SACRAMENTAL FEAST

I have sat at my daughter's kitchen table twice as my son-in-law reverently blessed the sacrament. Each time I did so I felt extremely emotional and truly understood the spirit of this sacred occasion. And each time I sat there I was reminded of the very first Sacrament where the Saviour sat at just such an ordinary table and blessed the emblems of His sacrifice. For Him there was no chapel with cushy seats, no organ to assist the song, no  fluffy white bread to pleasure the tongue. As my son-in-law passed the sacrament to me on the kitchen plate I came to know what it means to 'eat His body' as I have eaten off that kitchen plate before. Never before have I felt so close to the Saviour during Sacrament as I have at my daughter's kitchen table.

Elder Bruce Hafen says that physical assimilation of the sacrament emblems creates 'a spiritual umbilical cord between Christ and the children of Christ' (The Belonging Heart, p 147). It is through this cord, symbolised by the Sacrament, that the fruits of the Atonement are manifest in our lives. Of course this can only happen if we sincerely covenant each Sunday that we will stay obedient to our spiritually begotten Father in keeping His commandments.

The Saviour not only instituted the Sacrament in Jerusalem prior to His death, but also during His visit to the Americas. The second time that He blessed and passed the Sacrament He did not ask His disciples to provide the bread and wine. Instead, He miraculously produced it Himself (3 Nephi 20:2-7). Some historians have speculated that He did so because the wine which the disciples provided the first time might not have been red enough to symbolise Christ's blood, as ancient American wines were produced from a number of different fruit and not necessarily grapes. In our day and age we do not use grape juice of any degree of fermentation in our Sacrament. We use water. I am glad. I was raised on water from the well in our backyard in Croatia. I couldn't do without water and no amount of juice is a substitute for me. Water is life. And in the Sacramental cup it becomes living water that only Christ can give me. When I see the the Sacramental feast before me, I know I will be as one with Him and I will live with Him forever.

As the communal restrictions tighten, I can no longer sit at my daughter's table. I sorrow, hoping the communion I received there with Christ will last until I can again sit on the chapel's seat waiting to receive my weekly feast.  At this Easter time, as we are once again reminded of the unfathomable sacrifice performed on our behalf, may we never again take for granted our weekly privilege to renew afresh our devotion and commitment to Him who has hung on the cross for us.