Review
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Title: Sacramental Reflections, Feasting at the Lord’s Table
Author: Truman G. Madsen
Publisher: Deseret Book
Genre: Non-fiction
Year Published: 2015
Number of Pages: 146
Binding: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-62972-022-7
Price: $14.99
Reviewed by Michael J. Thompson for The Association For Mormon Letters.
This is a fun little book. It is written, as many books are today, as a sort of daily read on the topic of the Sacrament. For this reason, it is not the easiest to review; however, readers learn a how to incorporate into their daily lives by reading this book.
Hyrum Smith pretty well sums up what we should gain from the sacrament, if we are in tune with the spirit, if we properly prepare:
“When the sacrament will be administered in the Lord’s house, it will do away with a great deal of difficulty that is now in existence…when you offer up your sacraments every Sabbath, you will feel well a whole week; you will get a great portion of the Spirit of God, enough to last you a week, and you will increase enough to last a whole week.”
This gives hope to every member of the Church and is something which makes peace permeate through a person’s soul. It is love, it is faith, it is works, it is devotion, it is the soul in you.
So, consider preparation for the sacrament. The Sabbath should be a banquet. The banquet we feast upon in Sacrament Meeting, each and every week, is the Lord’s Supper. This is, and should always be, a special occasion for us. Even when Moses and the children of Israel were in the wilderness, fed by the Lord in manna from heaven, there was one day different from all others, the Sabbath, where no manna was provided. Why? Because this was the Lord’s day, not a day for earthly meals, but those dedicated to the Lord. Jews serve the most beautiful meal of the week on Shabbat Eve. For a Jew, this is Friday evening; for us it is Saturday evening. This is a practice which could help each of us to be prepared for the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper each week.
On Shabbat Eve, the mother prepares for as many as two days. One of the traditional dishes is a kind of stew that simmers all night long after sundown and then needs only to be served. In this way, on the Sabbath itself, we can concentrate our efforts on the Savior, not upon things of the world. This is a story, a tradition, which needs to be told, which we would do well to observe.
Even the adornment of the table itself is a matter of commitment to the Lord. Among Jews, it includes special songs and special readings. One writer calls this “a sanctuary in time.” Imagine what we would feel, what we would gain, by concentrating our efforts on the Lord. I wonder how much more of the spirit we would gain as we partake of the Lord’s Supper?
Included in this is a sort of blessing upon others, something we, as LDS, talk of and would do well to include in our preparations for the Sabbath, and partaking of the Lord’s Supper. This is the bringing of others, a stranger, someone in need, to this preparation for the Sabbath and its sacrament. It is called: “Come and share our Shabbat.” What would happen in the Lord’s kingdom if we did this, if we began a “Come and share our Savior,” time with others who may not have such an opportunity?
This would become, as it is among the Jews, a feast even for the poorest among us, whether they could afford such preparation or not. This would be a true spiritual feast for all. In this way we insure that others will be prepared for the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, where even “a poor man or woman is rich.” Can we not feel this love in our hearts? This love would certainly help us to be better prepared as we partake, first of the bread–the body of Christ, and then of the water–the blood of our Savior. In so doing, all of us, from youth to elderly, learn whatever else we do on the Sabbath, “to savor and in so doing sanctify the day.”
Another beautiful story given us by Truman G. Madsen is called “Sabbath is Queen.” The thing I remember most from this story is for us to “light a candle to being the Sabbath.” The lighting of candles is not something common in LDS homes, so this would be something very special, something very extraordinary for us. This tradition was found in Safed, a high mountain village in the Holy Land, the place many believe is like the “city . . . set on a hill” that Jesus referred to in Matthew 5:14.
One can walk to the perpetual spring near this city. Traditionally, prior to the Sabbath Eve, observant Jews plunge into bracing, near-freezing water and don clean clothing for the Sabbath. In this I see our cleansing ourselves, being prepared and clean, as we begin the Sabbath, as we prepare to partake of the body and blood of our Savior. There is tradition in this Safed of a great rabbi, Luria, establishing a greeting procedure for Sabbath Eve, celebrating the approach of the Sabbath. He walked into the fields singing, which is done in almost every synagogue in the world today: “Come, queen Sabbath.” We may get from this that we can call our children, our families, together to celebrate the beginning of the Sabbath. In this manner, we truly give them meaning of the importance of the Sabbath and the Sacrament.
In orthodox Jewish homes, it is the Queen Mother who lights the candles. She first pulls her hands toward her eyes as if to beckon the light. To us, as Latter-day Saints, this is pulling the light of the Savior into us, acknowledging this light, making Jesus a part of us as we partake of the Sacrament in the manner he provided at the Last Supper. Jesus, in scripture, teaches us that the Sabbath is made for you and me, for man and woman, and is “meaningful to God himself.” We often do not think of this, that the Sabbath is meaningful to our Father, but if we would simply contemplate its importance, the spirit will testify of this for each of us.
In scripture the Savior talks of preparing a royal wedding. In this, we see our Savior’s parables and how they have prepared the bridal chamber, plastered it, painted it, and adorned it. With all this preparation, what is still missing, both in the bridal chamber and from the preparation for the Sabbath and the Sacrament? The actual presence of our Savior, which comes with the acceptance of our Savior, and his sacrament in our partaking thereof. Absolutely beautiful. Amazing.
After all the work our Savior encountered, under the direction of the Father, in the preparation of this world for us, what was still missing? The Sabbath.
In this we can see what we must do. We must come to the Lord’s table in celebration, like we do to a wedding, the members lovely, pure, prepared.
These are the blessings each of us will gain from this book. This book will become one I look at, seek for guidance in, and love for the rest of my life. It is truly beautiful, truly a part of the soul, if we allow it to be.