“I shall get up and go to my father.”

God never stops waiting for us to return. The words of the younger son in the Gospel, “I shall get up and go to my father,” capture the moment when a person finally recognizes their need for mercy. In the Gospel of Luke, the younger son had wandered far from home. He wasted his inheritance, lost his dignity, and found himself feeding swine, an image of deep misery. Yet the turning point of the story is simple: he comes to his senses. He realizes that even the servants in his father’s house live better than he does. This moment of honesty leads him to decide to rise and return. What is remarkable is not only the son’s return but the father’s response. While the son is still far away, the father sees him, runs toward him, embraces him, and restores him fully as his son. The father does not wait for a perfect explanation. His love is already ready to forgive. The prophet in the Book of Book of Micah echoes this same truth: “Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin?” God delights in mercy. As the Psalm reminds us in Psalm 103, “The Lord is kind and merciful… as far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our sins from us.” Yet the parable also invites us to look at the older son. He stayed at home, but his heart was distant. He struggled to accept the mercy shown to his brother. Sometimes we too can become like him—faithful in outward practice but resistant to forgiveness, compassion, and joy when others return to God. During this Lenten season, the message is simple and hopeful: no matter how far we have wandered, the way back home is always open. God is not waiting to punish us; He is waiting to embrace us. The only step we must take is the same one the prodigal son took: “I will rise and go to my Father.” Once we take that step, we will discover that God has already been looking down the road, ready to welcome us with mercy and joy.