When the Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign, (Matt 16:1-4) they were testing him.  Is he really the person he said he was?  Prove it by giving us a sign.  Despite telling us that we look for signs around us, the only sign that Jesus gives is the sign of Jonah, or put simply, Jonah’s three days in the fish’s belly proclaimed the future death and resurrection of Christ, and Jesus will show who he is by fulfilling this prophecy. 

However, for me, it’s not so much the sign of who Jesus is but what Jesus wants us to do.  How do we respond to the knowledge of who Jesus is?  And those are the signs I’m looking out for.  Where do I see the signs of the death and resurrection in church and the wider world and how do I join in?  Some things we do have little life left in them both in church and outside of church.  Other things seem to develop a life of their own, and they don’t take a lot of resources to gain much fruit.  Our task is to look for the signs where God is working and joining in and letting go of the bits which are not working for the Kingdom.  The real challenge is working out the difference and that is why we need each other.  We need to challenge each other to look harder or stop doing some things that we may do which don’t work anymore.  It takes us all look out for the signs Jesus is giving.

Stay vigilant.

Blessings

Al