Sermon Tone Analysis

Thanksgiving

A. Thanksgiving at Meals

It was the custom of the Jews to praise God for each dish (cf.

t.

Ber.

4:1; b.

Ber.

35a).

This expressed their sense of dependence on God’s gifts in creation.

Festive meals were opened by the master of the house with a grace said over the loaf of bread before it was distributed.

The meal ended with a benediction over the cup of wine.

Both actions are expressed by the Hebrew berak or the Aramaic berek.

1.

The Prayer of Thanksgiving at the Last Supper.

This is referred to in the Pauline tradition of the Last Supper (1 Cor 11:24) and in Luke (22:19) by the participle eucharistēsas, whereas in Mark (14:22) and in Matthew (26:26) it is expressed by eulogēsas.

Both these verbs are translations of berak/berek, but eulogein seems more appropriate and is already used in LXX for berak.

However, it should be noted that Aquila also uses the term eucharistia in the sense of “praise”—always for tôdâ: Pss 25(MT 26):7; 41(MT 42):5; 49(MT 50):14; 68(MT 69):31, etc.

In Rom 14:6 and 1 Cor 10:30 eucharistein is used in connection with food (cf. 1 Tim 4:3–4).

Thus praise and thanksgiving are inseparable (cf.

below).

In any case eucharistein used absolutely, without object or subordinate clause, obviously comes from a Semitic background.

The act of praise at the end of the meal is referred to in Mark 14:23 and Matt 26:27 (cf.

Luke 22:17) by the participle eucharistēsas.

This is a stylistic variant for the act of praise (eulogēsas) mentioned at the beginning of the meal.

In Luke 22:20 and 1 Cor 11:25 eucharistein is implied by the word hōsautōs (cf.

Luke 22:19; 1 Cor 11:24).

2. Thanksgiving in Jesus’ Miraculous Feedings.

It is often supposed that in the narratives of the miraculous feedings the words chosen for the introductory actions of Jesus echo the tradition of the Lord’s Supper.

But Mark himself shows in 8:14–21 a paraenetic interest in the feeding stories which does not appear to be oriented toward the Lord’s Supper (cf.

also 6:52).

Nor in 6:41 does he assimilate the description of the opening actions of Jesus at the meal to the traditions of the Lord’s Supper as it appears in 14:22.

On the other hand, Mark 8:6 shows a striking agreement with Luke 22:19 (cf.

also 1 Cor 11:23–24).

The inescapable conclusion is that the tradition of the Lord’s Supper utilized by Paul has influenced the pre-Markan tradition of the Feeding of the Four Thousand.

Since v 7 interrupts the context, it is possible to reconstruct a pre-Markan version of the story which features only the bread.

This would link it with the Lord’s Supper, so making the miraculous feeding an allusion to the community celebration.

The Kyrios acts as host to those who are “afar off” (cf.

v 3b) and to those who are near (Eph 2:17).

The fish were added later and assimilate the story to the Feeding of the Five Thousand.

Thus the eucharistic associations of the original story were suppressed in order to emphasize the miracle.

In the pre-Markan tradition behind Mark 6:35–44 the fish motif cannot be eliminated (vv 38, 41, 43).

The phrases expressing the actions are unlike any known eucharistic tradition.

As a result there is no obvious reference to the Lord’s Supper.

In Matt 14:15–21 the fish motif recedes into the background to some extent, but it is not completely eliminated (cf.

vv 17 and 19).

True, the terminology describing Jesus’ action (note the word klasas, v 19, which deviated from Mark) conforms to some extent to the tradition of the Lord’s Supper.

But the forms of the verbs and the references to Jesus’ looking to heaven are also points which differ from the supper tradition.

Thus Matthew does not intend to establish any close connection between the Feeding of the Five Thousand and the Lord’s Supper (cf.

also 16:5–12).

Rather, he was unconsciously influenced by some features of the supper tradition.

In the Feeding of the Four Thousand (Matt 15:36) Matthew follows Mark in his description of the preparatory actions of Jesus (Mark 8:6–7).

By including the fish in the opening act of praise (unlike Mark, v 7) Matthew is following his practice, noticeable elsewhere, of shortening Mark’s material.

The finite verb elaben (instead of the participle labōn in Mark 8:6b) is determined by the participle at the beginning of v 35 (in v 6a Mark has a finite form of the verb).

There are no signs of any influence of the Pauline tradition of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:23–24) on Matthew any more than there is on Mark.

In Luke’s version of the Feeding of the Five Thousand (though cf.

Luke 9:13, 16) the fish motif is soft-pedaled.

This may be explained by the fact that in 9:12–17 Luke combines Mark 6:35–44 and Mark 8:1–9.

The Evangelist made no attempt to conform it to his version of the supper tradition.

In particular he has not taken over eucharistēsas in v 16 (cf.

Luke 22:19) from Mark 8:6.

Luke’s concentration on the bread is not so much the sign of any interest in the community celebration as of his intention to represent the meal, beginning as it does with the breaking of the bread and a special prayer, as generally typical of Jesus (cf.

Luke 24:30–31, 35).

In any case it is worth noting that only Luke speaks of Jesus’ eucharistein in connection with his final Passover (22:17, 19), whereas for other meals eulogein is used (9:16; 24:30).

The difference is intentional.

For Luke, eucharistein was obviously a term associated with the Lord’s Supper.

In the Johannine version of the Feeding of the Five Thousand we find in 6:11 agreements with 1 Cor 11:23–24 (cf.

also Luke 22:19).

The reference to the breaking of the bread is missing; the writer is content with eucharistein.

The agreement already noted with the supper tradition in Paul and Luke can be traced back to the Johannine tradition.

The Evangelist uses the Feeding of the Five Thousand to introduce the bread discourse, which has obvious links with the Lord’s Supper (cf.

esp.6:51–58, but also vv 27, 32–35.

This suggests that John himself also understood the feeding narratives in a eucharistic sense, especially if he is responsible for the bread discourse in its present form.

The timing in 6:4 (near the time of the Passover) and the mention of Judas in 6:64, 70–71 (cf.

13:2, 21–30 as well as 1 Cor 11:23) are further pointers to the Lord’s Supper (13:1ff.).

Finally, in 6:51c John shows affinities to 1 Cor 11:24 and Luke 22:19, which suggests that this version of the supper tradition was known in the Johannine community.

Even if John 6:51c–58 is assigned to the post-Johannine redactor, the Feeding of the Five Thousand was in any case understood in a eucharistic sense.

Eucharistein (21:13, however, occurs only in the Western texts) had associations with the Lord’s Supper.

This may also be suggested by the redactional notice in John 6:23, if textual criticism allows us to take the final genitive absolute as part of the original text.

3. Christian Thanksgiving at Meals.

In Rom 14:6 and 1 Cor 10:30 Paul presupposes that grace before meals was said in Christian households.

The context of 1 Cor 10:26–30 makes it clear that the Jewish custom of grace before meals was taken over and practiced in a way which everyone could recognize.

Rom 14:6 emphasizes the community-building character of the table prayers addressed to the one Creator God.

The Christian who eats everything thanks God for the food, while the vegetarian Christian gives thanks likewise for what he or she receives.

It is therefore wrong to despise or judge the other person (v 3).

In contrast to the prayers of heretical asceticism, 1 Tim 4:3–5 emphasizes the way in which the saying of grace before meals acknowledges that food is the gift of God’s creation and therefore good.

It is thus “consecrated” as though by God’s word of creation.

In Acts 27:35 Luke describes how Paul behaved in a way similar to Jesus at the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:19).

The word eucharistein occurs here.

The addition of the indirect object tō theō (cf.

Luke 17:16; 18:11), as in the phrase “in the presence of them all,” underlines the character of this action as a public confession.

Luke is not describing a celebration of the Lord’s Supper, for Paul starts eating alone, without distributing to the others.

These, who take their food after him, are mostly non-Christians (vv 36–37).

But the explicit use of eucharistic terminology makes Paul’s meal a transparent reminder of the Lord’s Supper.

It strengthens the believers in the hour of trial and enables them to confess their faith and to help their fellows.

B. The Prayer of Thanksgiving in Worship

1.

General Considerations.

The grace before meals is addressed to God and is marked by praise and thanksgiving (1 Cor 14:16; 2 Cor 9:12–13; cf. also Rom 1:21; Rev 4:9; 7:12).

It had a recognized place in the worship of the early Christian community (cf. 1 Cor 14:16–17; Col 3:15–17).

An individual could recite it in the form of glossolalia (1 Cor 14:16–17).

Its focus was the saving act of God in Christ (2 Cor 4:14–15; Col 1:12ff, 2:6–7; 3:17; Eph 5:20).

The goal of Pauline missionary work is to make this prayer of thanksgiving universal (2 Cor 4:15).