We have all seen them, either on the big screen, little screen, or even in real life. That man standing on the street corner, holding the sign that says the end is near. They are often dismissed by the general public as crazy, a religious zealot taking his reading of Scripture all too seriously. How do they know it is the end times? Are there signs? We can take a look back at over the last century and find many instances in history where it looks like the end times are upon us. People are always looking for a sign.

Just recently Saturn and Jupiter were close enough to create an astronomical spectacle not seen by human eyes in 800 years. Many are calling it the Star of Bethlehem, although I think the true Star of Bethlehem was more of a divine supernatural occurrence as opposed to the lining up of celestial bodies. See, God knows no space or time, so coincidences of planets aligning based on predictive time loop paths aren’t supernatural.

Our own patron saint was not looking for signs when he was in the desert; baptizing people before Jesus Christ started his earthly ministry. St. John the Baptist was not out in the wilderness looking for signs of the Messiah, in fact, when see Jesus and John the Baptist come face to face for the first time in Sacred Scripture, John doesn’t recognize Jesus, and it was Jesus that came to John.

Where am I going with this? We are constantly looking for signs of the divine in our every day life, call them a God-Wink, or the Holy Spirit speaking to us. God has given us a great number of signs, a bow in the sky after a rain, to signify his covenant with Noah; and the cross on Calvary to signify the battle for salvation history won.

What Can I do? A Tale of an Inadvertent Knight

But the cross isn’t the only outward sign of the coming of God’s Kingdom. Through the support of the various works of charity, the Knights of St. John are an outward sign of what we are celebrating with the birth of Christ. While the bright Bethlehem Star guided the magi to a manger to see an innocent babe; a Knight by his virtuous lifestyle is an example of faith, a beacon of hope, and the flame of charity.

Merry Christmas Brothers, and may the God bless you and keep you safe this holiday season.