Article May 3, 1930 Issue

Our Communion Hymn

LILA P. BASEL

In the quest after a more spiritual concept of man and a clearer sense of true communion, a student of Christian Science was led to make a thorough study of the "Communion Hymn" (Miscellaneous Writings, pp. 398, 399; Poems, p. 75), written by our revered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy. The search brought a direct and revealing understanding of the true communion between man and his Maker, and showed that this communion is to be realized only through spiritual sense. The first stanza of this hymn asks whether we are seeing the Saviour, or saving Christ; whether we are hearing "the glad sound," the joyous herald of man's freedom; whether we are feeling "the power of the Word," which regenerates the human heart and reveals man as God's own image. These are questions which all may ask themselves; and as we hear, see, and feel the truth, this spiritual realization will change our entire outlook.

On page 209 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mrs. Eddy writes, "Spiritual sense is a conscious, constant capacity to understand God;" and it is plain that we can know the real man only as we know God. Material sight cannot in any way tell us aught of spiritual man, his origin or his activity. Then, as we go on our daily round are we to see error as real and pity it in a human way; or are we to deny its existence, knowing that our Father-Mother God never formed His likeness, man, after an imperfect pattern? When the evidence of disease presents its picture, is it not our duty and our privilege to see it as but the manifestation of false belief, and to reflect the clear light of Truth which dissolves the seeming error? If false belief presents cruelty and fear as something, should we not turn from this sense-testimony and see God's man as having no ability to do aught unlike good? Thus we can truly see the Saviour, the truth which frees mankind from false mortal belief.

When recitals of error concerning poverty and "man's inhumanity to man" are poured into our ears, we can be thankful that they are untruths, and at once turn our thought to man's rich inheritance from God, good, who is All. God never made an unjust man. The right understanding of man corrects the wrong concept of him; and where error seems to present phases of discord, there in reality harmony reigns and man is "every whit whole."

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

Our Communion Hymn

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access