READING THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES [T, 12-31-24]

CHRIST IN WINTER: Reflections on Faith & Life for the Years of Winter—READING THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES [T, 12-31-24]

 

2024 is very old today. Apparently I am, too. Helen says that I’m becoming a real old man, because I explained to her meaning of the red car in Janey’s driveway.

Janey is a recent widow, in her 90s, walks with a cane. The red car is often in her driveway when I walk by, or pulling out with Janey in the passenger seat. The man who comes with the car is the right age to be her son.

So I explained to Helen that when the car is in the drive and the garage door is up, he won’t be long. Probably getting Janey to take her some place. But if the door is down, he will be there for a while.

Helen seems to think that is old-man nosiness, the sort of thing old men do because they have nothing else to think about. But I’m just trying to pay attention to the teachings of Jesus. “You hypocrites. You can read the signs of the weather, but not the signs of this present time.” [Mt. 16:3 and Luke 12: 56]

The problem is this: the signs of the weather are pretty consistent. Red skies in the morning, sailor take warning. Red skies at night, sailor’s delight. [1] The signs of the times are hard to read because they are always changing. As Adam said to Eve as they left the Garden, “My dear, I think we are entering a period of transition.” We’ve been transitioning ever since.

I read the signs of the times in our neighborhood as I walk. We have a lot of widowed folks who live alone. When I see newspapers piled up [2] or packages that have been sitting there for too long, [3] I know to contact the HOA office to have them call the folks who live there, because they either have left town and forgot to tell the newspaper delivery people [4] or they are lying on their floor, unable to move.

The key to reading neighborhood signs is regularity. If something is out of place, or different, it might be a sign that there is trouble.

As I expand my neighborhood to take in “the world as my parish,” I read lots of signs of trouble. Time to call the HOA office…

John Robert McFarland

I hope you have received blessings as well as disappointments in 2024, and I pray that 2025 will be a better year for you, and for the world.

1] Yes, the weather is changing, but in a way consistent with reading it.

2]Yes, we still have a newspaper, and yes, there are people who have hard copies delivered

3] One of the greatest hazards of walking our neighborhood is dodging the ubiquitous large delivery trucks on our narrow streets. Also, we have neighborhood ducks, so I hate Amazon delivery trucks. When I hear quacking, I don’t know if it’s the ducks or an Amazon truck backing up.

4] That’s why we get the electronic version of the local newspaper. Never have to contact anyone about delivery.