Pat Bailey shares the following thoughts about the contribution of each part of the meal in a traditional Thanksgiving feast:

The wheat gave its best as it was beaten to separate the heart of the wheat from the plant. That heart was given to the wheel of the mill and ground into flour. The flour was mixed and beaten down time and time again as it was prepared for the oven. Then the oven, with great blasts of heat, baked the bread that now sits on our table.

The cow gave her milk, sacrificing part of herself that we might drink. And the milk gave its best, as the cream was separated from the milk. The cream was beaten to become the topping for our desserts, and it was churned to become the butter for our bread.

The grapes gave their best, as they yielded to the hand that bruised and crushed them. They were tipped from vessel to vessel to purify them as they aged and became the wine that now sparkles in the crystal on our table.

And the turkey gave the greatest gift of all, as it gave its life to be the meat that is the main course at our feast of plenty.

There is another table, another feast, that has been carefully planned and prepared for us by God. He has given his best, his only begotten, beloved Son. Jesus was crushed, bruised, broken, and poured out unto death for us. All the planning, all the preparation, all the work, all that was needed is now finished, and he calls us to remember—to come, be filled and nurtured—as we celebrate Communion.