Thankfulness

"It is finally here!"

I heard someone say this just a few days ago.  I was certain that what was here was this amazing day that we set aside the normalcy of our daily lives in order to gather with family and friends to give thanks to God and celebrate life together.  I was certain they were talking about the day that we spend hours in the kitchen and extended time at the table talking, laughing and relaxing. 

And then the surprising words came out...
   "Black Friday shopping!  I've waited all year!!"

In a world bombarded with commercials about the deals of Black Friday and the necessity to go out on Thursday to get those deals, I felt saddened. Saddened that we have lost the ability to be present with our families, to stop the grind of consumerism for one day, to pause and acknowledge all that we have to be thankful for, especially God.

And then it hit me...
I'm saddened about Thanksgiving's loss of importance, but disturbed by our neglect of grasping the following season of Advent which culminates on Christmas.  We spend hours and hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars buying stuff but such little time waiting, preparing, longing, expecting, and crying as ancient Israel did- "How long, O Lord?" 

Instead, we've traded the richness of Christmas for a lesser vision of buying and gifting things, stuff, trinkets to others. As we slide out of Thanksgiving, perhaps the appropriate response for Advent is that same spirit...a spirit of Thanks!  Thanks to the God who hears our cry in the wilderness of life and runs to save us.  Thanks to the God who puts flesh on so we can finally grasp the depth of God's character and love.  Thanks that Christmas isn't about stuff but is about us- relationships between God and humanity AND humanity with humanity.

Perhaps this year, we turn Christmas upside down.  Perhaps we pause for a moment to ask the deeper questions of life like:  Why do I celebrate Christmas?  What is the appropriate response to God's gift in Jesus Christ?  How do I participate in the Great Story of God's salvation by helping to be an agent of change in the lives of others?

Yet first, perhaps we need to pause and say "Thank You" to God, to our family, and to our friends.  Let's be a people of Thankfulness first and foremost!