Your Sign

Entering into Advent, season of signs

Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

Jesus said to his disciples: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world,  for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen,  stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy  from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times  and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”

          The world we live in is full of signs. Now, most of the time we’re looking for the signs, but surprisingly, sometimes the signs are looking for us. Did you ever hear of those “Here’s your sign” jokes by Bill Engvall? The jokes are about handing people who say the most obvious things a sign that reads, “Stupid.” (Sorry for saying “stupid” in church.) For example, Bill explained: “One day, I was driving along in Texas and I got a flat tire. So, I pulled my truck over into one of those side-of-the-road gas stations. The attendant walks out, looks at my truck, looks at me, and I swear he said, “Tire go flat?” I couldn’t resist. I said, “Nope. I was just driving around on four flat tires and the other three just swelled right up on me!” And not cracking a smile, the attendant nodded and said, “Yep, they’ll do that.’ Here’s your sign!” In other words, signs teach us a lot about the world around us, but some signs also teach us about ourselves, that’s we’re not the brightest bulb in the box! And I would suggest to you that the most important signs are the ones that teach us something about ourselves, something that we usually cannot see.

          In the gospel today Jesus is also talking about signs. Now, these signs will tell us something about the end of the world, but more importantly, they will also give us an insight into ourselves. Good signs always do. He says, “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, the stars, and on the earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright.” Jesus goes on to add: “But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is close at hand.” In other words, the cataclysmic signs of the end times will also be a sign about us – whether we’re ready or not ready, whether we’re smart or stupid, whether we’re saints or sinners. You see, the most important signs always tell us something about ourselves; these are the real “signs of the times,” and we must learn to read them and understand what they teach us about ourselves.

          A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said, “I am blind, please help.” There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took a few coins and dropped them into the hat. Then he took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words on the back. He put it back so that everyone walking by could see the new words. Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. Later that day, the man who had changed the sign returned. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who changed my sign? What did you write?” The man answered, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you wrote but in a different way. I said, ‘Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it.’” Both signs told the people the boy was blind. The first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told the people how lucky they were that they were NOT blind. In other words, the most important signs always tell us something about ourselves, usually something we are blind to.

          Folks, God sends us signs in the sun, the moon and the stars, but we also send signs to him, through our actions and choices, we use a kind of “sign language” that God knows how to read very well. For instance, we can tell our doctor we only drink one or two glasses of wine a week, but God sees we’re throwing back martinis every day. Now that was hard for me to say because I love a good martini! We can tell our boss we put in 8 solid hours of work each day, but God sees that we’re wasting time on Facebook, Pinterest and Fantasy Football. People tell me, “Fr. John, we love coming to I.C. Church!” But God knows you’re still registered at Christ the King and St. Boniface! Busted. We tell ourselves our prayer life is a priority, but we leave Mass early so we can beat the Baptists to brunch! We tell our wives we love them but we don’t help around the house or compliment their cooking. We love our husbands, but we’re quick to criticize them and rarely praise them. You see, God knows how to read these “signs of the times,” this sign language we’re using to speak to him all the time. We’re constantly saying to God, “Here’s your sign.” But God is not the stupid one.

          My friends, today we enter into the season of Advent, which is really a season of signs. We see signs in the bright star leading the Magi, in the wreath burning with purple candles, in the virgin giving birth to a Baby Boy, in the angels singing, “Gloria to God in the highest!” And what is the greatest sign of Advent? It is the final Sign, the primordial miracle, the Incarnation itself, God becomes a man and dwells among us. You know, Pope John Paul II never got tired of repeating that Jesus Christ came into this world not only to tell us who God is, but also to tell us who man is, and who woman is: to show us the depths of our depravity but also to call us to the heights of holiness (Redemptor hominis, 8). You see, the most important signs always tell us something about ourselves, something that we usually cannot see.

          Praised be Jesus Christ!