The Eucharist = Thanksgiving
Rev.
Finley Schaef, preaching
Park Slope United Methodist Church, Brooklyn, NY
Sunday,
February 4,
1996
When it occurred to me that we were taking communion this morning, I began thinking about that, instead of the scripture readings appointed for today. That's why we listened to the story in ACTS about Paul in a storm at sea.
[Note to online readers: Acts chapters 21-27 contain the fascinating historical story of Paul's arrest and transportation by boat to Rome.]
Another word for communion is "eucharist." It is usually used by high church types, Lutherans & Episcopalians.
The word "eucharist" comes from the Greek and is commonly translated "thanksgiving." Thanksgivings were pronounced over the bread and the cup by Jesus at the Last Supper; then thanlsgivings were pronounced by Christians in the early church -- so by the end of the 2nd century people came to call the Lord's Supper "the eucharist," or "the thanksgiving." What they were saying is, "taking this bread and wine brings Christ to us, and this is the best thanksgiving of all."
No doubt you have heard a preacher at some time or another tell the people to "Give thanks in every thing." That's what the Bible says. We should always be thankful -- always, and not just at turkey-time in November.
It is true that the Bible abounds with the admonition, "Give thanks at all times and in all places." Here are 2 verses from the Psalms:
We give thanks to you O God, we give thanks; your name is near. (75:1)
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. (111:1)
The prophet Isaiah wrote:
I will give thanks to you O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger has turned away, and you comfort me. (12:1)
The Gospels show us that giving thanks was habitual. Do you remember the story of the feeding of the 5,000?
Jesus took the 7 loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. (Matthew 15:36)
Here's what happened at Jesus' Last Supper with the disciples:
Then he took the cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it all of you, for this is the blood of the new covenant." (Matthew 26.27)
Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me." (Luke 22:19)
In the book of Romans, Paul writes that everybody be aware of the Creator simply by looking at the created world. But some people refuse to acknowledge God. Paul writes:
Though they know God, they do not honor God or give thanks to God, but they become futile in their thinking. (Romans 1:21)
Finally, we read in the book of Colossians:
Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of Jesus, giving thanks to God. (3:17)
Now my life is relatively secure. It's easy for somebody like me to tell people to "give thanks." Would I be so ready with the advice to give thanks if I didn't have a good job, if my boss were an egocentric incompetent, if the mortgage was coming due and I was broke, if the children were out of control?
Maybe yes, maybe no, but we can say this. When the apostle Paul was a prisoner on a boat at sea, and a fierce storm raged for 10 days, before he and the hundreds of others on the boat ate food, he "gave thanks."
At the Last Supper, when Jesus was facing the possibility of execution by crucifixion, he broke bread and "gave thanks."
The point is that in good times we give thanks humbly to acknowledge our dependence on God. In times of difficulty, struggle, and pain, we give thanks because giving thanks is a means of receiving grace: divine blessing and divine strength.
Therefore it is not I who am secure who admonish you to give thanks, but Paul facing peril and Jesus facing death.
Amen.
BENEDICTION
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God, in Christ Jesus for us. (I Thessalonians 5:18)
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