For whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation; therefore if you know that a man is unworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and body he shall forbid him.
Oh dear, I am having an emotional response to this one! Really? We have to get ourselves worthy and then we can have the Atonement apply to us? Then we can take the sacrament?
I would rather defer to the words of Hymn #193 I Stand All Amazed (Vocal Point Arrangement)
I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me
Confused at the grace that's so fully He proffers me
I tremble to know that for me He was crucified
That for me a sinner, He suffered, He bled and died.
I marvel that He would descend from His throne divine
To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine.
That He should extend His great love unto such as I,
Sufficient to own, to redeem and to justify.
I think of His hands, pierced and bleeding to pay the debt.
Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?
No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat
Until at the glorified throne I kneel at His feet
Oh, it is wonderful that He should care for me
Enough to die for me
Oh, it is wonderful.
Wonderful to me.
I come to Jesus, broken, a sinner. I recognize my need for Him - to help me overcome my sins, my weaknesses, my brokenness.
I am beset with human frailties. I am 76 and still struggle with faults and failings. I am a disciple of Christ who knows how great is the chasm between what I am and what He is. My need of Him only grows more and more as I travel through this mortal experience.
Hymn #165 Sing We Now at Parting
Praise Him for His Mercy
Praise Him for His love
For a numbered blessings
Praise the Lord above
Let our happy voices
Still the notes prolong
One alone is Worthy
Of our sweetest song.
One alone is worthy!
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. Revelations 5:12
In our trying so hard to perfect ourselves and become like Jesus, I fear we begin to think of ourselves as 'worthy of His grace." But only one is worthy!
And because we ARE NOT worthy, we kneel before Him as humble sinners in need of mercy and grace. It is because we are sinners we partake of the emblems of His flesh and blood which were shed for us.
It is when we acknowledge and feel the pain of our own brokenness and realize how difficult it really is to follow Him - then it is that we appreciate that simple act of partaking the emblems of His sacrifice.
We sing hymn #174 and I don't think we even think about what we are saying:
While of these emblems we partake
In Jesus name and for his sake
Let us remember and be sure
Our hearts and hands are clean and pure.
If my heart and my hands were clean and pure I would not need to take the sacrament. I would not need Jesus' grace and mercy. And if I come to the sacrament in an attitude that I am clean and pure, I will not appreciate that sacred ordinance.
Of course, if there is someone who is committing some terrible sin, who has no desire to change and no intention of ever changing, then it would be a sacrilege, a mockery for them to take the sacrament. But those people don't usually show up at church. And they don't usually go to see their bishop or clergyman. We take that step at the point we are ready and willing to make a change.
I would hope that anyone who is struggling with any sin, addiction, weakness of any kind would be welcomed at the table of the Lord's supper. I would hope they would be taught to come there, acknowledging their need of Him and know that His grace and mercy are available through the emblems of the Sacrament. I hope they would be promised that He will enable them to fight their battles and overcome. I would hope they would feel His love for them. Oh, it is wonderful!
This Celtic hymn has always been one of my favorites since I learned it at a BYU music workshop. (Couldn't find the melody I know except in this instrumental version)
Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore.
Jesus ready, stands to save you,
Full of pity, love and power.
Come, ye thirsty, come and welcome.
God's free bounty glorify.
True belief and true repentance
Every grace that brings you nigh
Come, ye weary, heavy laden,
Lost and ruined by the Fall.
If you tarry 'til you're better
You will never come at all.
It is in our weakness that we need Jesus. We come to the mercy seat as sinners, unworthy, in need of a Savior. This is why we partake of the Sacrament each Sunday. We need forgiveness for the week gone by and we need strength for the coming week. His love is the enabling power we earnestly seek as we remember Him. We neither deserve or earn that love. It is His gift of grace freely given for each of us.
Come unto me, all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price. 2nd Nephi 26:25
"My beloved brothers in Christ, the God of Creation, who breathed life into the universe, surely has the power to breathe life into you. Surely He can make of you the genuine, spiritual being of light and truth you desire to be.
God’s promises are sure and certain. We can be forgiven of our sins and cleansed from all unrighteousness. And if we continue to embrace and live true principles in our personal circumstances and in our families, we will ultimately arrive at a point where we “hunger no more, neither thirst any more. … For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed [us], and shall lead [us] unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from [our] eyes.” But this cannot happen if we hide behind personal, dogmatic, or organizational facades. Such artificial discipleship not only keeps us from seeing ourselves as who we really are, but it also prevents us from truly changing through the miracle of the Savior’s Atonement.
The Church is not an automobile showroom—a place to put ourselves on display so that others can admire our spirituality, capacity, or prosperity. It is more like a service center, where vehicles in need of repair come for maintenance and rehabilitation.
And are we not, all of us, in need of repair, maintenance, and rehabilitation?
We come to church not to hide our problems but to heal them."
God’s promises are sure and certain. We can be forgiven of our sins and cleansed from all unrighteousness. And if we continue to embrace and live true principles in our personal circumstances and in our families, we will ultimately arrive at a point where we “hunger no more, neither thirst any more. … For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed [us], and shall lead [us] unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from [our] eyes.” But this cannot happen if we hide behind personal, dogmatic, or organizational facades. Such artificial discipleship not only keeps us from seeing ourselves as who we really are, but it also prevents us from truly changing through the miracle of the Savior’s Atonement.
The Church is not an automobile showroom—a place to put ourselves on display so that others can admire our spirituality, capacity, or prosperity. It is more like a service center, where vehicles in need of repair come for maintenance and rehabilitation.
And are we not, all of us, in need of repair, maintenance, and rehabilitation?
We come to church not to hide our problems but to heal them."
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, On Being Genuine, Ensign Magazine, May 2015
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