This will be a sign for you...
Luke 2:12
Signs, signs, everywhere a sign. On Broadway there are iconic signs that line both sides of the street and the back alleys of downtown Fargo. Large illuminated signs, like the Fargo Theatre, the Black Building, and The Forum sign, give off a glow inviting us to become part of the landscape. These signs on Broadway serve as identity markers that help us know where we are and who are neighbors are, in relationship to our sign, First Lutheran Church 619 Broadway.
Signs are not new. People have been looking for and interpreting signs since the beginning of time. It is human nature to seek direction and want a place marker to stake our identity. The Bible speaks a great deal about signs; as something unusual that serves to make meaning and prove a truth that was spoken or promised by God.
Some of the signs in Scripture are given to stretch one’s faith. For example, Zechariah in Luke’s gospel asked for a sign because he struggled to believe the angel’s promise that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son in their old age and that this son, would be the forerunner of the Messiah. (Luke 1:1-24) The angel gave a sign to the shepherds. “This will be a sign for you. You will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” Unusual indeed, that the long awaited promise of a Savior would be born in a cattle stall, and yet, this is the sign that we as followers of Jesus, stake our identity upon. This babe wrapped in swaddling cloths is the direction we seek.
However, we often look for signs in all the wrong places. Truth be told, the sign we most need doesn’t come from Washington or the nightly news. The best news this world has ever received came wrapped in bands of cloth and was laid in a bed of straw. He alone fulfills the prophecy that “the Lord shall give you a sign; a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be Immanuel, God with us.” (Isaiah 7:14)
In this season of uncertainties, may you be certain about the sign of Christmas and hold it forever in your heart.
The four weeks of Advent are a time to prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ-child. Join us as we turn our hearts and attention to the signs that lead us to the meaning of Christmas.
Sunday, November 29
Signs of HOPE in our uncertainty
Isaiah 35:1-10
Sunday, December 6
Signs of PEACE in our struggles
Isaiah 2:1-5
Sunday, December 13
Signs of JOY in our discouragement
Isaiah 40:1-11
Sunday, December 20
Signs of LOVE in our differences
Isaiah 11: 1-10