Eucharisteo
The season of giving
thanksgiving is upon us (cue the Facebook statuses, Instagram posts, “What are
you grateful for?” family dinner talks, and pumpkin spice galore – what I’m
thankful for). But let’s take a step back
from that and look deep into the thankfulness.
Ann Voskamp wrote an
amazing book (NY Times Bestseller status) called 1000 Gifts. The second
chapter is titled “A Word to Live…and Die By.”
That word is eucharisteo. You guessed it…Eucharist, Communion.
Today, I’m just going to
lay out my notes for you on this chapter.
Voskamp captures this “season” (which should be just daily life)
perfectly. Let’s step back, though, and look at the Last Supper:
14 When the time came,
Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table.[a] 15 Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat
this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. 16 For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its
meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom
of God
17 Then he took a cup of
wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among
yourselves. 18 For I will not drink wine again
until the Kingdom
of God
19 He took some bread and
gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the
disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this
to remember me.”
--Luke 22: 14-19
Let’s focus in on verse 19.
Voskamp narrows in on the phrase “he…gave thanks.” “He gave thanks” in the original Greek said,
nothing other than, eucharisteo. The root of eucharisteo is that of charis
and chara. Charis
meaning grace, and chara meaning joy. Eucharisteo – grace, joy.
Eucharistic Grace
“Jesus took the bread and saw it
as grace and gave thanks. He took the bread and knew it to be a gift and gave thanks.” –Ann Voskamp
Grace
(according to Webster) is “unmerited divine assistance given humans for their
regeneration or sanctification.” Grace
is what happened after the Last Supper, when Christ hung on the cross. Grace is what happened three days later, when
He rose again.
Voskamp links “grace” to yet another Greek
word. Look at Luke 17:17-19 – The
Parable of the Lepers. One out of 10
lepers that were healed came back to thank Jesus. And He replied, “Having risen, be going on,
thy faith has saved thee.” “Saved thee”
– sozo. Sozo
means two things: made well or whole or to save. “To save” – salvation. We hear the word salvation used to describe
the actions of Christ on the cross.
Salvation and grace go hand in hand.
Salvation created “true wellness and complete wholeness,” the first
meaning of sozo (full circle).
Voskamp says, “To live sozo is to live the full life…Jesus came that we might live life to
the full; He came to give us sozo.” He came for salvation, for grace. Eucharisteo.
Eucharistic Joy
“Deep chara joy is found only at the table of
the euCHARisteo – the table of
thanksgiving.” –Ann Voskamp
I once had Communion after someone told the Last
Supper like this:
“The Last Supper was just a normal meal. Basic foods – bread and wine. These ‘elements’ were just normal parts of a
meal. Jesus sat at the table with His
friends, his best friends. Nothing was
out of the ordinary.”
“Whenever you eat this break and drink this cup” –1
Corinthians 11:26
Whenever. Like every day. Whenever we eat. Eucharisteo – whenever: now.
Joy – wherever: here.
(Voskamp)
Communion isn’t cake to celebrate; Communion, the
Eucharist, is every day. It is ordinary,
every day life. It isn’t some trumpet
blowing, crowd cheering moment. It is a
basic necessity for daily life. Eucharisteo is now and here. Voskamp summarizes Eucharistic joy as, “…as
long as thanks is possible…Joy is always possible.”
“Eucharisteo…This
is the only way from empty to full.”
--Ann Voskamp
Don’t let this Thanksgiving season be a
season. The same way you want a PSL year
round, you should want eucharisteo
year round. Let the Eucharist be a
lifestyle, not a celebratory dance once in a while.
If this is at all confusing, here is a visual:
If this is at all confusing, here is a visual:
