In a rambling essay of sorts about being a servant of Christ, Paul begins 1 Corinthians 4 by saying that we are best regarded as “servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” He seems to see those two phrases as having serious implications for any – including himself and Apollos, as well as the Corinthians – who would follow Jesus.
About halfway into this discussion (4:7), two all-but-brutal questions are asked. They are brutal not because they are inappropriate, but because they tend to stop us in our tracks the moment we hear them. The first question addresses presumption – “Who regards you as superior?” The second question addresses ingratitude – “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”
I’m guessing the ancient Corinthian believers were not the last people who needed the sudden sobriety that such questions can bring about. New Testament vocabulary words that, in English, are often translated “to give thanks,” “gift,” and “grace,” have a core common denominator of sorts – charis. And, as is true with common denominators and fractions in math, the common root of these three words is what makes them work so well in Scripture. Most often, it is translated grace, but you can see it in to give thanks and gift, as well.
Presumption reflects the spirit of our age in ways that are stunning. Ultimately, it implies a kind of self-achievement that convinces me just how superior I am to those around me. Ingratitude reflects the outcome of such presumption – why should I be grateful when I did this all myself? But what if we did stop in our tracks and honestly answer these questions: “Who calls you superior?” and “What do I have that I didn’t receive?” I will need to recognize that I am in the presence of the “God who made the world and everything in it” (Acts 17) in order to honestly say – “Not one thing, it is all gift.” Then, maybe only then, will I realize the deep need I have to make gratitude a vital part of who I am – both to God and to others.
The recognition of grace/gifts leads me to gratitude. A warped view of wisdom and self-sufficiency points to exalting the self – becoming “superior,” to use Paul’s word in verse 7. Gifts/grace will create a more level playing field; over-developed self-esteem tends to make me see myself as all but holding the secret of the universe in my own hands. Grace/gifts calls us to humility, but boasting about self will eventually make me think, “What a good boy am I!”
All four accounts of the institution of the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, and 1 Corinthians 11) record that Jesus “gave thanks.” He uses one of those common-denominator words mentioned above – “to give thanks.” No wonder that Christians, perhaps as early as the second century, started calling this sacred moment Eucharist – which is an English spelling of the Greek word thanksgiving, or to give thanks. Is it possible that by paying more attention to Eucharist, modern Christians could better overcome the temptations of presumption and ingratitude?
After all, if Jesus felt compelled – all four accounts say this – to give thanks for the bread He declared to be His body, and the cup, His blood, shouldn’t it follow that I really need to think more about the common denominator – gift/grace – and less about myself and my own achievements?
Michael F. Bird, an Australian New Testament scholar, says this about Eucharist – “the Eucharist is the gospel meal for the gospelizing community. It is the celebration of the new covenant, the new exodus, and our new hope in the Lord Jesus. The Eucharist is essentially remembering Jesus’s death, reinscribing the story of Jesus’s passion with paschal imagery, restating the promises of the new covenant, rehearsing the victory of Jesus over sin and death, and refocusing our attention toward the Parousia of the Lord Jesus.” (Evangelical Theology, Second Edition, page 882)
That sounds an awful lot like gift – and if so, that should bring about gratitude! What if we made Eucharist the regular reminder that we have no reason for presumption and we should carefully avoid the sin of ingratitude?
If we can pull that off, “Thanksgiving” could be more than a late-November Thursday to give thanks for all that we have received.
Wye Huxford 