Thanksgiving, A Time Of Remembrance

By Reverend Michael Farias

The Thanksgiving holiday is generally associated with food.  Traditionally, friends and family gather together around a feast and sit at the table to have a meal.  Traditions vary, and your tradition may or may not include a prayer of thanksgiving.  To me, though, the Thanksgiving holiday should be a time of spiritual emphasis, almost like an ordinance of the Church.

One of the ordinances of the Church is Holy Communion.  It started around the supper table with a prayer of thanksgiving, not by the pilgrims in Plymouth, but by Jesus in a borrowed upper room.

All four of the Gospels record the account of this event, commonly known as the Last Supper.  Let’s look at the account according to Luke.   

Then He (Jesus) took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”  19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”  Luke 22:17

Jesus and his disciples were gathered around the table, for a time of eating and drinking, but the meal was interrupted by a mention of thanksgiving, twice.  Jesus took the cup and gave thanks, and he took the bread and gave thanks.  The symbolism, spiritual application, and theological meaning of the last supper are many, and are amazing to ponder, but today I am amazed by the closing.  He closed by saying, “do this in remembrance of Me.”

Whenever I partake of Communion, whether as a Pastor, leading the congregation in the ordinance, or as an attendee receiving the ordinance, I always do it with remembrance.  Not only do I reflect and remember what my Lord, Savior and Friend went through, but I understand and remember that He did it for me.

I remember something else too: I remember what my life was like before Jesus.

As we prepare to partake in Thanksgiving supper this Thursday, let’s remember the Last Supper, let’s remember communion,  let’s remember that Jesus said to do this in remembrance of Him, and let’s reflect upon and remember specifically what He did for us.

Yes, we know that He saved us, but we each have unique specifics to remember and be thankful for.   

Some of you were born to Christian parents and have had a lifelong relationship with the Lord; it's all you have ever known.  Church life is part of your makeup and a Christ-centered family is part of your heritage and story.  How fortunate and blessed are you?  That is something to remember and never forget.  Be thankful for that.

Others of you have been assimilated into the church at a later age, but have a knowledge of and memories of what life was like for you, your family or parents before Christ came into their life and yours.  We know and enjoy the difference Christ has made.  Remember what the Lord did for you and for your family and be thankful.

And some of you first had to experience a life of sin and shame.  Fear, hardship, heartache, loss and sorrow fill the pages of the book of your life.  Substance abuse, parental abuse, spousal abuse, and emotional abuse, addiction, anxiety and stress, despair, abandonment, loneliness, hopelessness, enduring broken bones, broken bodies, disease and surgeries, broken marriages, broken promises, broken minds and hearts, broken dreams and futures, going nowhere fast, broken homes and families, incarceration, financial devastation, and more.   

And yet here we are!  We’ve survived and we are saved!

I will never forget what He has done for me and my family.

I remember, Lord, that you broke and bled, so that I could be made whole.

I remember what it was like, but I am broken no more.

Do this Thanksgiving in remembrance of Him.