To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Commentary on the Gospel – December 9, 2025
Mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13), and it could not be otherwise with a God who is Love, who is Father-Abba, who is Mercy, who is Forgiveness. It is important to keep in mind that in all these expressions the verb to be carries its full weight. These are not ornaments added to God’s name; rather, God—the God of Jesus, the God He speaks about in His words and parables, the God whose life bears witness—is truly all of this, and nothing else. He is not vengeance, He is not punishment, He is not retribution. He is not a God who sets conditions. He is a God who is love. And love, as Paul says in the First Letter to the Corinthians (13:4–13), “is patient and kind; love is not jealous, it does not boast, it is not proud; it is not rude or selfish; it is not easily angered; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in injustice, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” In this context, and applying all these adjectives to God Himself, we must understand today’s Gospel parable.
It is not the Father’s will that even one of us be lost. Someone may say that the parable refers to the “little ones.” But who can truly say they are great, strong, or powerful? It is true that some people have a thick armor, and from a distance they seem invincible. But in reality—as we well know—those are often the weakest, and most of that armor is nothing but a façade that falls apart at the first real blow.
God does not want even one of us to be lost. He does not want us to go astray. And He leaves everything in order to show us His love in one way or another. That is what a Father who is love does—a love like the one Paul describes in the text above.
In this Advent season, today’s text fills us with hope. Despite everything, despite all our wanderings—those only we know and those others can see—God is searching for us, and in one way or another He is going to find us. Perhaps along paths we least expect. That is our faith. That is our God.