It’s the school holidays and I’ve found myself on my own for a couple of days while Kate takes the children (and dog!) to visit grandparents.

At one point yesterday, waiting for a train into London, I had a brief sense of my heart aching for them. It reminded me of the first year of mine and Kate’s relationship, which was long distance. I really did spend the week waiting for the weekend then…from Sunday evening my heart ached for the moment when I would see her again on Friday evening.

We rarely spend much time apart now, and that feeling on the platform yesterday in some ways was like the return of an old friend, reminding me that absence does still make the heart grow fonder.

Missing the children too, I guess that brief aching gave me a faint sense of the Father’s heart. It gave me fresh insight into Jesus’ stories about the nature of the Father’s love, and especially those he tells in chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel.

These parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and above all the prodigal son speak of an all-consuming love, of a Father whose heart aches when we are absent from Him. Jesus tells these stories in response to Pharisees who think he shouldn’t be mixing with certain types of people.

The tragedy is, if you asked most non-religious people in this country who they thought the Pharisees of today were, many of them would point to the Christians that are always telling them what is wrong with their lives.

If we condemn first and only as an afterthought preach the grace and love of the Father through Jesus Christ, then we are turning Jesus’ message on its head and doing a greater injustice to him than any unbeliever could.

As the Papal Preacher Father Raniero Cantalamessa pointed out at a recent event I was lucky enough to attend, "Christianity doesn't start with telling people what they must to be saved, but what God has done to save them."

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. The Father’s deep longing for each and every one of us, and especially his aching for those that are absent, should always be the first message we give.