First, an announcement: there are only 33 shopping days left until Christmas. Just thought you should know.
Anyone feel a little anxious over that? Just now, when I said that, did you notice a little anxiety creep down the back of your throat and down into your stomach?
What it I told you that there are only 4 shopping days left until… Thanksgiving?
Not as big of a deal, is it? Sure, we gotta get some food, but the pressure isn’t present at Thanksgiving in the same way that it’s there at Christmas. And whoever heard of anyone going into a huge credit card debt over Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is not like that. Thankfully, thanksgiving is not like that. You have the meal, which does require a fair amount of work, but other than that, not much preparation is required. As a result, Thanksgiving is mostly ignored by the Walmarts and shopping malls of the world—they go from Halloween right into Christmas—which, as far as I’m concerned, just makes Thanksgiving all the more special.
However, I must admit a growing sense of discomfort over Thanksgiving. It’s not enough to spoil the day for me, but it is there. It’s a sense of discomfort that centers on the true meaning of Thanksgiving. I sense this discomfort especially during the Thanksgiving prayer—that prayer that someone in the family offers before the feast begins, when we pause to consider all that we have—all that we are thankful for—and when we ask God to remember those who are less fortunate…
It’s not because I’m not thankful. That’s not what makes me uncomfortable. I am thankful. It’s because, sometimes, the act of giving thanks seems shallow to me. It seems empty and hollow.
If I thank God for things like food, clothing, and shelter, things that I have in abundance, way more than what I actually need—does that imply that God has somehow favored me over those who have far less than what they need?
I can think of nothing I’ve done to deserve such blessing, and I can think of very few places in scripture where God favors those who have more than they need by adding even more to what they already have. Indeed, it seems to be just the opposite, that God favors the poor.
When I thank God for what I have, is that just another way of saying, “Thank you, God, that I’m not like that man over there?” or, “Thank you, God, that I don’t have to live like all those poor people?” I’m not really comfortable with that.
I’m also troubled by the fact that, the moment that Thanksgiving Day becomes the Day After Thanksgiving, there is a mad rush to the stores. On Thanksgiving Day, many will say that they’re thankful for things like church, family, and community, but rarely do people get up at 3 a.m. for church, family, or community; but for 30% off and a free plush toy, they’ll be there with a cup of coffee in one hand and their credit card in the other.
Thursday, the day of declaring how thankful we are for all that we have; Friday, the day that proves we didn’t really mean what we said on Thursday, because really, all that we have isn’t enough; we have to rush to the stores to get more.
It’s not my intention to ruin your Thanksgiving or your Christmas. Indeed, what I hope to do is to help you save Thanksgiving and Christmas; save them from being shallow holidays filled with discomfort and anxiety, and transform them into days of fulfillment and blessing; I want to save them from being hollow days, and transform them into holy days.
I know it’s not going to be easy, because to do that, we have to change the way society views the world.
One way of viewing the world is to define ourselves by what we own. The more we have, the more we consume, the better, according to this worldview. Our identity depends on the accumulation of possessions. To improve oneself as a person in society, one needs to buy more stuff. But how much is enough?
Well, the one who is always trying to improve himself never has enough. As soon as one “want” is satisfied, a new “want” appears, which means that he will never find satisfaction. He will never find fulfillment. He will never be made whole.
Instead, he’ll just keep doing whatever it takes to accumulate more. He’ll search for the best deal, which means he’ll probably end up with a lot of stuff made in China, because it’s cheaper to make things in China—a lot of the stuff we buy for Christmas comes from China.
Of course, China has problems with pollution and human rights, problems which received notice during the recent Olympics. By insisting that we have cheaply made goods—and lots of them—do we share some responsibility for China’s problems? Or is getting what we want the only thing that matters?
If it is true—as this worldview says—that we are defined by what we own, then—whether we like it or not—we are also defined by what we’re willing to do to get all that we own. If we’re willing to overlook human rights to get more of what we want, then we’re defined by that. If we’re willing to pollute and destroy the earth to make ourselves richer, then we’re defined by that. If we’re willing to ignore the poverty that exists around the world, then we’re defined by that. Because all of this is a part of what we own, what we wear, what we drive. And as long as I’m defined by that—as long as my identity is wrapped up in this world of consumerism, I will feel discomfort. Especially when I am called upon to give thanks.
I might as well pray, “Thank you, God, for all that I have. Getting it may not have been the best thing for the world, but it was the best thing for me.” Not the most gracious prayer, but it is honest.
When I read Ezekiel’s story of the fat sheep which eat more than they should—the fat sheep who not only keep the best pastures for themselves but also trample down the rest—I know where I rank on the global sheep feeding ground. When I read of the sheep who not only take the best water for themselves, but also muck up the rest so that the poor, scrawny sheep have nothing to drink, I know where I stand. We live in the richest nation on earth, where we certainly have more than enough to eat—and we eat more than we should. When it comes to the nations of the earth, we are the biggest, fattest sheep around. And yet, we’re still not happy. We’re still not satisfied. We’re not really thankful for what we have, because we always want more.
This is what happens when we define ourselves by what we own, when our identity is wrapped up in the size of our house, or the car that is more than just a way to get from here to there. This is the worldview into which we are born, and which is heavily promoted through advertising, the media, the government, and even, sometimes, the church.
It is this worldview that makes me uncomfortable, especially around the holidays. It makes me uncomfortable to hear songs of Jesus’ birth used in commercials that promote this worldview, because Jesus took it upon himself to overturn this worldview and replace it with another. The Christmas carols may speak of good news, comfort, and joy; but the commercials which use those carols promote a worldview that says I can never have enough; and because I can never have enough, I will never be satisfied, and I will therefore always be anxious and apprehensive and insecure.
This is not good news to me. It does little to bring me comfort and joy.
As I said, it is not my intention to ruin your holidays, but to help save the holidays. And this salvation comes from a whole different worldview, the worldview proclaimed by Jesus, in which we are not defined by what we own. It’s a worldview that proclaims that the value of a person does not depend on the value of his or her assets.
In this alternative worldview, every person has value simply because they are a child of God. You are defined not by what you own; you are defined by the love of God. It’s not even your achievements, your accomplishments, that define you. Your identity, your worth as a human being, comes from the fact that God loves you.
Understand this, and you’ll realize that you don’t need more stuff to be happy. Having more stuff, especially stuff that you don’t need, won’t bring you fulfillment, satisfaction, or wholeness. Your worth as a human being comes not from all these things; it comes from the fact that you are a child of God.
The prophet Ezekiel spoke in a time of exile. There wasn’t a whole lot of good news for the Israelites. They were a people in search of salvation. They were a people in search of wholeness in a fragmented world. They were a people who needed some good news.
Good news, salvation, and wholeness will come, according to Ezekiel, when we learn to live in a community characterized by sustainable abundance, a community in which everyone has enough, in which the discrepancy between the rich and the poor, the strong and the weak, is undone. There will be no more fat sheep who trample the grass and scrawny sheep who don’t have enough.
There will instead be a community of people who recognize themselves and one another as children of God, and who learn to share their abundance with all their brothers and sisters. It will be a community in which no one is left behind, but all are able to live in peace. It will be a community that is truly thankful.
Yes, the current situation, and the world I live in, leaves me with some discomfort and anxiety. But I am thankful for the message of Jesus Christ, which shows me that there is another way, a way to true satisfaction and fulfillment, a way to wholeness for all of God’s people. And I am thankful for the church, the body of Christ, which has been called by God to share in the proclamation of this good news, and to continue working to make it a reality.
Through Christ, and through Christ’s church, this new world is at hand! Thanks be to God.
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