The parable of the Merciful Father
By Msgr. John Wynand Katende
Posted on: Thursday, 12th March 2026
“Come back to me with all your heart” – Hosea 14:1-2.
The core message of returning to God, originally urging Israel to return to the Lord, confess their sins, and accept His healing, applies to the Christian season of Lent.
Lent mirrors the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert. It is a time to turn away from sin and toward God through self-denial. It helps believers prepare for the celebration of Christ's resurrection. The practices of fasting, prayer, and charity help believers grow in their relationship with God. The focus is not on sin, but on God’s merciful love and sacrifice for the redemption of sinners, through Jesus Christ.
It is in this context that we may appreciate the parable of the prodigal son, given in Luke 15:11-32, whose proper response to God’s call is expected of every sinner. The Pharisees and Scribes are the primary goal of the parable. They’re murmuring, complaining about how Jesus could invite sinners and so gladly accommodate them in a spiritual meeting. These people because they thought they were so moral and so good and so decent and so respectable that they qualified them to come to God. They were not looking for God’s grace.
The parable begins with the youngest son’s demands of his heritage share from the father. So the father painfully gives it to him. The boy goes to a distant country, wastes himself and his money, and finally comes to his senses, returning to his father. The father, surprisingly, welcomes him unconditionally, hugs and kisses him, and even before he repents.
Then, Jesus goes on right after the younger son's story to the elder son. Because he feels he’s been so good, but he has not been treated right. It is his goodness that is getting in between him and God. He wants to say to them that they are as lost as the tax collectors and prostitutes.
This teaching condemns the people who believe in their morality and their goodness to get them to God; people who trust in their own righteousness. It’s very difficult to preach the gospel to them because they believe they’re all right. In this context, Jesus’ response becomes the parable of the two lost sons, because the elder son was as lost as the younger son.
So, we may be active in the work of the church and still be far away from God. The elder son was right at home with the father, but yet he was lost. Outwardly, he did everything right, but inwardly, he wandered away from his father in his heart. If he had understood the heart of the father, he would have behaved differently. Jesus has the heart of the Father. He came to save what was lost.
Sin is the rejection of God from your life. Yet, your goodness separates you from God more than your badness, because it hides the fact that you don’t have a proper relationship with God. The elder son is deceived by his goodness in as far as he rejects his need for the father. His goodness is hiding his sin. We cannot use our goodness as a currency here to win God’s favor.
Romans 3:23 declares that all people have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. This doctrine applies to everyone, regardless of background or actions, highlighting that no one can earn salvation through their own efforts. Because humanity cannot meet God's standard, they rely on His unmerited favor (grace) for forgiveness and restoration.
Recognizing our fallen state is meant to lead to repentance and a reliance on God's mercy. The remedy for universal sin is found in the sacrificial death of Jesus, which provides redemption.
This message serves as a core tenet of faith, addressing human limitation while offering hope through divine grace.
When we all come to Christ, we repent of our badness. We’re not all perfect. But yet the amazing grace of God says that we are absolutely valuable in Christ. That Jesus died for us. That’s our value. He gave His life for us. He loved us. Jesus’ answer reveals the merciful love of God, personified in Him. Ultimately, it is the parable of the merciful Father.