6 December 2024
Dear Friends,
“What would it take to satisfy human desire?”
This was a question once posed by the medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas.
His answer was short and simple: “Everything.” It would take everything to be truly satisfied.
Advent is a time of waiting and longing, but it also challenges us to consider what we are really waiting for or hoping to attain. In what directions are our hearts being pulled? As another medieval theologian, Augustine, asked, what is our telos—the ultimate goal of our existence?
This question may become even more complex when we think about the impact of one of the biggest secular holy-days: Black Friday. According to the good folks at Practicing the Way, the average American sees upward of 4,000 (yes, four thousand!) advertisements per day. Initially, when I saw this figure, I was surprised and shrugged it off in disbelief.
But then I started counting: the logo on my laptop, the products in my fridge, the invoices I receive via email, those frustrating banner ads on news websites, social media, driving past billboards, walking past shops, and so on. It’s likely that this number skyrockets during the week of Black Friday and the Christmas shopping rush. In all honesty, it seems as though our longings are being capitalised on and carefully manipulated at every opportunity as we participate in our cultural rituals of visiting shopping malls.
Given this context, along with the ads that promote what a “happy life” looks like, it can be hard to discern what we genuinely long for during Advent. If it is not a PlayStation 5, a new perfume, a more attractive partner, or a holiday in the South of France, then what is it? Black Friday is certainly not the only major celebration between Advent I and II. We also have Sinterklaas. Whether at the harbours or by the canals, we anticipate a different type of celebration: cadeautjes, speculaas cookies, or a handful of kruidnoten.
More profoundly, we wait for this time of year to reconnect with friends and family, to experience joy, and to enjoy the lights in the streets, and even the festive music from Michael Bublé, André Rieu, and Mariah Carey.
However, the lights in the streets or the refrain of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” do not erase the more realistic forms of waiting and longing. We are waiting in hospital rooms, for phone calls, for a new house or job, for a child, for an end to war, or for a marriage to recover.
May we turn our eyes to the Advent candles as we experience our longing and waiting. May we join our hopes with our expectation for Christ. Let us use this time to recalibrate the compass of our hearts so that they long for and are drawn toward hope, love, joy, and peace.
Marius Louw
ERC Minister