I have begun to ponder the coming Thanksgiving. I’m thinking about who I will invite to dinner, how many chairs I will need, if my table is large enough. I am deliberating over china and centerpieces and place cards. I consider the dietary needs of my guests and plan my menu with care, keeping dishes that have been family favorites for years and adding something new I think would please the crowd. I’m excited to have my loved ones together and to share uplifting messages with one another.
The thought invades my mind, “What if someone doesn’t come?” After all this preparation what if my loved ones don’t come? What if the person for whom I have prepared a special dish doesn’t show up? Will I need to re-set the table? Should we allow the chair to remain vacant? I grow concerned. I will work hard on this meal. I want everyone to enjoy it. It will be so good for them. If somebody chooses not to come, I will be more than disappointed. I will be heartbroken.
Invited by The Savior
The Thanksgiving setting reminds me of another gathering around a table, with a special meal prepared for invited guests. In this case The Savior was the host. His apostles had been invited to attend what we now call the “last supper.” I don’t know if they understood completely that this would be the very last time they would all gather together.
Certainly, the Savior prepared extensively for this supper. He couldn’t invite everyone into his dining room. He had to procure a special location for them to meet. Surely the meal was carefully planned, as it was the Passover, and each item on the menu was symbolic of the children Israel and their escape from slavery in Egypt. On this special day The Savior had a special message prepared for them, in fact he had prepared a powerful object lesson. He, the master, would wash the dusty feet of his servants.
What if one of the apostles declined the invitation to this Passover meal, this last supper? We know that Judas came to the meal but came with evil intent. What if one of his beloved disciples, one who had been faithful, declined the invitation? How would the Savior feel? He had an important meal planned. He had gone to great lengths to make it happen. He had considered lovingly every person who would be in attendance. It was an opportunity for them to feel his love, to be spiritually fed, and to honor the host. What could the absent apostle possibly have on his agenda that was more important than attending the last supper?
Renewing our Covenants
Every Sunday we are invited to come to what is essentially a reenactment of the last supper. The Savior is the host. He has prepared the meal. Like he did in Jerusalem, just prior to his journey to Gethsemane, he took the bread and said, “Take, eat; this is my body…. And he took the cup, and gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matt 26:26-28)
The food of which we partake each Sunday carries the same symbolism it carried when Christ broke the bread with his own hands. When we accept his invitation to this re-enactment of the last supper we will be spiritually fed, just like his disciples were. We receive the message he has prepared for us. By accepting the invitation to the meal we honor our host.
As I was pondering the efforts of a host, particularly when the host is our Savior, the sister missionaries in our ward called and asked if we could come teach with them.
They shared a little bit about the couple they were teaching. They had been in their home 19 times and had taught all the lessons again and again. Every time they visited they invited this couple to come to church. The couple never came.
When we arrived at the home of this couple it was clear they had a great relationship with the missionaries. They were impressed by the sacrifice the young people were willing to make, and intrigued by their clean lifestyle. When we asked them what they had learned from the missionaries they spoke about how amazing it was that there were such good kids in the world today. It was apparent this couple responded to the sisters’ invitation to learn about the gospel because they were charmed by the missionaries.
We asked them about the invitation they had received to attend church, and they nodded, explaining how they had too much to do, and every time they planned to attend something always came up. Then my husband shared with them the importance of the Sacrament Meeting. He explained that The Savior himself is inviting us to attend this important meeting, not the missionaries. He explained that in this meeting baptized members renew their covenants with Jesus Christ to always remember him. Then he asked the couple what they thought Savior must feel when we decline his invitation to attend this very special meeting.
The spirit touched their hearts. The husband referred back to this analogy several times throughout the lesson. The next Sunday they came to church. They arrived 20 minutes early and they stayed for the whole two hours. When I was pondering the importance of accepting the Savior’s invitation, the Spirit revealed the message this couple needed to hear.
Many times we picture The Savior standing in front of a door without a handle, knocking and waiting for us to open it and let him in. I picture The Savior behind his own door, waiting for us to respond to his invitation to knock so he can let us in.
JeaNette Goates Smith is a retired Marriage and Family Therapist and the author of four books on family relationships. She and her husband served as mission leaders in the Dominican Republic from 2017-2020. You can find more information at www.smithfamilytherapy.org