We were sitting by the fire at night. The teacher had in his hand a piece of matzah, unleavened bread. He broke off a piece and handed the rest to me. We partook.

“The bread of the Passover, as Messiah gave to His disciples at the Last Supper.”

“Communion,” I said.

“Which is from the Passover,” he said. “And do you know what some call that bread?”

“The Eucharist,” I replied.

“Yes. And do you know where that word comes from? It comes from the Greek word, eucharistia. It appears in the Scriptures. But it has nothing at all to do with the bread.”

“What then?”

“Eucharistia means to give thanks or to say a blessing.”

“So why do people think it’s the bread?”

“It was what Messiah said over the bread. It’s what the Jewish people have said over the bread for ages. It was the Hebrew blessing known as the Motzi. He said, ‘Baruch atah Adonai, Elohaynu Melekh Ha Olam, ha motzi lechem min ha aretz,’ which means, ‘Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.’”

“So it’s not the bread but the blessing of thanks He gave over the bread.”

“Yes,” said the teacher. “And what does that tell you?”

“That life is not about things.”

“Yes. It tells you that your life does not consist of objects, but of the blessings you say over them…the thanks you say over them. You see, it doesn’t matter how much or little you have on earth. What matters is how much thanks you give for what you have. The one who is rich in possessions but poor in thankfulness is, in the end, poor. But the one who is poor in possessions but rich in giving thanks is, in the end, rich. And what was the bread over which Messiah gave thanks? It was the symbol of His suffering and death. Yet He spoke a blessing over it and gave thanks for it. For those who give thanks in all things have the power to turn curses into blessings and sorrows into joy…the power of the eucharistia.”

The Mission: Seek today not to increase what you have, but to increase your thanks for what you have. Give thanks in all things. The greater your thanksgiving, the greater will be your life.

Psalm 136; Luke 22:14-23; 1 Timothy 6:6-8

The Book of Mysteries