There will be Signs
As a boy growing up, I had an eccentric great aunt, Tanti Nen, who lived alone in the countryside on a three-acre homestead, in what was once a grand family home. The grandeur of the large, high-ceilinged, four-bedroom house with intricate latticework had long faded, but she remained there, a figure reminiscent of Miss Havisham.
Without telephones, whenever our extended family planned a visit to her, we treated it as if it would be a delightful surprise. Yet, upon our arrival, she would quickly declare that she had expected us. ‘The wood fire was crackling,’ she would say, explaining that it was a clear sign we were on our way and that she had already begun preparing for our visit. She had, in her unique way, read the signs.
This week, as I read the Gospel passage from Luke 21:25-28, 34-36 — ‘There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars, and on the earth distress among nations...’ — I thought of Tanti Nen. She was someone who, with her eccentric wisdom, would have surely discerned the signs of the times.
In this first week of Advent, Jesus exhorts us to be vigilant and discerning, to read the signs of His expected coming, and to prepare our hearts for His joyous arrival on Christmas Day.
Sadly though the signs will not be pleasant signs. Figuratively there will be ‘distress among nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding…’ The signs, like the crackling of the fire, would be externally and internally unsettling.
We are warned to expect agitation without and within. As I read about the chaos at shops on ‘Black Friday’ and I experienced the ‘anger’ on the roads this weekend, I recognized these as external signs. I also detected an inner turmoil within me as well.
It is in this setting that Jesus is calling us to quieten ourselves and not get caught up in the angst. He invites us to step away from the noise and haste and slow down. Advent is not a time to be swept up in the frenzy, but a call to stillness and preparation, to contemplation.
In the face of external chaos and internal unease, Jesus reminds us to center ourselves in prayer, reflection, and hope. By quieting our hearts, we create space to hear His voice, to recognize the signs of His coming, and to prepare a welcoming place for Him in our homes and lives. This is the countercultural rhythm of Advent — to pause, breathe, and wait expectantly for the Prince of Peace.
I encourage you to create a small Advent wreath at home, and to dutifully follow the season by the lighting of the candles and to let the crackling of its fire give you a sign of His coming as it did to Tanti Nen.
It is not to late to get my small ebook on Advent at the following link and start a journal to Christmas day. Advent ebook LINK