With a new calling that uses up more time on Sundays, my entries will probably be a lot shorter these days.
Last week in Elder's Quorum, as a part of the lesson, we read through the Sacrament prayers and were asked to talk about them and what they mean. A phrase stood out to me that I haven't payed much attention to before. We pray that the Father will "bless and sanctify this bread [or water] to the souls of all those who partake [or drink] of it." (D&C 20:77, 79). I began to ask myself, what does it mean to sanctify those emblems "to the soul". Clearly we are blessing the emblems that those who partake of them may be renewed in a covenantal way. But I wonder if there is more there than I have understood.
The word sanctify comes from the Latin "sanctifico," meaning "to make holy." The Hebrew word that is translated as sanctify is "qadash," meaning "to consecrate." The Greek "hagiazó" combines the meaning of the Latin and Hebrew terms. While I really appreciate the definition "to make holy," holiness can be a vague concept to understand. And so I love the definition of consecration here. We pray that the Father will "consecrate" the bread or the water "to the souls of all those who partake [or drink] of it." In other words, we ask Him to set those emblems apart for a special purpose, and that purpose being for the benefit of our souls.
But even as we ask the Father to consecrate the bread and water to our souls, we ought to simultaneously pray that we might, through the grace and mercy of His son, consecrate our own souls to Him. As we covenant to take the name of His Son upon us, to always remember Him, and to keep the commandments which He has given us, we consecrate ourselves to the building of His Kingdom. We consecrate our lives to being worthy to bear the name of the Son of God, the only "name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God" (2 Ne 31:21). Those emblems blessed to our souls, can thereby begin to serve as reminders that, having taken upon us the name of the Son, we ought not to take that name in vain.
These are things that I readily admit I have not spent as much time considering and pondering as I ought to have done. But today my hope is that those emblems will truly be blessed and sanctified to my soul, not only today but throughout the rest of this week.
Brett
The best sacrament blessing I remember was when we lived back in Peachtree City. One of John's Scouts, Luke, was a hard worker and all-around awesome kid but had some developmental issues that sometimes made reading and speaking tough. Still, that kid was never without a smile and always high-fived us whenever we saw him.
ReplyDeleteWell, Luke turned 16 and as you might expect one Sunday it came his turn to bless the sacrament. We waited for a little bit and you could tell he was nervous . . . nothing came out. Then, oh-so-softly, we heard him start whispering the words of the prayer. I forget whether it was water or bread, but I still remember the powerful spirit that filled our chapel. And it wasn't just Luke you heard . . . he was the echo. You see, one of my friend Christie's boys, Ev, was at the sacrament table with Luke that day. Ev is an awesome kid, a popular Varsity soccer player and jokester with a tender heart. That day, it was his tender heart, not his popularity which shone through. That day, he was a friend and a coach, quietly prompting Luke with a few words at a time and letting him slowly repeat them into the mic.
Truly, that Sunday, the emblems of the sacrament were blessed!
It's been almost 4 years since this happened and I will never forget the way I felt. Oh that I could channel the spirit Luke and Ev invited into our meeting every week. Something for me to work on for sure.
That's a great story Steph! Thanks for sharing! I think that's what it is supposed to be about.
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