourth Sunday of Lent

Photo: Father Running. Image generated using Jetpack AI Assistant.