BLACK THURSDAY OR GIVING
TUESDAY?
2 Corinthians 9:1-5,
13-15
Luke 6:37-38
"Thanks be to God
for his indescribable gift." 2 Cor. 9:15
As most of you know, Isobel and I were in the
United States during the month of November.
On the day we arrived in Atlanta, after a long and exhausting trip, we went shopping in one of the
omnipresent malls that keep popping up on the landscape. Although it was only the beginning of
November the shops were alive with the sounds of Christmas and the shelves full
of the goodies associated with the "season to be jolly." "And it's not even Thanksgiving!" Anton
exclaimed. Yes, indeed, traditionally
in the States you first have to celebrate Thanksgiving before thinking about
Christmas. But commercial interests have
dictated otherwise and in doing so have, to my mind, further undermined the
meaning of Christmas.
Thanksgiving, held on the last Thursday of
November every year, is the American feast day above all others. It is when families gather together, many
travelling great distances for the
occasion, to give thanks for the past year and every blessing received; it is
not a day for giving and receiving presents but simply being there for one
another and enjoying a traditional turkey meal.
This, so we are told, recalls the celebration the New England settlers shared
with the Indians after they had survived their first winter in the new world,
though turkeys evidently were not part of the fare.. But instead of Thanksgiving now leading into
the Christmas season in a spirit of thanksgiving and gratitude, it ushers in a
frenzied round of shopping which begins the next day, called Black Friday.
Black Friday is a day of nonstop gigantic sales
and spending, the busiest shopping day of the year. People come in their tens of thousands early
in the morning and even on Thanksgiving evening, waiting for the stores to
open. Then the frenzy of buying begins. The intention is to clear out all the stock to
make room for Christmas stuff. Black
Friday symbolizes more than anything else an acquisitive society driven by commercial greed. The term Black
Friday goes back to the 1960's and its origin is variously understood. While some say it refers to the heavy traffic
on the roads, others insist that it is when retailers turn financial loss,
being in the red, to profit, being in the
black. Big stores make billions
on that day alone. And for those who do
not want to be part of the big bargain hunt, pushing and shoving on Black
Friday, the next Monday has been named Cyber-Monday for all those growing
numbers who shop on line!
Of course, squashed between Black Friday and
Cyber Monday is Advent Sunday which, if rightly observed, prepares us for
Christmas in a way that takes us to the heart of its meaning and is an antidote
to its commercialization. That is why we need to journey through the
Season of Advent. But seeing that Advent
does not feature high on the list of Christmas preparation for most people
including Christians, at least celebrating Thanksgiving is far better than
Black Friday as a way to inaugurate the season.
At least at Thanksgiving Americans do not give gifts to each other, they give thanks to God for each other, for the gift of life and
all that sustains us through the year.
So we may salute those Americans who are now proposing that the Tuesday
after Thanksgiving should become Giving Tuesday in preparation for
Christmas! But give me the
well-measured rythym of Advent any time.
Christmas is, of course, a time for giving and
receiving gifts, and only a scrooge does not delight in seeing the faces of
children opening their gifts however simple.
So I am not offering a diatribe against the sharing of gifts. But let us not lose sight of what it is all
about. When St. Paul expresses his gratitude for God's gift "beyond words"
or God's "inexpressible gift," he is taking us to the heart of the
matter. If Christmas is about God's
indescribable gift of himself in Christ, what is the most precious gift we can
give someone as a sign of our gratitude? If Christian giving is an expression of our
love for others, what expresses that love most?
It is surely the giving of ourselves to the other without which the gift
is really an empty gesture. Children and
grandchildren, siblings, partners and friends may all expect something they
want, and who would deny them at least some of that, but what they need most of
all is not something but someone. Giving gifts too often becomes an alternative
to giving ourselves. . It is
love that transforms gift-giving into something more than spending money on something.
It is giving something of yourself to others
and, in return, receiving them and
not just their gift. When it becomes
that it becomes sacramental, a means of grace, just as the bread and wine we
share in this feast of Thanksgiving or Eucharist, is an expression of God's
self-giving.
The Battle of the Boyne in 1690 between Irish
Catholics and Protestants was a watershed moment in the establishment of
Northern Island. Every year since then
the Protestant Orangemen have marched to celebrate their victory much to the
anger of Catholics. In 2004 a remarkable
walnut tree that had witnessed the Battle of the Boyne more than two hundred
years before blew down. Part of that
tree was turned into a beautiful bowl which was given to the Prime Minister of
Ireland, Bertie Ahern. Two years later,
in 2006, when negotiations to bring the Northern Ireland Troubles to an end
were at breaking point, driving the mediators Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern
almost to despair, knowing that it was the fiftieth wedding anniversary of Ian
Paisley, the leader of the Protestant Nationalists, Ahern gave him the wooden
bowl as a sign of reconciliation.
Paisley was overwhelmed by the gift, broke into tears and declared that he
now believed that the Republic of Ireland did not intend to take over Northern
Ireland. So the talks proceeded and
succeeded. The gift had broken down the
barrier between the warring parties.
Such a gift is a gift beyond words.
It is a reconciling act that turns enemies into compatriots and
friends. It is sacramental.
Advent is a time when we prepare for the giving
of gifts, but we do so mindful of the sacramental significance of the gift
beyond words. For us giving is a way of
renewing relationships, of deepening friendships, of forgiveness and reconciliation, of sharing the peace of
Christ with each other. The real gifts
at Christmas best express the love we have for others because of the love we
have received from God. The American
feast of Thanksgiving is a good way to begin the Christmas Season, and
infinitely better than Black Friday, but celebrating the Eucharist together as
our Advent meal takes us to the heart of the matter. Thanks be to God for his
indescribable gift!
John de Gruchy
Volmoed
5 December 2013
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