Pastor's Corner: Eucharisteo

What does “eucharisteo” mean? You may recognize it from the term Eucharist which refers to the presence of Christ in the taking of the elements of the Lord’s Supper.

But what does the term mean? Eucharisteois the form of a Greek word literally meaning “to give good grace” or “to speak that which is well-pleasing” and is commonly translated as “to give thanks” or “thanksgiving”. And there it is, the tie-in to this month: Thanksgiving.

There are two things of interest with this word. First of all, in the middle of eucharisteois “charis” which means “grace”. This shows that we are to be thankful because of the grace poured out to us by God through Jesus Christ. Grace is often defined as unmerited favor and is something that we can either receive, or reject. This is the main reason why eucharisteo is connected to the Lord’s Supper, and specifically because Jesus:

…when He had taken a cup and given thanks (eucharisteo), He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves…And when He had taken some bread and given thanks (eucharisteo), He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” (Luke 22:7, 19, NASB95)

The second thing of interest is that “charis” is itself taken from the Greek word “chara” which means “joy” and in Scripture joy and hope are intimately connected. It is by receiving the grace of God that we can have joy because of what God did on our behalf, that is, die for our sins so we can be forgiven.And then have hope in what He has promised will come, that is heaven and a resurrected, restored, perfected character and body.As we long for and hope for that day and place, we live this life rejoicing, or giving thanks, praising God for who He is and what He has done.

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting…Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, and for His wonders to the sons of men! (Psalm 107:1, 8, NASB95)

As we move into this month of Thanksgiving, I want us to really delve deeper into what it means to be thankful. I truly believe that if we can live a life of eucharisteo, it changes everything. That’s why Scriptures like the following exist.

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18, NASB95)

…always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…(Ephesians 5:20, NASB95)

And that is just a short sample of all the Scriptures that talk about giving thanks to God. One final thing to note is that these Scriptures remind us that we are to give thanks in EVERY circumstance of life, including the painful things in life, just like Christ was thankful for the very things that would kill Him: the breaking of His body and spilling of His blood.

If you’d like to learn more about this thought of eucharisteo, see Ann Voscamp’s book, One Thousand Gifts, or come to Heritage Church on Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m., where I’ll be preaching on the topic through the month of November.

– Pastor Jon Hayashi