TGIBF (Thank God It’s Black Friday)

There’s a big sale day coming this week. Many people will do outrageous things just to save a few bucks on gifts that they want to give to others at Christmas (or keep for themselves!). People will trample others in order to get to those deals. Every year we hear horror stories about some tragic incident that certainly doesn’t demonstrate the supposed meaning of the season. In those situations we put aside common courtesy or peace on earth goodwill towards men in order to obtain those precious gifts we delude ourselves into thinking we need. But I digress.

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving Day. The name derives from the economic fact that many retailers come out of the red and into the black based on holiday sales. The holiday sales season traditionally begins the day after Thanksgiving. There are other explanations but this one seems to be most plausible based on recent history.

But there was another black Friday about 2000 years ago. It was possibly the first black Friday. It didn’t happen the day after Thanksgiving as we know it. It did happen the day after Jesus instituted the “Lord’s Supper” which many people know as the “Eucharist.” In Greek, eucharist means “thanksgiving.” So, there may be historic precedence in Black Friday occurring after Thanksgiving. This Black Friday is commonly known as Good Friday. It is not biblically unreasonable for it to be referred to as Black Friday. Matthew 27:45 states: “From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land.” (also Luke 24:44-45) This fulfills what the prophet Amos foretold in his utterances 750 years before Christ. “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.” (Amos 8:9) It really was a black Friday.

For Christians it was also a Good Friday. As Christians, we are Easter people, people of the resurrection, which took place on Sunday. But you cannot have Easter without Good Friday. As a famous sermon was named, “It’s Friday But Sunday’s Comin!” We do not focus on the violence of the cross – although that is very important – but we focus on the empty tomb. Yet, the empty tomb only comes as a result of death on the cross.

While I must acknowledge that all analogies breakdown at some point, I do believe we can see similarities between the modern Black Friday and the black Friday 2000 years ago. First and foremost is the bargain we receive through Jesus’ death on the cross. It costs us nothing to accept what Jesus did for us. On that cross he took all of our sins – past, present and future – upon himself and he gives us his righteousness. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) This has been called the “Great Switch.”

When you place this on the scale of deals available on any Black Friday, this one is exceptional, fantastic, out of this world. We do not pay a thing for this deal. Our wallets stay in our pocket. No charge is added to any credit card, as if we could afford to pay for it at all. This cost Jesus Christ everything. We don’t have to camp out for weeks in advance or get up before dawn to take advantage of this offer. We don’t even have to leave our homes. You won’t see this deal advertised in newspaper fliers or on billboards (much to the church’s shame). When you compare this to other Black Friday markdowns, this one is extraordinary. Whatever is purchased on the current Black Friday will wear out or become obsolete sooner than we care to admit. What is gained at the other Black Friday will last through eternity. Now that’s a deal!

However, we cannot dismiss the fact that this deal will cost us everything, our whole life. While we cannot earn it or do anything to obtain it. But upon acceptance we must commit the entirety of our lives to this transaction. As the words in the Communion service states: “And here we offer and present to you, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice.” So yes it does cost us something. There are no discount coupons or bogo’s here. This is serious business between us and God and in his kingdom nothing less than all we have and all we are will do.

While I do not want to go too deep into this and loose the point, suffice it to say that, as Christians, we celebrate a Black Friday. In fact, in God’s economy, any day can be your Black Friday. As Paul told the Corinthians, “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2) You do not have to wait for the calendar or day timer to register Friday. But this week, especially Black Friday, let us remember what was purchased for us on that other Black Friday. After a day of thanksgiving, what could be more appropriate?