The Broken Way: A Daring Path Into the Abundant Life, Chapter 2 - by Ann Voskamp

The Broken Way: A Daring Path Into the Abundant Life, Chapter 2 - by Ann Voskamp

The Last Supper.

"And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them..."

In the original language "gave thanks" reads eucharisteo. The root word of eucharisteo is charis, menaing "grace". Jesus took the bread and saw it as grace and gave thanks. 

There was more. Eucharisteo, thanksgiving, also holds the Greek word chara, meaning "joy". 

Deep chara is found only at the table of the euCHARisteo - the table of thanksgiving. 

Is it that simple? Is the height of my chara joy dependent on the depths of my eucharisteo thanks? 

So then as long as thanks was possible, then joy was always possible.

Charis. Grace. Eucharisteo. Thanksgiving. Chara. Joy.

A triplet of stars to reveal the outline of he fullest life... struggling, miserably failing, and then purposing again to take everything as grace, gift - charis - give Him thanks for it - ecucharisteo - and therein find joy in Him - chara

"And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them."

Eucharisteo precedes the miracle? Thanksgiving precedes the miracle.

Eucharisteo - Jesus embracing and giving thanks for His not-enough - that preceded the miracle. 

The miracle happens in the breaking.

Not enough was given thanks for, and then the miracle happened... abundant filling within community. 

Somehow... the miracle, the intimacy, of communion comes through brokenness. 

Why are we afraid of broken things? ... Why are we afraid of suffering?

What if... what if I made a habit of everyday pressing my wounds into the wounds of Christ - could my brokenness be made into a healing abundance for the borkenness of the world? A kind of communion? Could all brokenness meet in the mystery of Christ's brokenness and givenness and become the miracle of abundance? Wouldn't that be good brokenness breaking bad brokenness? 

Jesus had said to do this in remembrance of Me - "to do", the Greek word poieo, a present imperative. The present tense indicates continuing action and can be translated "continue to do this". Continue to do this literally, with bread and wine - and continuously do this with your life, with the bread of your moments, the wine of your days. 

Remember Me. We, the people with chronic soul amnesia are called to be the re-membering people. The people who remember - and have their brokenness re-membered. 

Remembrance - it comes from the Greek word anamnesis. 

The only four times this word anamnesis is used in Scripture, it is in reference to the sacrifice that Christ made and is "remembered" in the Last Supper (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24,25; Hebrews 10:3).

There is no physical body of Christ here on earth but ours. We are now Christ's only earthly body - and if we aren't the ones broken and given, we are the ones who dis-memeber Christ's body.

Maybe - there is no breaking of bad brokenness unless His people become good brokenness. 

 

 

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