Fr Ed Homily 8-13-20

Signs

When you are young and planning a multi-day road trip, you pack some clothes, plan some stops, and leave. I like road trips. I’m one who doesn’t do much planning. With my phone in hand and in a place where there is WiFi, I can call in ahead and make a hotel reservation. And I don’t worry about finding a restaurant. People who work in hotels will always share where the best place in town is. But as I’ve grown older, I’ve discovered that I need to plan something. That is where the next bathroom is. How many miles to that location? Is it easily found (some are not)? Do I have a backup plan just in case? An important sign is “Next Rest Stop”.

We all have different signs in our lives. Unfortunately, many of our landscapes are covered with signs. But we also have signs coming from our bodies that tell us something is wrong. There are warning signs, caution signs, work signs, and exit signs. Ezekiel was a living sign for the Israelite people. God wanted the people to see through the actions of Ezekiel what was going to happen. They were so stubborn that they thought that now that Ezekiel had done these actions, they were all doomed. They couldn’t see themselves as the problem.

Whether we think of this or not, we should all realize that we are signs for other people. People look at our actions and determine what kind of person we are before we even say a word. This should make us all stop and think. What kind of sign am I to the others? How do they see me? Let us hope that we are a sign of love and forgiveness, of mercy and peace.

May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen