Word of the Week – Eucharist

We are still in the “Thanksgiving” theme over here. And any Catholics among us (or Greek/Latin scholars, or church historians or theologians) will take one look at this Word of the Week and say, “Well, duh, of course you are.”

Simply–eucharist literally means “thanksgiving.” But we aren’t just going to leave it with the SIMPLE answer, of course. Where’s the fun in that?

The word is straight from the Greek (via Latin and then French and finally English) from eu, which means “well” and then the stem of kharizesthai, which means “to show favor.” That big long verb comes from the noun kharis, meaning “favor, grace” in Greek. In biblical Greek, eukharisteo is the word used any time in the New Testament where they talk about giving thanks to God for His blessings.

And as Christians, what is the thing we are MOST thankful for? That’s easy, right? Jesus’ sacrifice. And what did He give us to remember that sacrifice, to partake of it with Him? There are many names for it these days. Holy Communion. The Lord’s Supper. But the earliest name was simply “the eucharist.” We participate in the Thanksgiving. (Which is what my fantasy-future characters in Awakened call it–just “the Thanksgiving.”)

The word eucharist has been used in English since it was brought here by the French around 1400 and was used strictly for the Lord’s Supper. Before the French brought that word, this sacrament was called “the housel,” from the Gothic hunsl, meaning “sacrifice.” We see examples of that in literature like Canterbury Tales, which predates the French influence.

As we focus on gratitude in this month of Thanksgiving, I hope we all remember that the ultimate blessing is the one we partake of in that eucharist. When next you taste the bread or fruit of the vine, let that meaning soak through you: thank you, Lord. You gave yourself, and I give you thanks.