A Twilight Musing

Ideally, the meaning of Holy Communion in the Lord’s Supper is that the love of God, as seen through His Son, has obliterated the petty differences of opinion, the long-held grudges, the clashes of temperament which are so often barriers between even well-meaning Christians.  But since we so seldom live up to this ideal, we may be tempted to throw up our hands in despair because we realize how far short we fall of the standard of mutual charity needed for true communion.   However, we must not forget that it is the Feast which sanctifies us, rather than we who sanctify the Feast.

It behooves us, then, to make each Communion a time at which, because we contemplate meaningfully the reconciliation wrought by our Savior Jesus, we determine to allow His Spirit to break down at least one more obstacle which separates us from those with whom we should be one.  Those matters which divide us cannot long exist in the face of a sincere and prayerful desire that the risen Lord reign in all our lives—but first in our own.  What better place to seek out and destroy our sinful animosities, with God’s help, than the table at which God reminds us that our peace is made with Him by the sacrifice of His Son?

Dr. Elton Higgs was a faculty member in the English department of the University of Michigan-Dearborn from 1965-2001. Having retired from UM-D as Prof. of English in 2001, he now lives with his wife in Jackson, MI. He has published scholarly articles on Chaucer, Langland, the Pearl Poet, Shakespeare, and Milton. Recently, Dr. Higgs has self-published a collection of his poetry called Probing Eyes: Poems of a Lifetime, 1959-2019, as well as a book inspired by The Screwtape Letters, called The Ichabod Letters, available as an e-book from Moral Apologetics. (Ed.: Dr. Higgs was the most important mentor during undergrad for the creator of this website, and his influence was inestimable.