Inside or Outside? The Choice is Ours

What are we really looking for? Happiness? Meaning? Fulfilment? We chase after success, relationships, pleasure, believing they will fill the emptiness inside. But no matter how much we achieve or gain, something still feels missing.

Jesus tells a parable about two sons. One searches for joy in all the wrong places. The other stays home but is just as lost. And then there’s the father, merciful, patient, waiting for his children to come home.

The younger son thought freedom and pleasure would fill the emptiness inside him. He took his inheritance, left home, and chased after everything the world promised would make him happy. But it didn’t last. The joy was temporary. The excitement faded. The friends disappeared. He found himself alone, broken, and starving.

How often do we do the same? We tell ourselves, “If I just get that promotion, if I just find the right relationship, if I just have more money, then I’ll be happy.” But no matter how much we achieve or gain, the emptiness remains. We distract ourselves with entertainment, busy schedules, or temporary highs, but none of it truly satisfies.

The younger son only realised the truth when he hit rock bottom. He had lost everything, but in that moment, he saw clearly, his joy was never in those things. His joy was with his father all along.

We, too, will come to this realisation someday. The question is, will we have the humility to turn back?

The older son never left home, but his heart was just as lost. He followed every rule, did everything “right,” and expected to be rewarded for it. When his younger brother came home and was welcomed with love, he was furious. He didn’t see the beauty of his father’s mercy, he only saw what he thought was unfair.

How often do we act like him? Do we follow God’s commands because we love Him, or because we expect something in return? Do we serve in ministry with a joyful heart, or do we secretly feel we deserve recognition? When we see others receive blessings, do we rejoice with them, or do we feel resentful?

How often do we feel overlooked or entitled to something? The older son felt the same way. He saw his brother being celebrated and thought, “What about me? I did everything right. Where is my reward?”

But love is not about keeping score. The father’s love was never about who deserved more. It was about welcoming back what was lost. The older son missed that because he was too caught up in himself.

He was so preoccupied with what he thought he deserved that he couldn’t see what he already had, a father who loved him, a home that was always his.

Through it all, the father remains the same, merciful, patient and full of love. He doesn’t wait for his sons to come to him. He goes to them. He runs to the younger son, embracing him before he can even speak. He steps out to the older son, pleading with him to come inside.

This is God’s heart. He is always reaching for us, always calling us home, whether we are lost in sin or stuck in pride. He doesn’t ask for perfection. He only asks for our hearts.

Fr Ryan in his homily highlighted that the story of the prodigal son does not give us an explicit ending for the brothers. Did the younger son stay with the father, or did he return to his old ways and begin wandering again? Was his change only temporary, or was it a true conversion? And what about us, are our Lenten commitments just for these 40 days, or are we truly seeking transformation? Did the older son eventually come into the house, or was he so prideful that he remained outside?

Both sons live in us. At times, we are the younger son, wandering, searching, needing to return. Other times, we are the older son, resentful, self-righteous, unable to rejoice in mercy. Will we remain lost in ourselves, or will we choose to step into the love and joy God offers? Maybe the reason there is no clear ending to the parable is because the choice is ours to make.

The father is always constant and always waiting. Always ready to welcome us. Always inviting us into joy.

The question is, will we step inside, or will we stay outside, clinging to our pride or shame? The parable leaves the ending open, but our own story is still being written. Will we choose to remain lost, or will we accept the Father’s invitation to joy? (BV)