Today, we are all like St. Joseph. As Christmas approaches on this final Sunday in Advent, we hear again the story of how Joseph, betrothed to Mary, but not yet married, will break up quietly. Through the action of the angel, however, Joseph has a turn-around. He realizes there is something more important—God’s plan—and pushes forward in love, entering into the marriage and becoming the foster father of Jesus.

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Signs are all around us. They seek to direct, announce news, and proclaim messages. How we engage meaning- making in the world is often dependent on the meaning we attach to the signs we encounter in our lives. Today's Gospel reading presents us with a biblical version of this process. John the Baptist, now imprisoned, seeks to know who Jesus is, and Jesus responds by encouraging the disciples of John to look at the signs.

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The nineteenth century French painter James Tissot created this illustration of today’s Gospel reading in the period 1886-1894 as a part of a collection of art works of the life of Christ that are rooted in his own experience of visiting and touring the Holy Land. Tissot pictures John atop a rock formation that appears to be an entry to a cave, helping us to see and know the rough wilderness that was the Baptist's home. Gathered around him, listening, are several individuals. They appear to be from all walks of life: soldiers, townsfolk and, of course, the Pharisees and Sadducees, positioned front and center, sitting in profile, hearing the preaching of the final prophet.

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At first glance, Titian’s "Christ and the Good Thief" appears to be a depiction of two men in the process of being crucified.

When looking more deeply, however, the image presents a key understanding to what a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, Our King, as we celebrate Him today, is all about.

Notice that Jesus on the cross is clearly bound by the nails in his hands and feet. The good thief however appears somewhat suspended without nails, ropes, nor any foot support. His left arm seems to drop from the cross beam, his right raised in animated statement of his own belief that he is receiving what is deserved while Christ, the innocent one, is not.

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