21 December 2025 #etchedintheLordsheart

We’re nearing the harvest of our slow-soul-movement this Advent; the Lord comes in His fullness in just a few short days. Is your soul prepared for the Lord’s visit? Are you gentle in speech? Thoughtful in movement? Quiet in prayer? Have you “Advent-ed” well, in your heart and on your calendar? Or have you, like Ahaz slyly asks, “wearied the Lord” in your Christmas rush, forgetting that Jesus is the focus of all your actions?

Here's the deal with Ahaz. He doesn’t want to ask a sign of the Lord. Not because he doesn’t want to know what the Lord will say, but because of what the Lord will say to him. You see, Ahaz already knows what the Lord wants of him, but he wants to do things his way instead: he wants to form an alliance with Assyria to protect him from his troublesome, ready-for-war neighbors. Simply put, Ahaz wants to do things his own way. I don’t know about you, but I channel my inner Ahaz more than I should.

In the end Ahaz’ alliance with Assyria – doing what he wanted instead of what the Lord wanted - costs him his firstborn son (he offers him up to the god of Molech), his kingdom, and his reputation. His own people refuse to bury him with the kings who went before him. His name is etched in the Bible for all eternity as the kings “who did evil in the sight of the Lord.”

A cautionary tale for you and me.

Paul was the complete opposite. A man who listened to the call of the Lord, a leader who preached holiness, obedience, and grace not only through his words but also his actions. He put his plans up against the Lord’s and if they matched… awesome. If not, he pivoted to the Lord’s. In all things he wanted only to do whatever the Holy Spirit asked of him. His name is etched in the Bible for all eternity too, as someone who did nothing but the Lord’s will.

Both men had the choice to submit to the Lord heart, mind, body, and soul. So do we.

As did Our Lady and Joseph. Her fiat changed the world, while his singular ‘yes’ to doing the will of God radically changed how you and I choose to live thousands of years later. Joseph wanted to be kind, yet still do as the world expected, which was to divorce his intended quietly. He had, no doubt, sought the counsel of his local rabbi and probably his parents. Such a decision would not… could not... be made lightly. But when he heard the message of the angel… well… all of his plans and hopes and dreams for a normal Jewish family with lots of children went by the wayside. His quiet sacrifice, like the ones of Our Lady and St. Paul, is etched in the Bible for all eternity too.

How do you want to spend these last few days as we prepare to recall the Lord’s taking on human flesh and changing the world? How do you want to be remembered by the Lord and all who love you? How goes the slow-growth-harvest of your soul? #etchedintheLordsheart