Preparing for the Sabbath

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

"Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

"But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God. ...

"...Wherefore, the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."

~Exodus 20:8-11

If He rested on the seventh day, and hallowed it, and made the Sabbath for man, should we not consider this the pinnacle of our week?

A time to come before Him in worship, for as Elder L. Tom Perry states so beautifully:

"The pattern of Sabbath day observance must always include worship." 

And we worship first and foremost by coming to the Sacrament table to partake of the sacred emblems.

The bread to remind us of His broken body which was bruised and torn for us, but now lives again triumphantly resurrected.

Teaching us that we too may become whole and healed in body and spirit through Him.

The water to signify his blood, which was shed in the garden "for the remission of [our] sins."

Truly, "Partaking of the sacrament is the center of our Sabbath day observance."

They who lived long ago would bring a sacrifice to the altar, to give away, pointing to the great and last atoning sacrifice of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who gave us His very life.

And while the burnt offering was fulfilled in Christ, we still can and must bring to the altar a sacrifice.

A sacrifice of sin, a desire to give them all away in order to know Him.

For our Savior said, "And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit."

So might we begin anew? 

To come to the Sabbath with outstretched arms and cupped hands, ready to receive His divine grace.  Ready to receive His sacrament, ready to sacrifice our sins, ready to rest from all the cares of the world.  

For in Him, they are all swallowed up,

and only peace and joy and love left in return.

Indeed, the Sabbath is a hallowed and holy day.

{This post is also linked up with A Holy Experience and Women Living Well}