Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, has become a holiday almost bigger than Thanksgiving itself. In one way it really is bigger, for merchants of all kinds announce that “Black Friday” will begin the week before Thanksgiving, and continue for the whole following week, while Thanksgiving lasts for one delicious meal and an afternoon at best. I have heard of people who have left the table to get in line at a “Black Friday” sale.

St. Augustine lived from 354—430 AD, long before the western hemisphere was even discovered by Europeans. He preached about our love for “gold.” Speaking for the Lord, he said, “But you say to Me, ‘ Isn’t gold a good thing, then?’ “Certainly gold is a good thing. But bad people do bad things with good gold. So because you can see the sort of people I’ve given it to, ask me for better things; ask me for more excellent things; ask me for spiritual things; ask me for Myself.” (St. Augustine, sermon no. 311)

Jesus spoke strongly to his disciples: For everyone who asks receives: the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew7:8) Here he is not speaking about “gold” but about asking, seeking, and knocking on God’s door to find Him. Jesus’ promise is astounding, but St. Augustine echoes it from personal experience, as he himself searched for many years before he found the treasure that is in Christ. Neither Augustine nor Jesus denies the goodness of the substance “gold,” but each looks higher and more clearly to something better: What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or, what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? (Mark 8: 36)

Next Sunday is the first Sunday in Advent, a time of preparation when the church encourages reflection and meditation in our own spirits, especially concerning the birth of Christ. It’s in him that we are even able to look for, seek, and ask, and with full assurance from the mouth of God’s son, to receive. When God sent that baby, He made it clear that He was sending Himself. Augustine said it simply: “Ask for Myself.”

We couldn’t do better during Advent, than to spend our meditations on that very request. Such a request would spill over into our every day lives in unexpected blessing, for we know that there is nothing closer to God’s heart than to grant that request.

Love in Him,

Prue