#Sign
We've reached that stage in Advent when even those who try to observe the whole season of Advent, find that Christmas seems to be so almost here that we just allow Christmas to overtake Advent.
I certainly found that to be true when thinking how to respond to today's Advent Word #sign.
The word 'sign' immediately made me think about what the angel of the Lord told the frightened shepherds on the margins of Bethlehem, on the night Jesus was born. How were the shepherds to know that the good news of great joy for all people that the angel promised was true? The angel gave them a sign:
"This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." Luke 2: 12 (NRSV)What an unlikely sign of universal good news!
The shepherds decided to investigate and went immediately to Bethlehem to see for themselves if what the angel told them was true. Their search was rewarded. Here is how Luke tells it:
"So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them." Luke 2: 16 - 20 (NRSV)
What a sign! A baby lying in a manger designed to hold livestock feed. Now that is worth pondering, especially if what the angel said was true, that this new-born is a Saviour for "all the people".
Image Credit: Wikipedia
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