Follow the Sign

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The world is full of signs, some more helpful than others. I once saw a sign on a fence that said “No Smoking Propane”. Or there is the sign I saw in a book that read “To Go Left Make 3 Right Turns”. I'm sure you have seen signs in various places that caused you to laugh, scratch your head, or just plain wonder what the signmaker was thinking.

In general, most of the signs we see regularly are good. Signs give useful information. Street signs tell us where we are, and help us find where we want to be. In every land, in every language, the first thing a foreigner learns to recognize is the restroom sign. Then, once you can find the restroom wherever you are, you learn to recognize food signs. We need an abundance of signs to help us answer those three basic questions: where am I, where is the restroom, and where is the food?

Other signs serve to protect us. Stop signs keep us from running into each other with our cars, and keep traffic moving smoothly, at least most of the time. Another safety sign we have seen a lot lately is the radiation hazard sign. Radiation and biohazard signs are extremely important to notice, because they could mean the difference between life and death if you get exposed to something dangerous. Then, of course, there is the sign that functions as a plot device in so many movies and cartoons – the dead end sign. When approaching a waterway or a cliff, it is very important to notice this sign, before you find yourself sailing off the edge into the great beyond.

Thirdly, signs serve to teach us about something greater than the sign itself. Why do we make the sign of the cross over ourselves? To remind ourselves that we are baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus, and to apply that to our own lives. Why do we have crucifixes, icons, and religious statues? To teach us the great truths of the Christian faith through images, as reminders of the things which they depict. Our own statue of Jesus here above the altar serves as a double sign – Jesus Himself, and the nail marks in His hands which He shows as proof of His death for our salvation. We continually receive signs from God through His wondrous means of grace. As your sins were forgiven in Holy Baptism, you were sealed with the Name of God, a sign of His adoption and acceptance of you as His child. Having confessed your sins, the hand of God is put upon you as a sign of the forgiveness that is yours in Christ. In the Lord's Supper, the Body and Blood of our Lord are put upon your tongue as a real forgiveness of sins and a sign of your coming salvation and entrance to the feast of heaven. These Holy Sacraments are signs to which you and I can point in times of doubt, to know that God loves us and has forgiven our sins.

However, the problem is that we do not want to follow the signs. How often do you fail to follow posted signs throughout your life? I certainly am guilty of fudging my way over the posted speed limit. Even the most careful driver at some point will miss a stop sign, or fail to merge properly, or fail to use a turn signal as indicated. It seems like all-too-often we hear about someone in a major city going the wrong direction on a one-way street, or worse yet, on the highway. When I lived in St. Paul, it seemed like it happened just every few months. For a while in southern California, going the wrong way on the freeway became a preferred method of suicide – you could kill yourself and get yourself on the evening news all in the same event.

Likewise, you and I are consistently guilty in disobeying God's signs. The people of Israel blinded themselves to God's signs of favor to them. It was not good enough that the Lord brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of slavery under Pharaoh. It was not good enough that He provided manna for them each morning and quail each evening. It was not enough that they had Moses and Aaron to lead them. They wanted the comfort of rich food and secure beds, even if that was really just an illusion created by cloudy memories.

Later, the people of Israel refused to heed the signs given through the prophets. Ahaz tried to play innocent by refusing the Lord's offer of a sign through Isaiah, and the prophet gave him one anyway. Elijah arranged a powerful sign as the Lord burned up the altars on Mount Carmel, and yet the people persisted in idol worship. Ezekiel gave the people all sorts of signs from the Lord, and they refused to hear his message or heed his signs. They even imprisoned Jeremiah.

You and I are not much better about following the signs. The cross of Christ stands before us as plainly as the fiery serpent perched on the pole over the Israelites, and yet we look the other way. We would rather stand and stare at the icons of this day and age than see the Lord in the signs He presents to us. The world is full of things more interesting to look at than Jesus and His horrible, gruesome cross. The Buddha just sits there and smiles, and beckons all to spend their lives sitting and grinning into space. The face of religious tolerance and relativism is like the eyes of Medusa, beguiling us to look, but turning us to stone as soon as we do.

Of course, our disobedience is only a symptom of the problem. The real heart of the problem is the sinfulness inside you and me. Born in sin, we could not even see the cross, let alone pay it any heed. Even after having been washed and redeemed, our vision is still clouded by sin, and we must be continually reminded of what lies in front of us.

And what is before us? Jesus is the sign that stands before us. He is the ultimate sign, in every sense. Jesus is the sign promised through Isaiah those many years ago. He is the son conceived by a virgin and born to bear the kingdom on His shoulders. He is the shoot that grows from the stump of Jesse, bringing new life from the remnant of the house of David. He is the Lamb who lies down in front of the lion. Jesus is the one who was raised on high for the whole world to see upon the cross. Jesus is the ultimate sign because He not only points us to what He says, but He actually gives us what he promises. On the cross, the world sees the incontrovertible image of the justice and the love of God displayed there for all to see. On the cross we see our salvation accomplished once and for all. On the cross we see the sign of life. Infected with the poison of sin, we look to the cross and receive life.

For on the cross Jesus gave His life to be the sign by which we find salvation. Though the Jews seeks signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, we seek Christ crucified and raised for the forgiveness of our sins. Look to the cross and find life. Look to Jesus and find your way in the dark. Look to the empty tomb and find the victory accomplished over death. Look to Jesus and find your peace now and your rest in heaven.

The cross is the sign of God's clemency toward us. By Jesus' death, He has won for us reprieve from our death sentence. The cross is now for us not a sign of judgment and pain, but a sign of God's mercy and grace, that we need not suffer as Christ did, because His suffering is all-sufficient.

The cross of Christ is now the sign to which all nations on earth stream, as Isaiah prophesied. The cross stands as proof that God so loved the world that He sent His only-begotten Son, not to condemn the world, but to die for us and rise again to bring us new life. The blood shed on the cross washes us clean of our sins and makes us each white as snow.

Now, having been cleansed of all your sins, follow the signs. You have received the washing and regeneration of Holy Baptism. The sign of the cross was engraved upon you, marking you as a redeemed child of God, and that cross stands before you every day to lead and guide you, and to defend and protect you on the way. This day you will receive the Lord's Supper, His very Body and Blood given for you for the forgiveness of your sins. Receive this Gift as a real and true sign and pledge of God's grace and favor poured out in the cup we drink. And ever look to the cross, and receive life. For there, and nowhere else, is our life and salvation.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;

Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies.

Heav'n's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;

In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.