Last Supper 6 - Matt 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:15-20

They had finished eating the Passover meal, Jesus had washed their feet, dismissed Judas, and given the “New Commandment,” to love each other has he loved them. Now “Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, Eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Looking at the few simple verses recording what happens, it’s difficult to accept that this why we take the sacrament every week, it seems like there is so much effort put into a practice that is supported by very few words.

The IM says, “The Joseph Smith Translation clarified that the Savior commanded his disciples to continue to perform the ordinance of the sacrament. These verses also make clear that one purpose of the sacrament is to provide the opportunity for the Savior’s followers to commemorate His Atonement.” It’s really long so I’m just going to talk about a couple of parts that I think are important. First, in all the accounts that record this sacrament, they all have Jesus say “which is shed for many.” This bothers me because he didn’t just atone for the sins of “many,” he atoned for the sins of ALL. The JST clears this up though saying, “which is shed for as many as shall believe on my name.” This is significantly different. Jesus atoned for the sins of all, but his atonement will only be effective for those who “believe on (His) name,” otherwise, those who chose not to repent will not be forced to accept the atonement. But His motivation is for those who will choose to repent, not those who will refuse.
The JST also concludes with “And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall observe to do the things which ye have seen me do, and bear record of me even unto the end.” The IM comments, “The Joseph Smith Translation clarifies that the Savior commanded His disciples to continue to perform he ordinance of the sacrament. These verses also make clear that one purpose of the sacrament is to provide the opportunity for the Savior’s followers to commemorate His Atonement.” One of the most significant lessons that I’ve learned is the importance of the sacrament. I used to think that it was just a snack because church was so long. Then I learned that it was a commandment to take it, and I thought, “Wait, what?”
I have to be honest, I am not the one that prayers and tears up during the sacrament, I lost my tear ducts in the war, I definitely could step up my reflection game. But I make it a point to do my best to make it for the sacrament. My kids know that taking the sacrament is important to me. In the small amount of reflection that I do during that time, I think back on how my week went, what was good, what I can improve on, and what I have coming up that I can spiritually prepare for. Usually I have two kids sitting on me during the sacrament, poking me in the face, but I do the best I can. I also sometimes look at how much water is in the sacrament cup and think, “is this the amount of blood I caused the Savior to bleed because of my actions this week?” That might sound a little extreme, but when it’s been a tough week, it can be a powerful reminder to me that my actions have consequences that He had to endure. And I’m happy when I can look back on my week and say, “no I’m sure not this much.”
The Lord is very liberal with is forgiveness and acceptance of our feeble attempts at obedience. There are many times in many people’s lives who want to repent and desire to be baptized again so that they can be washed clean and start over. The ancient Roman Emperor Constantine waited until he was on his death bed to be baptized so that he could maximize his chances of being forgiven and righteous when he died so that he could go to heaven. He ended up living another year, and he refused to do anything other than lay in bed so he wouldn’t commit sin and ruin his baptism. What he didn’t understand is that conversion and perfection are not one time events occurring at baptism, but they happen over time and by small degrees. Repentance and discipleship is a living process that goes on every single day with progress, not an event that we hold on to or look back at longingly. The words at baptism and the sacrament prayers are not the same, but the intent is the same, we make the initial commitment, then we continue to make the commitment over and over again, with the smaller, but equally as powerful ordinance of the sacrament every week.