I admit I was shopping on Friday morning, or Black Friday as it has come to be known. I enjoyed this time of frenzied shopping, but I think the commercializm of Christmas has gone way to far, and the shopping season is becoming the engulfing notion for the end of November.
My family and I were in Cincinnati, OH for the Holiday to be with family. My wife and I went shopping Friday morning as I said at about 10 til 5:00 am we left my in-laws house, and went to the stores. I dropped my wife off at BestBuy and went to another store. Well I heard that some of those standing in line to get into BestBuy, which did not open until 6:00 am had been there since 9:00pm the night before. Now there was a good sale, but nothing that good. And is there not a need to be thankful for a day of rest, meaning there is nothing open, nothing to stand in lone for. Also on Black Friday morning, the police were called into disturbances in a couple stores in the area we were in. Neither of us (meaning me or my wife) were present at either of these locations, but heard from others who were. Welcome the holiday season, by fighting with some one over the last Barbie doll. Is this really what Christmas is about, or Thanksgiving?
Also I commented to my wife as we were driving to be with family on Thursday, Thanksgiving day, about all the stores and resturants and what not that were open on the way, how 20 years ago when we were young, stores and resturants were not open, and she came back with that that was true, and even gas stations would not have been opened. Now my wive’s grandmother had to work on Christmas at Wal-Mart, and K-Mart was open, and many buffet dining places had a Thanksgiving spread. Now I understand in our moble society that many could be away from family, unable to travel to be with them, and some do not have family’s. But 20 years ago, there were those without families, and those who could not travel to be with their family, but these were probably welcomed by others to join in their celebration…
I just wonder has the progression we have made a good one. We do not stop to give thanks, thanks for a family, a life, a country where we are free to drag the name of our political opponent through the mud, and worship whoever or whatever we want. But we can not take the time to be thankful for any of this, we have to shop til we drop and not let retail workers have the day off because we have to have it and now. We fight over special buys, and should be thankful for everything we have. Even the poorest in our country are the world’s richest people. We need to be thankful for the roof over our heads, the food we have to eat, the family we have, and fact that we are alive is reason to celebrate.
I believe that we as those who claim to be disciples of Christ, not the demonination, but those who are Christian, be that Baptist, Lutheran, Catholic, Methodist, insert demonination/non demonination here, need to reclaim this time of Thanksgiving, as it is through Jesus Christ’s giving his life we can be thankful, it is through his giving his love, grace and mercy we can be thankful. It is through this giving we can give. So in everything we have and everything we give, we need to be thankful, and have a day of rest. And time of reflection with family and firends on what Thanksgiving means, we need to get an “Attitude of Graditude” as my supervisor said in his Thanksgiving service proclaimation.
Remember why we can be thankful, and remember who has given us all things…
and now that we are in Advent, remember the promise that was made to us all, and the hope we have in the coming birth and return of Jesus Christ our king, our savior, our brother.
aSacredRebel 