Recently away at a personal retreat, I joined other retreatants at a common dinner. Not surprisingly, one of our topics of conversation was Thanksgiving plans. It was then we learned that two of our companions happened to be chefs. "Ugh!" one exclaimed. "I'm 'turkeyed out.' I've been cooking turkeys for about two months now." The other agreed...come early October, turkey becomes the featured item at restaurants and grocery delis. The first chef emphatically stated that she was not making a turkey for her own Thanksgiving celebration.
Which, of course, immediately made me reflect on the treasure that is the Holy Season Advent.
Our society--including retailers, to be sure, but also offices, restaurants, radio and television stations, neighbors, and yes, sadly, even some churches--is convinced that Christmas begins (in 2014, anyway) sometime around the first week of October and continues, full-bore, until December 26 (when the post-Christmas sales begin). The problem? When we are thus saturated by Christmas (music, "spirit," decorations, flavors, colors, traditions, etc.) for weeks on end, the actual celebration loses a lot of its meaning. It can even become distasteful. We only come truly to treasure something when it is out-of-the-ordinary.
I love pizza. It's easily my favorite food. But if I were to have pizza every day or night for a few days, I would find I'm not enjoying it as much...I may even begin craving other foods! Pizza always tastes best, and is most a treat, when I haven't had it for a good long while--especially when I know pizza night is coming a few days in advance!
Similarly, Christmas is so much richer when we take the time to prepare for it without actually celebrating it. That's what Advent is all about...our anticipation and preparation for the celebration of Christmas (which, incidentally, in church reckoning, actually begins the evening of December 24 and continues for a minimum of 12 days).
Perish the thought we should arrive at December 25 and people are so 'Christmassed out' that we cannot properly celebrate the birth of God-made-flesh, or worse--that we are tired of Christmas and are ready for it all to be behind us. What a sadness that would be.
Instead, this year, take a trial run through Advent...coming this Sunday to a liturgical church near you!
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts
25 November 2014
20 November 2012
Black Thursday
Three years ago, I published this post on "The Liturgy of Black Friday," arguing how the practices (and underpinning ideology) of Black Friday essentially stand in opposition to the spirit of Thanksgiving, how the practice of giving thanks makes us more human, while Black Friday dehumanizes us.
Now, certain retail stores have opted to move the opening of Black Friday up to Thursday night, and frankly, I don't know what's worse--the fact that these stores encroach upon Thanksgiving Day in the name of higher profits, or the fact that we, the American consumers, will no doubt reward them with those same profits by hitting the stores even before Thanksgiving Day draws to a close.
This tragic situation is a microcosm of the deepening trend in our society of forsaking the appropriate exercise of our God-given relationality--with an acknowledgement of our need for others, our inter-dependence, and the humanizing practice of love--in favor of an ever more individualistic, autonomous existence that feeds on the immediate fulfillment of desires, often at the expense of others. To say it again, this latter way of life is actually the way of death--it makes us less human. Once it creeps into our minds and hearts, it steals away life and undermines genuinely life-giving practices. Just as Black Friday has now truncated our day for giving thanks, so our unchecked consumerism will eventually consume us, both as individuals, body and soul, and as a society.
The good news is, we have a choice. We can opt out of the mad rush of acquisition and humbly count our blessings. We can refuse self-serving, atomistic individualism and adopt postures of humility, mercy, thankfulness, and love. We can avoid rampant consumerism and seek to perform charitable acts that respect the dignity of others.
Please, at the very least, remember Thanksgiving and keep it "holy"--set apart--by taking the time to acknowledge how very much we've been given, how dependent we are on the generosity of God, our loved ones, and even those unknown to us. Then, give thanks. Shopping can wait 'til Friday.
For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? - Mark 8:36
Now, certain retail stores have opted to move the opening of Black Friday up to Thursday night, and frankly, I don't know what's worse--the fact that these stores encroach upon Thanksgiving Day in the name of higher profits, or the fact that we, the American consumers, will no doubt reward them with those same profits by hitting the stores even before Thanksgiving Day draws to a close.
This tragic situation is a microcosm of the deepening trend in our society of forsaking the appropriate exercise of our God-given relationality--with an acknowledgement of our need for others, our inter-dependence, and the humanizing practice of love--in favor of an ever more individualistic, autonomous existence that feeds on the immediate fulfillment of desires, often at the expense of others. To say it again, this latter way of life is actually the way of death--it makes us less human. Once it creeps into our minds and hearts, it steals away life and undermines genuinely life-giving practices. Just as Black Friday has now truncated our day for giving thanks, so our unchecked consumerism will eventually consume us, both as individuals, body and soul, and as a society.
The good news is, we have a choice. We can opt out of the mad rush of acquisition and humbly count our blessings. We can refuse self-serving, atomistic individualism and adopt postures of humility, mercy, thankfulness, and love. We can avoid rampant consumerism and seek to perform charitable acts that respect the dignity of others.
Please, at the very least, remember Thanksgiving and keep it "holy"--set apart--by taking the time to acknowledge how very much we've been given, how dependent we are on the generosity of God, our loved ones, and even those unknown to us. Then, give thanks. Shopping can wait 'til Friday.
For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? - Mark 8:36
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