Day 17 of Kate Motaung's October 2015 edition of 31 days of free unedited (for now) writes.
Saturday 17 October: Offer
What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? I will offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call on the name of the Lord.
We can offer God only what God has first offered and given us. I love when we sing this portion of Psalm 116 as they receive the Sunday offering. The sacrifice of thanksgiving, the holy meal – "eu - charis" we often translate "thanksgiving" in Greek literally means a good or well-done gift, grace or favor. Jesus told us and showed us his broken body would become bread of life for the world. I'll pick up on yesterday's green prompt and mention again we need to be stewards of all the gifts of creation God has offered and given us in order to offer anything back to God. We offer back to God and gift to the world bread for the journey made from God's gifts from the heart of the earth—God's offers to us we've stewarded well enough to offer others: the gifts of God for the people of God. We know the One God has a Single People, and that's all the people everywhere.
The Holy Communion we celebrate together becomes a model for how we gather and offer God's gifts to us for all the world every day. We offer back to God the labors of our hands, our minds, our creativity. We offer to God the fruits of working together in community.
Psalm 116:12-14, 17-19
What shall I render to the Lord
for all his benefits to me?
I will offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving
and will call on the name of the Lord.
I will take the cup of salvation
and will call on the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows to the Lord now
in the presence of all his people,
in the courts of the Lord's house,
in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
This is the appointed psalm for Maundy Thursday.
This translation from the eucharistic liturgy in the Lutheran Book of Worship is KJV/NKJV; different translations include:
• What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me? NRSV
• What can I give back to God for the blessings he's poured out on me? MSG
Love THIS: "We offer back to God the labors of our hands, our minds, our creativity. We offer to God the fruits of working together in community."
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