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The Forward Day by Day Meditation for November 28, 2019

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THURSDAY, November 28 Thanksgiving Day (USA)

John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

In John’s Gospel, there is no account of the institution of the eucharist at the Last Supper. But John’s sixth chapter, the Bread of Life discourse, is no less eucharistic than the institution narratives in the other gospels.

Through ordinary elements of daily life, bread and wine, our Lord gives us his body and blood, his own risen and deathless life. Those who eat his flesh and drink his blood will live forever. And our response to this invitation cannot be anything other than profound thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving and eucharist are inextricably linked; in Koine Greek (the language of the New Testament) the way one says thank you is eucharist, which means, literally, good gift. While the eucharist precedes the American celebration of Thanksgiving by more than a millenia and far transcends a national holiday, one can surely make a case that there is no more appropriate occasion than Thanksgiving to celebrate the eucharist.

MOVING FORWARD: This evening, make a special list of all the things for which you are particularly thankful this year.

PRAY for the Dioceses of Saskatoon (Canada) and Eastern Himalayas (North India)

Ps 100 | Deuteronomy 26:1-11 | Philippians 4:4-9 | John 6:25-35