The common phrase of “sweat of his brow” refers to how a man does hard labor without anyone's help. This common phrase is used to express the idea that a person earns money only through effort. The money earned from hard effort only belongs to the person who put forth that effort. On black Friday, Americans usually spend money because they think they have earned it through effort. They buy whatever is on sale and get the rush of finding a bargain. What is bought on black Friday? Most items that are bought on black Friday, about 80 percent, are thrown away. We, the American consumer, buy junk rather than goods that are needed and helpful.

When we shop on black Friday; we all have one big misconception about our finances. We think that the money we own is actually ours. Society makes us believe that if you work hard enough for something; your entitled to do whatever you want with the fruits of your labor. But what if the money that your spending is the result of the family or life that you're born into? How can we say that we were entitled to the money that we earn, when we were not the ones who established all life upon this earth?

A challenging depiction that Christ gives in Luke chapter 19 is that God is the master who gives money to His servants. An important point to show is that the master’s talents, a Hebrew currency, belongs to Him. The servants do not have any rights to the master's money even when they are working to make more for Him. The master's money represents all the grace that God gives us in our lives. Everyone is given forgiveness, but some people are blessed with more or less. That is why the master gives ten talents to one servant, three to one servant, and one talent to one servant. This represents that different people are given different resources.

Yet the servant who does not make more money is punished for good reason. First, the money was the master’s. Therefore, whatever the master wants to do with the money should be priority number one. So, the servant who does not invest the master’s money is disobedient. The servant does not understand how dependent he or she is to the master's generosity. If the servant was actually grateful and obedient, he or she would find a way to make more talents for the master. The servant who only gave one talent did not even attempt to make more. Instead, the servant gives an excuse and puts away the talent of the master into a dirty cloth. The servant's action shows disobedience and an ungrateful attitude towards the master.

What can we learn from this parable? Most of the time, we want to not make use of the grace that God has given us. Everything we own from the shoes on our feet to houses we live in is because of the Lord. Just like the servant who was given a talent, we will misuse the grace that God gives. We focus more upon our own material well-being than serving our neighbor. Our reluctance to spread God’s grace makes us take for granted that He is the source of every blessing. We accept the world’s viewpoint that money is ours rather than God’s grace. We foolishly think that we are entitled to what we have owned. As much as we may want to spend our money on products we don't use; we miss the opportunity that God has given us. Instead, we spend money on ourselves. We might as well put ourselves at a table with a large banquet of food and eat at a disgusting rate; while ignoring the homeless man in the corner of the room.

Our worldly understanding of money and consumerism leads to how the church barely proclaims the Gospel in the public square. Instead of understanding that the Gospel is the most valuable possession that God can give us, we search for fulfillment elsewhere. We do not think about what is needed but rather what makes me happy. We think to ourselves that God’s mission is for church workers and preachers; whereas Christ has called all people to proclaim and teach what He has taught to the disciples. Instead, the Gospel is put under one roof where the rest of the world cannot see it. Many people come through the church around thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter looking to hear the Gospel. We may take the Lord’s gift of grace, but we never put in the effort to share this God’s grace with the rest of the world.

For God does not hold back His riches because He desires our salvation which can be seen by how He uses creation to save us. The waters of baptism, refer to the great flood and how God spared Noah’s family. In the flood, the waters drowned those who were unwilling to repent. Therefore, the waters of baptism drown the recipient's sins and raise them to new life in Christ. The elements at communion also refer to how Moses sprinkled the blood of the lamb to signify the Lord’s Supper. The Lord used the blood of a lamb on Passover to forgive the sins of the Israelites. This relates to today because God uses water to invite every person into the Christian life. Additionally, the Passover lamb is a sign that all sins will become laid upon Christ and be forgiven. Therefore, God uses the Lord’s Supper, the elements of this world to forgive the church each Sunday. The Lord uses creation itself to save humanity.

Ultimately, God uses the sweat of His Son to redeem us. He takes ownership of our flesh through His Son’s sacrifice on the cross. For Christ does not withhold the fruits of His labors because He desires our salvation. Ephesians 2:4-6, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. '' For God does not buy us with gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Christ. If God was a black Friday shopper, he would skip over all the delights of this world and would rather think of us. Even Though we do not deserve anything, God makes sure to put forth the effort and His resources to save us. The Lord makes the effort to give us His grace so that we may learn how to be charitable from Him.

For the Lord gives the necessities of life not just to the righteous but to the unrighteous. Matthew 5:45, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” The Lord gives us the daily necessities of life, so that we may see He is merciful and just; which makes us recognize how we should be charitable with His grace. Therefore, we surely know that the Lord wants us to follow in His footsteps by becoming more like him on black Friday.

Therefore, we do not abandon buying things all together but spend our money as our Lord and Master would do. This does not mean to abandon your daily needs, but to fulfill them because your body's a temple for the spirit. Therefore, just as we take care of our own bodies we take care of our neighbors as well. We supply food for the homeless, comforting words for the depressed, and provide rest for those who cannot find any. For God has given us grace so that we may freely do these deeds for our neighbor.

We do these good works, not for our salvation, but rather for the sake of making more grace in the world. We remember the truth, that we do not labor in vain but that Christ has already given us access to eternal life. That we know to act as people who are not of the world. But rather people who care about their neighbors. Who put aside time and effort to not only help but to point to the promise of the Gospel. For when we labor our actions and unity are a sign that God is working through us for our neighbor’s salvation. The love of God has given meaning and weight to our actions. We once lived to work for the things of the world, but shopping has now changed into a sacred act that is motivated by the love of God.

So, let's think more about making black Friday a day of thanksgiving to God. For the Lord would want us to thank Him by doing good works in His name. So that more may come to the Gospel. So, we look to fulfill the needs in our community. We see we can provide, whether it is to buy goods for our food pantry; visit a person who is seriously ill in the hospital; or even contribute towards the Lutheran school system which always needs more funding to raise kids in the faith. Your contribution can bring the presence of God into these people’s lives. For God has set you on a path to bring an incredible message into the world; that there is a caring God that will always think of you as priceless. So, we toil and sweat, not only for ourselves; but to express God’s abundant grace to our neighbor.

O Father our God

You have given us our daily bread, even when we don't deserve it

Help us think of everything good as a blessing from you

So that we may use every blessing in your name

So that more of your grace will be in the world.

Amen.

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