For many, the road home can be filled with excitement and joy at the prospect of seeing family and friends. But what was it like for the prodigal son?

The Hallow app has a Lenten reflection that I’ve been following and part of it is about the parable of the prodigal son. One of the first days of reflection included a slow reading of the gospel story, encouraging listeners to really place themselves into the story. What caught my attention was the travel the son had to do in order to return home, and many questions came to my mind.

Lonely. The way home must have felt terribly lonely for the young man. How different it must have been in comparison to when he initially set out. Then his pockets were full of money and promise. In the thrill of excitement, did he realize that he was traveling alone then? Or did he make friends because he could treat others with his inheritance? Yet on the return trip there must have been a heaviness to his spirit, weighed down with his experience and embarrassment at what he was reduced to: a hired hand. Even if he did join up with a band of travellers, did he socialize with them or did he keep his silence? Perhaps he may have hid his feelings behind the stories of his experience, careful to be entertaining but not open enough to share completely.

Confident. The son learned a hard lesson that not everyone treats others as generously as his father did. It took a squandered inheritance to see how incredibly difficult life is. Growing up in the love his father showed, not just for his family, but to all who crossed his path, the boy expected that same treatment from everyone. In that foreign place as a caretaker of pigs, he experienced the harsh reality that others are not nearly as generous as his father. Yet in these deep thoughts, he felt that if he could return home, his father would hire him. Was it because he learned to work hard? Or did he know how much his father loved him and felt that he could not ask to return as a son, but could have a decent life if he asked to be a hired hand? 

Fearful. How much of a struggle was it for the young man to return home? Was he afraid of how his brother and the other hired hands would treat him? How many times did he turn around or at least pause to reconsider if this was the right thing to do? Maybe the question was more like, “what am I thinking?!” Did he travel straight home, or was it more of a meandering journey, dreading the unknown response?   

The story of the prodigal son is our story of how we sin and return to God. Do we find it a lonely path back to God because of the weight of our sins? The parable tells us that the son still had quite a bit of travelling to do when his father spotted him and ran to him. Do we recognize that God is on the look out for our return and wants to run to us and shower us with grace and blessings? Do we have the same confidence of the prodigal son that God will welcome us back? Or do we keep his mercy at a distance because we cannot forgive ourselves? Are we afraid to turn back to God? Do we fear the changes necessary to eliminate sin, especially habitual sins, from our lives? 

Lent is the perfect time to search our hearts and identify what keeps us from truly returning to God. Let the example of the prodigal son lead us to a greater introspection and to celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation with the same depth and joy as the young man received upon his return. The Father is waiting with open arms.