Life is full of signs of one kind or another.

One of my favorites was the DPW sign that once stood on the side of the highway on the way to our place in New Hampshire. Just as the road wound between two cemeteries, the Protestant cemetery on the right, the Catholic cemetery on the left, the great big yellow highway sign said, “Go Slow, Thickly Settled.”

I got a kick out of that sign!

Another of my favorite signs is the Krispy Kreme Donut sign in the front window of the store on the Kingston Pike in Knoxville, TN. Everybody knows that when the red circle is lighted, it means the donuts are hot off the assembly line.

I find myself drooling just thinking about that sign!

Life is full of signs. The special look a teenage girl gives a boy in her high school algebra class. A red sky at night indicating a sailor’s delight. A buyer’s subtle hand motion indicating they are making a bid at an auction. A traffic signal turning yellow which in Lexington, KY means, “Speed up, only twenty more cars through the intersection!”

Signs are all around us.

Jesus says we need to learn to recognize them.

In Luke’s Gospel, the disciples have heard Jesus tell them the day will come when Jerusalem will be destroyed and the Temple – the very seat of religious authority – will be left in rubble. Looking back, we know this happened in 70 AD, just as Jesus predicted. And the disciples are worried about this. After all, Jerusalem is their spiritual center. But Jesus assures them that this seemingly tragic event is actually a sign that the true Kingdom of God is drawing ever closer. The disciples are concerned about all the upsetting events that will occur – wars, famines, persecution, natural disaster. But Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid! These are SIGNS that the Kingdom is drawing near! So look up, and see these things for what they are: SIGNS of the coming of the Kingdom.”

Our faith is full of sign language.

When we feed the hungry in the name of Jesus, it is a visible SIGN of the invisible Kingdom of God. 

When we love our neighbor, and offer forgiveness to those who sin against us, we are living out in this broken world the wholeness of the Kingdom of heaven. We are an advance SIGN of the Kingdom that is coming.

So Jesus tells us in Luke 21, “When you see the signs, stand up, and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near!

The season of Advent is a season of signs. Candles in windows. Lights on houses. Christmas carols filling the air. They all have the same message: no matter who you are, or what you’re going through, stand up, raise your head, for God is coming very close to you!

We all carry burdens. We all face challenges. Our churches have prayer lists as long as your arm, and even then that list doesn’t include everyone who needs help from above. Some of us have lost loved ones, others face grave illnesses, many are caregivers of those who are frail. All around us in the world, there are wars and rumors of war, oppression and injustice, difficulties of every kind.

But God does not want us to despair! Instead, the Lord sends signs designed for us to grab hold of in hope and anticipation. And here, in the season of Advent, the signs are many.

It’s as if God is saying to us, “I know what you’re going through. So I’m giving you these signs as the evidence of my love and promise to bring you through!”

As you live your life this Advent Season be sure to notice the signs. They are all around! And all the signs of Advent point toward this most wonderful promise:

Your Savior has come and is closer than you think!

“This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Signs.

Keep an eye out for the signs!