Give thanks in all circumstances?

 “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”                             I Thessalonians 5:18

 What are your thoughts when you read that verse? Are you thinking, Oh, no! Please, not the “give thanks in all circumstances” passage. I get why you might think that. The convulsions of chaos, war, and moral depravity afflicting our world feed fear rather than thanksgiving. Your circumstances may contribute to that as well. Financial stress, physical illness, and relational conflict pose a constant challenge to those words Paul penned to the Thessalonians. Give thanks in ALL circumstances. Really?

We might hope the Greek provides some loophole in this exhortation and the ‘all’ doesn’t actually mean all. Sorry, but the Greek language offers no such out. All means all. So how do we obey such a radical and challenging exhortation? We look to Jesus.

This morning for my devotions, I read the story of the Last Supper in Luke 22. Now I’ve read this story well over a hundred times and have quoted these words over 1000 times while presiding over communion in my 25-plus years as a pastor. However, my familiarity seems to have blinded me to a key feature of this meal. This may not be anything new to some of you, but others of you, like me, may have glossed over this key feature.

Here’s what I read in Luke 22:19, And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.

Matthew offers the same description of the cup in Matthew 26:27-28, And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 

Did you catch it? Did you see what I missed?

Jesus gave thanks. Now I hadn’t missed that point. I knew Jesus gave thanks before eating the bread and drinking the cup, but I missed the significance of it. I looked at it as a standard, routine blessing before a meal, common in first-century Jewish culture and common still among many Jews and Christians today. We bow our heads and give thanks for our meal but at times with little thought. It’s just tradition. We do it and move on with our meal. We may even have a standard prayer we use. I had to pause this morning, though, when considering the thanks offered by the Lord Jesus and the context in which he offered it.

First, I thought about the foolishness of viewing any type of engagement between the Son and the Heavenly Father as “routine” or something you “just do.” Even when Jesus would use the traditional wording of the day for blessing a meal, he would never engage his Father in an unthoughtful manner. Even his thanksgiving for a meal would be intentional and thoughtful, grounded in his loving relationship with the Father.

Secondly, I needed to recognize that his thanks is not being offered for just any meal. This meal symbolizes the brutal torture and death he will endure just hours after the meal. Jesus offers thanks for a bread that represents his broken body. His body will be beaten, scourged, and pierced throughout the night and into the next morning. His flesh will literally be torn off the bone in spots and weakened to the point of collapse. Jesus holds this bread, knowing what it stands for and what will soon happen, and he gives thanks to the Father.

Likewise, Jesus took the cup. The cup that he filled with red wine, swirling around like the pools of blood that will form at the foot of the cross. The blood that will flow freely from the gaping wounds in Jesus' flesh. The blood that holds the life of Christ and is poured out for the forgiveness of sins.  This cup that holds the wine symbolizing his blood Jesus takes and gives thanks to the Father.

I had missed it all these years. Jesus exemplifies the obedience of giving thanks in all circumstances. He isn’t rattling off a traditional meal prayer having little thought behind it. He is giving thanks on the eve of his horrific crucifixion. And he could give thanks because he trusted his Heavenly Father. He trusted his Father’s love for him, and he trusted in his Father’s sovereign plan. Therefore, he could give thanks in all circumstances.

There are some horrific situations in our world right now and perhaps even going on in your life. You can trust your Heavenly Father. He loves you. He is sovereign. And He is good. Therefore, you can give thanks in all circumstances.

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