A EUCHARISTIC HEART MAKES THANKSGIVING MORE THAN A DAY

            Last December my wife and I were as close to burnout as we have ever been.  Leading a parachurch ministry is always edgy; we had not seen a paycheck in two-plus years.  Yet by God’s grace we gave thanks for all we had and for all needs being met.  Then we were shock-surprise-gifted with a fabulous two week vacation in Hawaii.  The airfare was fruit of bonus miles from ministry trips; the condo from the unexpected generosity of an old friend.  While there we received one surprise gift after another – from five days’ swimming with sea turtles off a beach where I had never seen them before – to finding parking places much later in the day than they are ever available, to bringing home my favorite Aloha shirt, bought at a street stand discovered after a wrong turn.

            All of these things are unquestionably gifts from God.  But the cultivation of a mindset that believes and appreciates in advance as much as after the fact is what I call seeking a Eucharistic heart.

            The word is Greek for thanksgiving; it traditionally names the Holy Communion.  When we choose to receive whatever comes as gift even before it comes we come to see things through the eyes of the God Who gives them.  Perspective broadens and the ability to respond to opportunities grows.  A Eucharistic heart embodies Jesus’ promise we’ll be taught what we need to know in the very hour we need to know it.  This promise is important enough to repeat in three Gospels.  But such a heart cannot be grown through human effort.  It comes as a gift asked repeatedly.

            Truth is we are so steeped in our survival-of-the-fittest worldview we rarely think to thank.  We are (too) busily tilting at the next windmill, like nine of the ten lepers Jesus heals in Luke 17:11-19.  He tells the one who turned, “Your faith has made you well,” though all were cleansed.  This because all lost their leprosy while one gained a newly authentic life.

            Jesus Himself gives thanks for having a few loaves and fish to feed thousands, for Lazarus in the tomb four days, and while dining with disciples hours before his death.  He sees opportunity where others see disaster – not because He is committed to looking on the bright side, but committed to referring Himself to His Father through thanksgiving – He can then see the world through the Father’s eyes and respond through the Father’s heart.  We are not called to achieve a new perspective, but to forge a new habit that will take a lifetime of asking and practicing to establish.  This is an act of progressive repentance that goes way beyond sorrow for sin.  It shows and draws us toward new life.

            The Pilgrims of Plymouth practiced this heart.  Their numbers cut in half by disease and starvation, they kept choosing to give thanks for the life God had given.  They kept asking Him to give grace to thank and praise Him.  When local tribes taught them to grow food and provided much of their first harvest feast it was natural to share and give thanks despite the dangers that still lay ahead.  But it was natural only because they had been practicing simple obedience to the scriptural command.  Part of the new perspective they gained was conviction to treat the tribal people as children of God.  The Pilgrims were rare colonists in that they respected and appreciated their neighbors.

            Last September my radio sponsor base was so depleted by the ongoing recession that cancellation was imminent.  Forced to cancel a family trip by illness, we gave thanks – and gained three new sponsors.  

            Some say, “But what about people starving and dying of disease?  Aren’t they as worthy as you?  Don’t they give thanks?”  Some thank and some don’t; I’m not to judge.  But we are worthy to know of Jews who covered their heads to pray while awaiting death in Auschwitz.  A Eucharistic heart gives thanks for their witness and for the conviction that it must never happen again, whatever I might have to do to stop it.

I don’t understand how God acts from situation to situation.  As a Christian I try to serve those in need and pray that all needs will be met, not just mine.  But I do know that when I operate out of a Eucharistic heart not only am I better able to see the wonders God performs in my life; I am better able to serve Him in the lives of others.  Have a blessed Thanksgiving.  May it be not a day but a developing lifestyle.