Simple Signs

 

Though it had been in the eighties a day or so before, the sun rose on a frosty field this Sunday morning. The weather had been erratic to say the least. Finally, on December 12th, holiday weather arrived. It was perfect timing for our congregation’s Christmas musical presentation. The sun quickly erased the frost, but the spirit of the day was set. The lights looked brighter and the music sounded even sweeter. Christmas sweaters were abundant and it actually felt like the time had come to be in preparation for the big day.

It is interesting, is it not, the power of such a thing to change our attitude and experience. I suppose that is why, across the ages, we human creatures spend time looking for signs. Portents and omens. Cards and fortune tellers. Anything to give direction and confirmation. We want so much to know what is coming. We want so much to feel that things are as they should be. We want so much to know we are in the right place at the right time.

Imagine the surprise of the shepherds who heard the announcement of the angels.

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

If the long awaited Messiah had finally arrived, they no doubt could think of numerous signs more fitting than a baby lying in a manger. Perhaps a royal birth. Perhaps notice through the priests in the Temple. The angels popping in, now that was a serious sign, but they left as quickly as they arrived. Left on their own, they would know they had found the one by the sign of a baby in a manger.

Maybe the best signs aren’t always big things.

Maybe the best of signs can be as soft and understated as the early morning frost. A thank you. A touch. A sense of peace. An understanding smile in the midst of a trying time. A calm in the midst of our storm. These signs can easily be missed while we wait on something spectacular and grand. But if a baby in a manger is the sign of God’s unimaginable love for all creation, we would do well to be open to simple signs as well. Who knows? They, too, may carry to our seeking hearts the unimaginable love of God.

Peace.