The prodigal son return home?

[Bianka]

I know it's a weird thing to be asking especially here but....
I was raised catholic and this story sticked with me even today. Is the message really that "your actions has no consequences. You don't have to be responsible for your actions. Do what you want it will be fiiiiiine". They obviously didn't meant that sooooo what should we getting out of it? When I asked as a kid no pastor could give me a satisfactory explanation. It's so funny but I'm still curious.
This is not a thread about dumping on religion (maybe another time lol) but it genuinely bothers me

 

[Pluto]

I was also raised Catholic but follow Eastern traditions.

I would interpret the Prodigal Son as another variation of what Joseph Campbell would call the 'hero's journey'. This is the common theme of religious stories including that of Jesus, the Buddha and others. An individual embarks on a journey, faces darkness (e.g. the 4 Sights of the Buddha, or the crucifixion of Jesus) and ultimately overcomes hardship to reach a final, lofty state.

The difference (perhaps the misunderstanding) is that in fundamentalist Abrahamic religions, the goal is a physical location in the afterlife ("heaven"), as opposed to an advanced state of consciousness ("enlightenment").

Eckhart Tolle says the following:
This process is explained by Jesus in his parable of the lost son, who leaves his father's home, squanders his wealth, becomes destitute, and is then forced by his suffering to return home. When he does, his father loves him more than before. The son's state is the same as it was before, yet not the same. It has an added dimension of depth. The parable describes a journey from unconscious perfection, through apparent imperfection and "evil" to conscious perfection.