The Altar of Consumerism

For years we have been warned that it was coming. Each year "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving and the unofficial start of the Christmas Shopping Season, has inched earlier and earlier. The usual opening time was not enough to beat the competition, so stores began to open at 7:00 a.m., then 6:00 a.m., then 4:00 a.m., midnight,  and then 11:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving night, and earlier.

Now, it seems, stores have decided to disregard the holiday altogether and make the day one for shopping and commerce by opening at 6:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning.

Is nothing sacred any longer? Has the family in the Norman Rockwell painting died only to be replaced by mobs of people crushing one another to get the best deal possible under the guise of "generosity" at Christmas? Are we to believe that the people who are pushing each other down for a 52" TV are buying that item for someone else? And even if they are buying it for someone else and not themselves, does that effort at "generosity" preclude stopping to give God thanks for what He has provided us as a nation and people? Isn't it ironic that people who are "buying for their loved ones" choose to skip giving thanks with those very loved ones on Thanksgiving? And what of the forced sacrifice of those who must work? Are they not allowed a day with their families?

The scenes we see each year of people lining up at the doors, pushing and shoving, crushing (and sometimes killing) one another are sickening. When is the last time we saw that kind of rush to get at Jesus in the Eucharist? What would our world look like if, instead of mobs going out in the middle of the night for the best bargains, those mobs turned their hunger, desire, efforts, enthusiasm, determination, and convictions towards meeting God in the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist?

We must pray for our world and never lose faith or hope. We are called to be a light set atop a lampstand in an otherwise dark world. We do so without judgment or condemnation, but through example and joy. Our invitation to the world must be filled with the Love of Jesus Christ, always inviting and encouraging.

There are two things we can do. First, is we can gather and pray on Thanksgiving Day. Our Eucharist will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day and will include the Baptism of a new Christian. We can be a family of faith who witnesses through prayer and attendance.

The second thing we can do is to pray for those we see on TV when the news reports come out. Identify faces in the crowd, pause the TV if you can, and focus on one or two faces for whom we might pray. It's a simple act, but if we can begin to imagine their needs we can enter into their shopping frenzy in a different sort of way.

Let us give God thanks for his abundant gifts by slowing down and praying for one another...with one another.