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Eucharisteo: More important than the turkey

Oh Jesus. He’s back at it again. Isn’t it funny how the Lord inspires us, how the Spirit moves all around and through us?

I was wandering through the depths of Facebook the other day, and a friend from elementary school that I haven’t talked to in person for YEARS shared an interview done with a woman named Ann Voskamp.

Now upon further research, Ann is an evangelical Christian, a Canadian mama to four boys and three girls, and a NY Time Bestselling author who wrote a book called “One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are.”

And I’ve never read it. (Inspired yet, are you?)

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Thanksgiving is for Turkeys

In this interview, Ann broke down the term Eucharisteo, a Greek word that’s found in Luke 22:19, and as many Christians have learned, it’s best translated to “thanksgiving.” That is, the center of the Last Supper, the communion which many Christian faiths share in a variety of different forms and liturgies, has its entire essence in “giving thanks.”

How appropriate, right?

Here we are, the day before Thanksgiving, talking about “giving thanks.”

But I have been positively impaled in the heart by this, and Jesus will not let me shake it off. He’s telling me there’s something more to this story.

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It’s All Greek To Me

When we break down the word “eucharisteo,” we see the root is “charis,” a Greek word for “grace.” (Any Carissa’s out there? This is where your name comes from!)

In the center of this thanksgiving, this opportunity to give praiseto a God who’s bigger than the universe and as humble as unleavened bread, we find a moment of God’s grace. This free and unmerited gift he offers to us…simply because he loves us. Because he delights in us.

When we give thanks, we can be open to God’s gift of grace, love, and peace.

And then if we dig deeper into our Greek lesson for the day, we learn that there’s a derivative of the word “charis,” and that’s “chara,” meaning joy.

So at the heart of God’s free and unmerited gift to us of grace, there is unbridled joy, this abiding sense of well-being, knowing that the Father loves me uniquely and completely.

So in openly giving thanks to our Father in heaven who blesses his sons and daughters wholeheartedly, we receive his grace and are thusly filled with joy from the Holy Spirit.

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Eucharisteo. Charis. Chara. // Thanksgiving. Grace. Joy.

This Thanksgiving, we have an opportunity to share Christ with others by praising the one who fills us with love and mercy.

By living a life filled with joy, no matter the circumstances of our situations, we can receive the Lord’s gift of grace.

By being receptive to grace, we can find the courage to share the Heart of the Father with those around us.

We can spread the Gospel of Life by being thankful.

In closing, I’d like to share a piece of Ann’s interview:

 

This is the crux of Christianity: to remember and give thanks, eucharisteo.

Why? Why is remembering and giving thanks the core of the Christ-faith? Because remembering with thanks is what causes us to trust; to really believe. Re-membering, giving thanks, is what makes us a member again of the body of Christ. Re-membering, giving thanks is what puts us back together again in this hurried, broken, fragmented world.”

 

Know of the Father’s love for you, no matter what crosses you carry. Remember that with the cross comes the resurrection; rather than giving up or discarding the cross, allow Jesus to carry it with you.

May God make you aware of your blessings this holiday season, and give thanks for them.


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