Day 10: Signs

And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.

Luke 2:12

Most signs are taken for granted until you see one that you don’t understand. Signs are among the first significant shocks when crossing cultures. Signs are inherently important, and when we aren’t able to decipher them it can be deeply unnerving. To know that there is important information, relevant to our current situation, but to which we have no access, is frustrating. 

I’m taken back to the various “sign traps” that would frequently be set by police in Czech Republic, designed to extort fines from tourists. One such trap was a parking sign on the square of Ceske Budejovice. Only the locals would know that on one side of the square you weren’t allowed to park. There was a sign stating that this side of the square was illegal for parking, save for government employees, but it was posted on only one end of the row exclusively in Czech language, and without any particularly helpful iconography. Inevitably every foreigner who visited the square on a busy day would end their shopping excursion with a boot on their front tire, as parking spots would only be available this side of the square since it hosted 25 spaces for the 8 government employees actually parking on the square, and thus where any unsuspecting visitor would park, the next victim lured into the sign trap.  

A personal favorite of mine was in Old Town Prague, where there was a left turn-only intersection. Policemen would set up a temporary “No Left Turn” sign, leaving motorists with no option but to turn left, disobeying the sign, but coasting into the waiting lineup of police cars writing tickets for each passing motorist. In each of these cases, speaking the local language was the key to escaping the fine. In one case, one must be able to notice and read the cryptic parking sign, and in the other, if you were able to explain the catch-22 driving impossibility to the policeman writing the ticket, in Czech, he might give a smirk and let you drive on your way, a shibboleth of sorts, set up for the tourists.

The signs of the coming of the Christ were many, but no shepherd would likely have deciphered them. Such interpretations of the law and the prophets were to the highborn of the Abrahamic faith. But the Christ would require no Shibboleths for shepherd nor sheik. That much was made known from the very outset, from the moment the angels blessed the lowly men of the fields. The good news would be delivered with no obscurities or obstructions, pander or prejudice. The confirmation of the heaven-sent choir’s message was swaddling cloths in creche. It appears they had little trouble finding Him, and there was no question in their mind that the sign was fulfilled in the finding. 

Praise the Lord that we are not left wishing on shooting stars or waiting on sages. The good news is revealed in fullness. The sign is clear to see for all who would seek.

Application Questions

-Could we be more explicit and clear in our communication of the gospel to our friends, family and neighbors this Advent?

-Are there any in your sphere with whom you’ve shared some of your faith, but perhaps they still don’t have a grasp of the gospel? How could that be remedied?