7 December 2025 #slowsou
A couple of years ago I was ‘all over’ slowing down for Advent, asking you to get off the Christmas merry-go-round and step on board the Advent train (2023!). I was ahead of the times, as it were, as Fr. Michael Schmitz’s Waiting Well book and Fr. Dave’s Advent talks both focus on this theme of slowing-way-down. As Hastings is a place traditionally thought of as a farming community, I wonder how our readings this week resonate with you, for they are all over planting, growing, and harvesting.
I grew up on a farm, so I know that farming is a slow-man’s profession; there’s no hurrying the process and a robust harvest is dependent upon many factors, most of them not under our control. Farming is a waiting game no matter what the season. I was thinking of Isaiah’s opening words here: “On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him.”
On. That. Day.
There’s a lot that goes into this thing called “sprouting” before That Day arrives. There’s preparing the soil. Tilling the ground. Planting the seed. Nourishing the underground and unseen seed. It all takes time. And planning. And patience. And praying.
So it goes with our spiritual lives. The intentional and hard work of nurturing the soil of our soul takes time, planning, patience, and prayer. I’m reminded here of St. Paul’s words today, “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another…” We need this grace of personal endurance and community encouragement to do this work of preparing our soul for the coming of the Lord. We cannot do it ourselves. We need the support of others to be able to say ‘no’ to a frantic Christmas Advent pace and the grace of endurance to hold fast to our conviction. And if all Christendom – or even all Christians in Hastings - were in harmony with this idea of slowing down to focus on preparing our souls….?
Well, the world would be a different place. To quote our psalmist today, it would be a sacred space where justice flowered, profound peace flourished, and Jesus ruled. It might even be a place that John the Baptist spoke of… a community on fire with the Holy Spirit, clearing out the chaff so that Goodness, Truth, and Beauty are planted and nurtured. A community where Love grows strong and Harmony holds fast. A sacred space where the Son shines, the Father walks, and the Spirit moves.
It all starts with slowing down this Advent to focus on preparing our soul for the sure-to-come on-that-day harvest. #slowsoulmovement