“The church is the only community that has as its central symbolic act called, ‘Thanks.’ The Eucharist. Eucharist is Greek for ‘Thanks.’ Participation in the Eucharist is an act of gratitude for the abundance that the creator God gives to the world! But the extraction economy wants to think, ‘It’s mine!’ ‘I made it, I own it, I can do what I want, I don’t have to be grateful to anybody.’ Which leads me to think that participation in the Eucharist is the most subversive thing we can do. But notice what the long history of the church has done to the Eucharist. It has siphoned off its danger into something about sin and salvation and getting right with God, rather than a meal for the neighborhood..”
—Walter Brueggemann, InwardOutward Daily Quote, August 23, 2018, InwardOutward.org, Church of the Saviour.
Brueggemann reminds us of something we so often forget about the Eucharist. Christ called all to the Welcome Table, and this should be the center of our worship. Weekly or daily Eucharist is an experience of abundance. There is always enough bread and wine and always some left over. The Eucharist is a reminder of a great gift, the love of God for each of us and for all.
Remembering that we are giving thanks for God’s great gift of love, remembering that this is a table for all, remembering that this is a table of abundance, remembering that this is an assurance that we have been given a life of abundance through Christ that can make all the difference in how we receive the Eucharist and how we live our lives.
Joanna. Joannaseibert.com