Last Supper Lessons

I think that some of what was discussed during the Last Supper is instructive for us as we think about our own experience partaking of the Sacrament.  Before He broke the bread with his apostles, the Savior said, “Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.”  The apostles were “exceedingly sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?” (Matt. 26:21-22).  While of course Christ was referring to the ultimate betrayal of Judas, in some sense we all betray Him in small ways as we less than who we should be. 

Each week we do things that go against what we profess to be and believe, and perhaps we should ask ourselves in preparation for the Sacrament, “Lord, is it I? What have I done this week to betray thee?”  Another question that was discussed during their Passover meal was “which of them should be accounted the greatest.”  In another gospel paradox the Savior taught, “he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve” (Luke 22:24, 26).  As we think about the Sacrament and our allegiance to the Savior each week, perhaps we should reflect on how well we have sought to serve.  At some point during this evening the Savior washed their feet, showing an incredible example of service.  He said, “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you” (John 13:14-15).  In the world, the harder one works and the more “success” one has, the more we expect to be served by others.  But in the gospel, true success means becoming a servant, not a master.  Taking the Sacrament each week should remind us of the humbling way in which the Savior served even on His last night with the apostles.  Lastly, when Jesus gave the Sacrament, “he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them” (Mark 14:23).  In our Sacrament prayers there is no explicit expression of gratitude, so it is up to us individually in our experience to give thanks to God.  Surely feeling grateful for the Savior and our Father in Heaven should be a significant part of our Sacrament meditations as we ponder our own covenant with Them.  So using the night of the Last Supper as a template for us, reflecting on how our allegiance has faltered, how we have been able to serve as He did, and how we are grateful will surely help improve our experience at Sacrament table each week.