I was out for
a leisurely walk yesterday afternoon. It
was one of those glorious days that would be unfortunate to miss. It was an effort not so much focused on
exercise and more focused on simply enjoying the day. I am not sure I do enough of that. Too often I am in the middle of something I
think is important and I am too much in a hurry to get to wherever I am
going. I think I do miss the roses
sometimes!
I was trying
to pay attention to the world around me and the cosmic beauty. But I was not particularly focused on
anything special. I was not trying to
see anything nor learn anything special.
I was certainly not thinking about this reflection to be written
tonight. But as usual, if one is open
and attentive, things are revealed. Once
again, I went for a walk and something spiritual occurred.
It was
provoked by an older woman who was driving down a street. I did not even notice until she stopped and a
young lad jumped out of the car and disappeared into one of the college
buildings. There was nothing unusual in
that. But then the woman pulled into a
driveway and began to turn around.
Suddenly, I was alert. She was
preparing to drive the wrong way on the one-way street.
I came close
to the car, as she was already backing out, ready to head in the wrong
direction. Without a sound, I simply
pointed to the direction she was supposed to drive…and I walked on. Sometimes I know people intentionally drive
the wrong way on a street. But I think
she was going wrong out of ignorance. I
had shown her the correct way; it was up to her to decide which way to go.
I do think in
her case, it was ignorance. I don’t
think she saw any one-way sign. And then
it hit me. Immediately I was fascinated
by signs and their function. Suddenly I
started seeing signs all over the place.
I never realized how many signs there are in my work neighborhood---and
probably in many neighborhoods.
There are
stop signs, street signs, signs to identify buildings. There are signs on stores and in stores. I realized that a primary function of a sign
is to point out something. Signs “tell”
us things. More precisely, signs
“signify” something. Good signs are
clear and unambiguous. We talk about a
stop sign. It means one thing. It ‘signifies” by both its shape and its
wording. Of course, we can choose to
ignore it. Funny that when that happens,
we say someone “ran a stop sign!”
The most
common form of signs in our world would be the words we use. If I say “cat,” you do not think
“elephant.” The word “cat” signifies
some little feline animal---anything but an elephant. Good signs usually have a shared
meaning. All of us who drive know what
the stop sign means. Signs like this
have significance.
The
significance of the stop sign is that it prevents accidents and chaos. Think how messy it would be if all drivers
did whatever they felt like when they came to stop signs. If we did this, the stop sign would have no
significance. It would be meaningless.
One more step
led me to realize not all signs deal with words. If I smile, that is a sign that I am ok or,
even, happy. That could have
significance. It probably means I am not
likely to bite off your head! So signs
signify and they have significance. But
is there anything spiritual in all this?
Of course
there is spirituality implicated here. Let’s
take the cue from my example of the smile.
My smile is how I present myself in the moment. It gives you a cue and maybe a clue to my
personality. Or my smile may mislead
you; my smile may be faking you out to believe something I want you to
believe. But we all know that I am more
than a smile. And you are, too.
But the point
is made. I present myself every day by
how I am and who I am. I am a walking,
talking sign. I am always signifying. Hopefully, I have significance. But I know some signs have no significance.
Allow me to
take this to the ultimate level. I
suggest the incarnation itself is the super-sign. For Christians the incarnation affirms that
the Divinity became humanity in Jesus.
In effect, Jesus “signs” God’s Presence on earth. What he said and did were powerful events of
signaling something specific about God’s desire for human beings. His life as a sign had immense
significance. That is spiritual to the
“nth” degree.
The spiritual
significance in this is clear: each of us has the same “signing” capacity as we
go about our own lives. It is not just a
Christian thing; it is a religious (or spiritual) thing. Our lives signify our loyalties, our values,
and our purpose. Let your life speak!
And let your life speak significantly.
Let your life be one of significance of the sign of God’s Presence.
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