Thanks In, and Thanks For

This is a Eucharistic meal, and that word comes from the Greek word for thanksgiving. This is our weekly thanksgiving meal.

Because this meal is offered us by the sovereign Lord over all things, we must not think of it as an oasis of thanksgiving in the midst of a wilderness of grumbles. It is not an island of thanks in the middle of an ocean of trials and complaints.

No, we are giving thanks here for a broken body and shed blood, which illustrates how God governs the entire world. Remember that Jesus took the bread in His own hands, said this is my body, gave thanks, and broke it. He was giving thanks for the affliction; He was not just giving thanks in the affliction.

And this is why we are told: “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thess. 5:18). And again, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;” (Eph. 5:20). God is sovereign, and this is why we are to learn to give thanks in our afflictions, and also for them. This meal equips us for that. Remember, you are thanking the God who saved the world through the tortured death of Jesus, whose body is represented here. We are His servants, and a servant is not greater than his master. If this happened to Jesus, what may happen to us?

Strengthened by this meal, if we are in darkness, we will bless the Lord. If we are in the sunny uplands, we will bless Him. If we are sick, we will bless His name. If we are without the money we need, we will bless Him. If we have an abundance, we will rejoice and bless Him. If He gives us great mercy, we will bless Him. If He gives us the scrapings of His mercy, we will bless Him even more. However empty you feel your hands to be, in a moment they will be holding the fullness of Christ.

So come, and welcome, to Jesus Christ.