“And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” – Luke 22:19
At the table, while everyone is still eating, Jesus takes bread into His hands. Ordinary bread, mid-meal, no spotlight. He gives thanks, and as He gives thanks His hands begin to apply pressure. Gratitude does not wait for perfect conditions. In the very act of thanksgiving, the bread is broken, and from the breaking comes sharing. Take, thank, break, give. This is the Savior’s rhythm.
We love to thank God for the great things, the clear answers, the full baskets. Jesus shows us how to bless God when life is pressed and pieces are all we hold. He gives thanks, then He breaks, then He gives. He teaches us to praise God with pieces, to bless in brokenness, to be thankful while pressure is being applied, and to trust that even in our fragments there is food for someone else. What leaves our hands in pieces can enter another’s hands as provision.
The table becomes a picture of our lives. Christ places our stories in His hands, He gives thanks over them, He allows the shaping pressure that makes them shareable, and then He gives us to others. We are empowered for this kind of gratitude by His command and His promise: do this in remembrance of me. Remembering Him keeps our thanks from being sentiment. It becomes faith. We remember His body given, His love steady, His presence near. Remembering fuels thanksgiving in the middle, not just at the end.
Let’s pray:
Heavenly Father, Jesus gave thanks while the bread was still whole and while His hands were already applying pressure. Teach us at Covenant Life Church to bless You in brokenness, to praise You with pieces, to be thankful under pressure. As we remember You, place our lives in Your hands. Take us, pray over us, break what needs to be shared, and give to us for the life of others. Thank You in the breaking. In Jesus’ name, amen.
