Reading the signs of the times

By DEACON EDWARD SOLOMON- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

(Editor's note: Deacon Solomon delivered this homily at Masses the weekend of Jan. 14-15 at St. Peter's parish in Saratoga Springs.)

Several years ago, my wife and I walked the Camino Santiago De Compostela, a 500-mile pilgrimage from southern France to the Cathedral of St. James on the coast of Spain. The ancient route is marked with distinct signs including seashells (because St. James was a fisherman) and bright yellow arrows painted on trees and sidewalks.

Each day, we started walking in the dark before sunrise, so we had to pay close attention to find those signs. Occasionally, when we could not find the Camino sign, we asked for help.

Our lives depend on looking for and following signs. When traveling, road signs guide us to our destination; doctors check vital signs to diagnose our health; popups warn us of malicious internet activity. Even the weather forecast depends on reading atmospheric signs.

A recent Sunday Gospel from St. John (Jn 1:29-34) is sometimes called the "Gospel of Signs." Signs are this Gospel's word for the wondrous miracles of Jesus.

It is by signs that we come to know Jesus and His mission. John the Baptist, that strange character living in the desert on a health-food diet of locusts and wild honey, had the extraordinary ability to read the signs of his times. He understood that God's people had forgotten what was important, and he challenged them to repent and change their lives.

John spent his life watching for signs of the Messiah, whose way he prepared. When he saw Jesus coming to be baptized, John immediately recognized Him as the Lamb of God, the one for whom Israel had been waiting, even though Jesus did not fit the expected profile of a warrior-king Messiah.

John recognized Jesus because he kept his eyes open to read the signs of his times. As disciples of Jesus, we, too, are called to read the signs of our times.

The signs can be confusing and even frightening in a world and nation that seem to be coming apart at the seams. We can get lost and misled by false Messiahs.

The Simon and Garfunkel song "Sounds of Silence" captures this well: "And the people bowed and prayed/to the neon god they made/and the sign flashed out its warning/in the words that it was forming/and the sign said, 'The words of the prophets/are written on the subway walls/and tenement halls/and whispered/in the sounds of silence.'"

How easy it is to make neon gods. When we can't find God or lose our way in life, we make our own. Neon gods take many forms: addiction to alcohol, drugs or pornography; worship of money, power or fame.

John the Baptist warned the people not to worship neon gods: to look beyond the flashy, seductive gods of instant gratification and see God, who loved them unconditionally and journeyed with them.

Jesus is not a flashy, neon God. His message is unappealing to the powerful elite. His way involves justice for the poor, liberating captives, mercy, forgiveness and peacemaking.

Jesus listened to the "voices written on the tenement walls" of the vulnerable and neglected people of His time, and proclaimed the Good News that God was on the side of justice and would never abandon them.

We are called to look for signs of Jesus' presence among us and in this world. It is not as difficult as it seems. God is love: love that is inclusive, that reaches out to every person on this planet, regardless of skin color, creed or other differences.

Every act of love, mercy or forgiveness is a sign of Jesus' presence. Every effort to restore justice, to advocate for the vulnerable and to make peace with each other and with our enemies is a sign that Jesus is present.

These signs will not make the news, but they are the news. They are the Good News.

You and I are not just called to read the signs of our times, but to become living signs of Jesus, alive and present here on Earth. This is the challenge of Gospel living.

John the Baptist recognized Jesus. Do people around us recognize Jesus in us? That does not mean doing great things or performing miracles; it simply means living as people who love, full of hope and joy because Jesus is with us and in us.

Our nation recently celebrated the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King read the signs of his times. He saw the injustices of segregation, poverty and prejudice. He became a living sign of Jesus's presence in our nation and restored hope to many whose future was bleak.

Dr. King had a dream that, "one day, all of God's children, black and white, Jews and Gentiles Protestants and Catholics [and, I might add, Muslims], will join hands and sing, in the words of the old Negro spiritual, 'Free at last; free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!'"

He gave his life to make that dream a reality.

Dr. King's dream is the same dream God had for our world from the beginning of time. Do we have the courage to read the signs of our times and become living signs that God's dream, Dr. King's dream and the dreams of countless other people is still alive and will become reality -- in the words of that old gospel song, soon and very soon?

That's the Gospel truth![[In-content Ad]]