Reading the True Signs of Christmas

Luke 21:25-28

I recently saw a book compiled by Doug Lansky entitled, Signspotting.[1] This book is certainly not destined for “classical” status, but it would make a great coffee-table book. It’s all about humorous and confusing signs seen around the world. Surprisingly…or maybe not to you… a number of these confusing and humorous signs are right here in our beloved North Carolina. Consider some of the signs that seem to send mixed signals.[2]

In Ireland there’s a sign that reads, Caution/Plant Crossing. Can plants really cross the road?
In Twain Harte, California, Fishing for Children Only / Limit 3. Thank you, but I have my limit already.
In Lake District, England there’s a place called the Barf Bed & Breakfast. So, do you think they’ll be in business long?
Out in San Diego, near the ocean a sign reads, Cruise Ships / Use Airport Exit. Hmmm.
Also in California, how about this one? Antique Tables Made Daily!
A portable sign in Racine, Wisconsin said, Happy Easter / We Rent Handguns. Somehow, I don’t think this is exactly what Jesus had in mind.
Some of you might have seen this sign near Pigeon Forge, Tennessee: Please Keep Boogertown Clean.
How about this sign in Maui, Hawaii, Bottomless Pit / 65 feet deep.
In Acadia National Park, Maine, a sign reads Thunder Hole / Restrooms. No comment.

And now the ones from North Carolina…

In Wilmington, there is a goofy sign, Worms and Coffee. I’m thinking that only true fishermen would appreciate this one.
And lastly at Walker’s Funeral Home in Chapel Hill, a sign apparently says, Walker’s Funeral Home / ATM Inside. I guess for a little spending cash on the way.

You’ve probably encountered some of your own signs that have stopped and made you wonder, “Now what exactly are they trying to say here?” or “Does the one responsible for this sign really know what the message says?”

The Church has a bit of a puzzling message for the first Sunday of Advent each year. Each year, the lectionary fills the first Sunday of Advent with apocalyptic passages like we have in our text today. These passages don’t focus on Christ’s earthly birth, but his second coming. Why talk about the 2^nd coming on the 1^st Sunday of Advent? Isn’t it jumping the gun a bit and slighting Christmas? We expect to hear phrases like we have in verse 28, “…your redemption is drawing near” in the birth narrative of Luke 2, but this is chapter 21! In two short chapters Jesus is going to be hanging on a Roman cross! This is not what we expect. Did those who put the lectionary together just goof and get the order mixed up?

Scholar Jude Siciliano writes, “We should listen to the voices of Advent.”[3] But I think it’s hard to hear the voices of Advent when there’s so much background noise. The noise seems to start earlier and earlier each year and gets more cluttered. By now, you’ve heard your share of Christmas carols, have seen the decorations, and have read what everyone believes should be your focus this Advent season. I guess you can add to the multitude of voices this Baptist preacher who is talking about the 2^nd coming of Jesus when we’d rather slow down and talk about his first coming.

The second coming of Jesus is not one you’ll find on greeting cards. The Bible says everything flies apart when Jesus will come again. Nations go to war. Civilians run for cover. There’s blood in the streets and famine in the fields. If we have to pick an advent where our redemption draws near, as verse 28 says, we’ll pick the gentle baby over the Jesus-who-wants-to-blow-up-the-place every time. That’s because we know about babies, and so we think since we can “handle” babies, we can domesticate Christmas in the same way. In our manger scenes we present a baby Jesus that is quiet, cuddly, and surely doesn’t have a soiled diaper.[4] But is that really the message of Christmas or is that just another mixed message?

Don’t get me wrong in all this. There is no one who loves Advent any more than me. But we live in the time between the first advent, Christ’s birth, and the second advent, his promised return. His earthly birth is a done deal. Jesus is not going to be born again for any of us. Oh, let’s celebrate that birth but let’s also move on by looking forward and preparing for the advent that really matters for us – his promised return.

Too often, we mistakenly believe Advent removes us from the world and wraps us in the warm fuzzies of nostalgia. But really, Advent calls us to put on the coming of Christ.[5] We are to be watchful and aware in the midst of living our lives for Christ. And this is sometimes messy, just as many Christmases will be for people. This passage is a call to faithfulness – faithfulness in the midst of noise, confusion, heartache, mixed messages, busyness, joy, and celebration. We need to listen to the voices of Advent for our redemption is drawing near!

Amen.

[1] Doug Lansky, Signspotting: Absurd & Amusing Signs from Around the World (Oakland, CA: Lonely Planet Publishing, 2005).

[2] A whole article is developed around this theme in Homiletics, December 2006, pp. 31-35. This where I found the Lansky book reference and then found the book at Barnes & Noble.

[3] Jude Siciliano, “Advent: The Coming of Christ and His Justice,” The Living Pulpit, October-December 1997, p. 28.

[4] Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., “Between Two Advents: In the Interim,” The Christian Century, December 6, 2000, p. 1270. I’ve modified Plantinga’s wording but the essence of the thoughts are his.

[5] Jude Siciliano, “Advent: The Coming of Christ and His Justice,” The Living Pulpit, October-December 1997, p. 29.