Black-Eye Friday

Early reports are coming in from Black Friday and the headlines aren't about the amount of money shoppers are spending, but about the lengths they are willing to go to get the item or items they want. A Los Angeles woman, determined to have her pick of electronics at her local Wal-Mart, pepper-sprayed other shoppers to keep them away. In the resulting melee, fifteen people were hurt. Three shoppers in a Rome, New York Wal-Mart got into a fight in the electronics department, sending two of them to the hospital and the third, to jail. Seven such incidents were reported at Wal-Mart stores across the country. Perhaps a better name for this shopping opportunity after Thanksgiving would be Black-Eye Friday! Were it only a Wal-Mart phenomenon, one could simply avoid that store for the first hours after Thanksgiving. However, reports document other altercations at stores, malls, and parking lots across the nation, perhaps redefining our society's understanding of "Christmas Spirit."

Hearing these stories, scanning the advertisements in the newspapers, or watching the commercials on television, one might be under the impression that Christmas begins and ends at the mall, the local car dealership, or at any of a million dot coms. As Advent begins this Sunday, there is opportunity once more for those searching for a different kind of celebration to find meaning beyond the merchandising of Christmas.

The prophet Isaiah spoke of a people walking in darkness, seeing a great light. The gospel writer John wrote of One whose coming brought light to a dark world. With each week of Advent, we will light a candle...hope, peace, joy, and love. Each flame will be symbolic of something beyond the commonplace, something much greater than what we too often settle for.

The rush and chaos of Black Friday will give way to Advent this Sunday morning. The light of Hope will illuminate our sanctuary as we gather to worship. I encourage you to join in this celebration and find once more a journey to Bethlehem that will bring change to your heart, not because you fought hard to get the treasure you wanted at the mall, but because the light of Christ dawned once more on you and others, seeking the brightness of the living Christ.

I will be posting daily Advent devotionals starting this Sunday. May these, and other observances of the season call you to reflection as you contemplate God's wondrous gift of love, Jesus Christ.

Jim Abernathy