Tag: Eucharist

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A Cup of Thanksgiving

And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you;

Matthew 26:27

Today most of us in America will sit down in a tradition that dates back to the Pilgrims and their dinner of thanksgiving, as they gave thanks to God for bringing them to this new world. We eat turkey and dressing and all the trimmings in remembrance of God’s providence in our lives. The providence that brought us to today. No matter what problems or pains we endure, we’re here. We’re alive and well enough to give thanks.

But for some, today will be a day of mourning, a day of sorrow. People die on and around Thanksgiving just like any other day. What about them? How will they find thankfulness in their hearts for God’s providence? I pray they will. His Providence is always there, but sometimes we have to look through a lot of pain and tears to see it.

It wasn’t easy for those early pilgrims as they braved a new and sometimes hostile world to carve out a life. They built homes and villages, and planted crops and families all to begin again in freedom. They left behind the religious oppression they felt in the old world. And it didn’t matter how hard it would be in the new world, they we’re determined to make a new life…and so they did.

What about you? What about me? Are we determined that no matter what obstacles lay ahead of us that we will make it through in this life? There is only one way to know we can make it through – with faith in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He was the object of the Pilgrim’s thankfulness, as He should be ours. Nothing we enjoy today comes to us of our own accord, but through His divine providence.

On the last night of His life, Jesus gathered for a traditional meal with his disciples as they celebrated the Passover. But it was not a night like any other. That night, Jesus gathered them not only to remember the deliverance of their ancestors, He gathered them to deliver them. As Jesus celebrated His last Passover with them, He was celebrating His first Eucharist with them – His first Thanksgiving with them.

The Eucharist is known by many names, Holy Communion, The Lord’s Supper, or simply Communion. But Eucharist was the name given by the first Christians, and they gave it that name for a reason. In their common Greek language, “Eucharistia” meant Thanksgiving. That night, Jesus took bread and blessed it, and He took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for them both. He was thanking the Father for His own body about to be broken and His own blood about to be shed.

I wonder if we can do that today? Can we gather together with friends and family and raise a cup of Thanksgiving for what is about to happen? None of us knows what tomorrow may bring. For some it will bring great loneliness having passed the first holiday without a loved one who died. For others it will bring great joy as they move into the season of Advent and Christmas, with hearts full of hope.

Whatever your lot is today, I pray you will not only see Pilgrims and Turkeys, but that you will see a broken lamb giving thanks to God for you and your life. A life He died to save, and not just to save but to save for an everlasting life filled with joy, and the fulfillment of our original creation. So today, let us lift a cup of Thanksgiving to the one thing for which we should be most thankful – eternal life in Jesus Christ.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Pastor Brad

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The Valley of the Shadow of Life

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows.

Psalm 23:4,5

The was an ambulance at the bank as My mom dropped me off a little early for work that day. The store was still closed. She always dropped me off in the alley behind Main Street where all the stores had entrances in back as well as the front. Beside the alley there was a large parking lot and the Midland National Bank drive up window. It was the summer before my last year of High School, and I worked for a clothing store. The manager must have been late that day, as the employee entrance was usually open by then.

I noticed an ambulance in the lane at the bank drive-up where a crowd was beginning to gather. I had time so I walked over to see who was hurt; it was a small town and it seemed our family knew everyone. I noticed Lee, my mom’s cousin, a tall man who was VP at the bank standing in front of me. I could see an old man laying on the ground as the EMT Techs were trying to revive him from an apparent heart attack.

I said to Lee, “Hey, who is that guy, I don’t recognize him?” When turned and saw it was me who was asking him, his face went pale. “That’s your Grandpa”, he said. My heart sank! I didn’t recognize him with his glasses off, false teeth removed, and his face so purple. I’d never seen anyone so close to death, except on TV; it was so different in person.

Psalm 23 is without a doubt the most well known, beloved of the Psalms. It was the first scripture I memorized as a child at Weekday Bible School. Interestingly, it seems the only time we hear or read it is at funerals. For most of my life I thought it was written expressly for times of death. However, in my ministry studies, when I studied the depth and meaning of the Psalms I came to realize that among all the Psalms, the 23rd is perhaps the most relevant to all of life, not just death.

The image of Jesus as our Good Shepherd is found in the writings of Saints John and Peter, as well as the writer of Hebrews. More than a Savior, Jesus is our Great Shepherd, and all who have faith in Him, are His sheep. He not only cares for the entire flock, He knows each one by name (Ps 95:7; Jn. 10:3).

Jesus is the source of all refreshing in life. The Fathers of the early church saw in Psalm 23 a threefold image of sacramental life in the Kingdom of God, the Church. They saw the cool waters as Christ restoring the soul of the believer in Baptism. And, in the early church, Baptism was followed by an anointing with oil called, Chrismation. And finally, they say Christ preparing a table before his sheep in the Eucharist of Holy Communion in this life, as well as in the Heavenly Wedding Supper of the Lamb in the life to come.

Psalm 23, was to the early church the Psalm of great comfort that described the very life of the believer, as He walked with the Shepherd. All of life is a valley we walk in the shadow of death, for all living things die. But thanks be to God we don’t walk alone; He is with us and we have nothing to fear.

As my Grandpa lay there on the ground that day, I began to fear death. He didn’t die that day. In fact, he lived for another year. During most of that last year of his life, I lived with him in hopes of being some kind of help to him. As I look back on it all, I can see as I lived in fear of Grandpa’s death, Jesus was with me, holding my hand through the valley.

I don’t know what your valley looks like, but I know one of the many things it includes is death. Yet, for those who believe in Christ death has lost its power. When you look at your life, don’t live in fear. You’re not walking through a canyon that ends in death. You’re walking through a valley that ends in life, life everlasting, life with Christ, and indeed with all those who in faith have gone on before you. I can’t wait to see my Grandpa again at the other end of my valley. What about you?

Shalom,

Pastor Brad

image credit: http://yahwehishisname.blogspot.com/2013/06/psalm-23-in-depth-study-on-king-davids.html