In the 1960s, Time Magazine was seeing a decline in subscriptions. Something had to be done, so the decision was made to make a mass appeal to potential subscribers. Previously, such appeals had required a great deal of manual labor: writing, sorting, stuffing, labeling, stamping, etc.; however, about that time, IBM had come out with a razoo machine known as a computer that promised to eliminate all that work and make life easier. Time employed the computer and put it to work. With the database uploaded and the paper trays full (or whatever it was they had back then), someone hit start. It worked, with a couple of glitches (it seems nothing has changed regarding computers.) A rancher out in Wyoming, who never got all that much mail, began receiving mailbags full of letters. All told, he received 12,634 letters, all containing the same emotional appeal to subscribe to Time Magazine. The rancher read a dozen or so of those letters and must have taken it as some sort of a sign because he then wrote a check for $6 to Time Magazine to pay for a subscription. He also included a brief note with his check—“I give up!”
The Oxford Dictionary defines signs—as in signs and wonders—as “an object, quality, or event whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else.” One thing that is pointing to something else. We partially define a sacrament as “The outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.” Baptism in water is the outward and visible sign of the cleansing that is taking place within our souls. However, some may view one thing as a sign, while others may see nothing at all or only coincidence. As Umberto Eco, the author of The Name of the Rose, wrote, “The understanding of signs is not a mere matter of recognition (of a stable equivalence); it is a matter of interpretation.” (Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language)
I’ve told you this story before, but I like retelling it on occasion because it helps me remember the signs of my own life.
I had graduated from college and was working for a marketing firm in Dallas, but by the mid-90s, I had my fill, so I quit the white-collar job and moved to Butte, Montana. To pay the bills, I did several jobs, including working as the custodian at St. John’s Episcopal Church.
I’m a night owl, so I would go to the church late at night to do my work and, afterward, would go into the sanctuary, lean up against the altar, and say my prayer. One night, I prayed, “Lord, you’ve given me some smarts and a pretty good education. I’m happy doing this job, but if there is something else you want me to do, you need to let me know.” (A word to the wise: never give God an open-ended option.) The honest truth: I went home and crawled in, slept a bit late the next day, and woke up about when the mailman was delivering. In the mail was a large envelope. It contained something I had not requested, nor would I have even thought to order—an application to seminary.
“The understanding of signs is not a mere matter of recognition…. it is a matter of interpretation.” I only received one piece of mail, not 12,634 pieces, but I understood that one piece of mail as a sign. I did not try to interpret it on my own but took it to faithful friends and the Church. Based on my current position, you can see that we all got the wrong interpretation! Actually, I believe we did. I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. Signs and interpretation of signs.
There are many signs within Holy Scripture, which are sometimes very clear, but often, they are up for interpretation. In his Gospel, John is kind enough to tell us when a sign has occurred, and he does so on seven occasions.
The first was turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana, and also, in Cana, he healed the official’s son who was dying. While in Jerusalem, He healed the paralytic who was lying next to the Pool of Bethesda, and then, on a hill beside the Sea of Galilee, he fed the 5,000. This was followed by the fifth sign, walking on water, and later, He healed a man who had been born blind. Finally, Jesus gave the greatest of all signs: He raised Lazarus from the dead.
For each of these events, John tells us that what the people saw was a sign, but remember, a sign is an event or object pointing to something else, but to know what they are pointing to, we must first interpret them. In doing so, we understand that Jesus is not limited to earthly restraints. He can transform the ordinary—water—into the extraordinary—the best wine. He can heal those who are dying and restore those who are broken. He can take what little we have and produce a cup that is overflowing. He has power over the natural world, and He allows us to see what has been hidden. And, finally, He shows us that, with God, death has no power over us.
So, if we have these seven signs, and those are our interpretations, then what are these signs pointing us to? What is the greater meaning? “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance….” The seven signs that John tells us about all point to the Resurrection—itself, a sign to us of things to come.
Were these all the signs that Jesus gave? No. Toward the end of his Gospel, John tells us, “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
All these signs that the disciples witnessed and more that are not recorded, but… can I ask you a question? Where’s my sign? Where’s your sign? How come they got to see signs, and all we are left with are a few words in a book written 2,000 years ago? The only problem with that statement is that it is not true. Why? Because we, too, are provided signs. Signs not written in the book or identified as such are no less signs. Take our Gospel reading for today—the calling of Philip and Nathanael.
Jesus sees Philip and says, “Follow me.” Philip follows, and the first thing he does is find his buddy, Nathanael. Nathanael has his doubts but goes. Jesus sees Nathanael coming and says, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
That encounter is not one of the signs identified by John. For you and I, there are some cryptic sayings that need explanation, but they are summed up as the calling of the disciples but… what would Nathanael say about that encounter? “It was a day like any other day.” “Nothing special happened.” “No signs to see here.” No. Jesus’ statement to him, “I saw you under the fig tree,” was a sign for Nathanael. It was a sign that pointed him to God, for he declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Nathanael was called and was known by God, and that calling and that knowing were all the signs he needed.
I’ll tell you something that you may not know: you have been called by God. You are known by God. As the Psalmist sings,
“My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.”
God saw Nathanael under the fig tree, and God saw you before the creation of the world. God called Nathanael, and God calls you. That is your sign. You don’t need 12,634 pieces of mail or an application to seminary to know this to be true. You only need to look within to see the signs clearly. The only question remaining is, “How will you interpret them?”
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, You gift us with all the good gifts that make us the people you created us to be. Help us to know and find your will and to trust that you will help us to understand the individual path you call us each to journey in life. Where there is doubt, give us courage. Give us hearts open to your quiet voice so we can hear your call. Help us to know your faithfulness and help us to be faithful to that which you call us to. Amen.
Candle in a Cave 
Neat story