Lent: Signs

Hundreds of years ago, ravens developed a reputation as birds of ill omen. The birds, which feast on carrion, had discovered that when armies of humans moved with horses and siege engines, they would lead the birds to a massive picnic.

The peasants on the ground would look up at the sky darkening with blackbirds and shudder as they felt death gather its cloak around the countryside. Like the ravens, they had learned to recognize the signs and knew what they meant.

Signs are shy on details but good as general indicators for what's to come. When the clouds grow heavy, we know it's going to rain; when people stop going out to eat, we know the economy is going to shrink; and when the first tender shoots of flowers burst through the mulch we know spring is near.

Red in the morning is a shepherd's warning. A cold wind from the northeast brings heavy rain. God keeps the particulars to himself, but he has painted signs of his purpose on heaven and earth and on the canvas of the human heart.

Open your eyes and open your ears. What signs do you see, and what are they telling you?


Copyright © 2020 by David Learn. Used with permission.


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