Thanksgiving on Sunday

Introduction

Turkey Day is coming are you ready? Turkey, maybe chicken and ham for some as well. Mashed potatoes, gravy, yams, greens, stuffing, rolls, pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, etc.

In America today, we traditionally have only a had full of days we feast together. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and to a lesser degree Patriotic holidays.

But Christians, actually have Thanksgiving every Sunday. No there's no ham or turkey, no pies (at least in my experience anyway). Instead its a very basic feast. . . a small piece of Bread and a small amount of grape juice.

The feast is not meant to itself fill our belly's, its meant to fill our souls. Its no meant to bring us attention, but bring Jesus Christ attention.

As we look forward to our annual American Thanksgiving, lets focus on our weekly Thanksgiving around the Table of the Lord!

Sunday Thanksgiving means several important things. . .

It is our Time to Come together!

This is why we call it Communion. In fact the only time we see the term communion used for this act of worship is in the KJV of 1 Corinthians 10:16, which says,

16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

Other translations will use the words participation or sharing. Either way the idea is the central act of worship in which Christians come together. It is the center of our worship because it is meant to produce too things: unity and fellowship.

It brings unity because when we come to this table we don't come as old or young, black or white, male or female, rich or poor, republican or democrat. We Come to this table as Children of God who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ! We become one in Christ! This is the true melting pot.

It brings us fellowship because we are sharing in the same blessing and sharing in the same experience and expression of worship. Salvation is not dulled out dis-proportionately, we are are equal sinners who become equally salves. We are eating and drinking the same portions of the emblems together because we are remembering the same Lord!

It’s a Meal of Remembrance

This is why we call it The Lord’s Supper or the Table of the Lord. The Lord's Supper is a call back to the Last Supper of Jesus and his disciples where Jesus ordained it. The Last Supper itself was a Passover meal. Passover being a time of remembrance of God’s deliverance of Isreal out of Egypt. , shows us this,

17 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

18 He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.

22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”

Continuing in verse 26. . .

25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”

Jesus answered, “You have said so.”

26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

As the people of the Old Testament would remember what God did for them in the days of Moses, we Christians, the people of the New Testament remember what Jesus the messiah the Son of God did for us.

The Lord’s supper should be a history lesson every Sunday. Every time we share in this meal we remember the cross. . . and the empty tomb. But our history is not stuck in the past alone, it continues to live in us and empower us. The power the cross did not die off in history it still making history in us today, the Church!

An Celebration of blessings

This is why we call it Eucharist or simply Thanksgiving.