The Pagan Path

Those who wonder are not lost; they are trying to awaken! 'The Sleeper must awaken!'

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Thank God It's ( Black ) Friday!

In this day & age, Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving Day, has been known as the second biggest, if not the biggest shopping day of the year! I mean, really, a 50" Flatscreen for $200; a Playstation 3 for $100 or even $75?! Who, in their right mind would pass up on deals like that?! Recently I have heard that one can't really call the day after Turkey Day Black Friday anymore because the stores are all starting to open earlier & earlier on Thanksgiving Day! And why; to capitalize on the greediness of a population dedicated to idolatry & comfortably numb in their chains of servitude! I actually heard recently, from someone in the know, that certain shoppers have come into certain stores, asking why they're open on Thanksgiving Day!               ????!!!!

The original Black Friday, on the other hand, while it was, to many who witnessed it, a Day of Mourning, brought a kind of selfish joy to most, not unlike today's Black Friday celebration! On that Friday ( traditionally ) a world-changing event occurred, one that affected not just those who were immediately involved & closest to the situation, but for generations to come & people from every nation & all walks of life! On that Black Friday, the heavens themselves actually dimmed their lights in mourning for the death of the greatest Man who ever lived. On the Third Day, though, the day after the Sabbath, the morning light shone bright & clear in exultation of the Resurrection of the Son of God who had surrendered His life that we might Live!

What a contrast we see between these two! On the one hand, we have selfish & greedy idol-worshipers mauling each other to get the best deals they can & on the other, we have a bunch of selfish & greedy idol-worshipers killing the King of Life, just to try to keep their unstable chains! Really, not much of a contrast there; more like an unsettling & even frightening similarity! It makes one wonder, as I'm sure the true worshipers did in Jesus' Day, when God's righteous indignation was going to bring these idols crashing down! In fact, the disciples almost unwittingly, asked this question of Jesus, and received the answer, 'Watch & Wait' ( Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21 )!

On the first Black Friday, the Salvation that those true Jews & Gentiles had looked for was Realized ( though not fully Revealed until 70AD )! Belief in the Sufficiency of that Sacrifice brought Reconciliation between Creature & Creator & made manifest the Way back into the Presence of our Heavenly Father! The Holy Transaction made that Day was one of Eternal Value! Those who endured to the End, not hoping for something better, as most Americans do every Black Friday in today's day & age, but looking forward to & hasting ( not 'Hastings' ) that One Day when their Redemption would finally be Realized, they received the Gift of Eternal Salvation in that Blessed Presence!

No more can millions of greedy shop-keepers simply advertise Black Friday sales to get millions more idol-worshipers in their stores, since most of them are viciously competing with each other for their business on the day which has been officially set aside for people to be thankful for what they already have! Instead of enjoying the gifts that we receive every day & taking some time out to celebrate life, many Americans, at the instigation of these greedy shopkeepers, have forsaken these blessings for the hope of something better! Seriously, though, especially when you consider how much better most Americans have it ( materialistically anyway ) than the people of other nations, how could we as for anything more?!

Is there hope for America? Undoubtedly there is! It rests, though, not in the false hope of getting someone better in the White House, or finding the best Black Friday ( now Thanksgiving Day ) Deals! Our hope for a better tomorrow rests firmly in the events of that original Black Friday & in the Resurrection that followed! May we, as a nation look only & always to back to that Black Friday in the hope of a better tomorrow, and not to the next Black Friday Sale in the selfish hope for something better!

Charles Haddon Shank

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