Eucharist (YOO-kuh-rist)

A Greek word meaning “thanksgiving” used in reference to the meal of Holy Communion. We call this meal Eucharist because we eat and drink in a spirit of thanksgiving.

(via Baptized, We Live)

 

Luke 22:19–20

¹⁹ 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 given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰ And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

This is All Going Someplace

The gifts of Holy Communion tilt us toward God’s coming kingdom, where all who are thirsty and hungry will be fed, safe, and whole. Holy Communion teaches us that repentance and forgiveness are as real as flesh and blood. God’s forgiveness in Christ creates freedom. This freedom is absolute; we can leave behind guilt and fear and shame. We are free to follow Jesus and go where he sends us.
And when we flounder or fail, we trust the table will always be set. Freed by God’s grace, we turn our energies toward the endlessly interesting labors of loving our neighbors with our hearts and our minds, our bread and our bodies. Through the gift of Holy Communion, we see the world the way Jesus sees it. We glimpse the future wholeness that God is bringing into being. This way of understanding the radical freedom God gives through communion in Christ shapes the way Lutherans look at the world and our daily duties in it. As followers of Jesus, we can try to bridge the human distances between ourselves and our neighbors.

• Marc Olson, A Lutheran Welcome to Holy Communion

Reflection & Prayer

What might it look like for you to embody this spirit of thanksgiving throughout your week? Where can you bring the abundance of the communion table to a world that is hungry in every sense?