More than Mere Memorial

“Then mark my words,” said Mr. Beaver, “he has already met the White Witch and joined her side, and been told where she lives. I didn’t like to mention it before (he being your brother and all) but the moment I set eyes on that brother of yours I said to myself ‘Treacherous.’ He had the look of one who has been with the White Witch and eaten her food.“

I was reminded of this passage from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe while listening to Douglas Wilson’s What I Learned in Narnia. He was discussing the idea of nobility and the picture of it that Lewis expressed throughout The Chronicles of Narnia. Wilson had mentioned a positive picture of nobility as seen in the face of Prince Rillian as he came up from the underworld into Narnia in The Silver Chair. The Narnians recognized the truth of Prince Rillian’s claim to nobility by the look of his face, not his mere physical features, but his countenance. The same held true for Edmund in a much more sinister way.

Though Wilson’s focus was on nobility, what struck me was the connection between Edmund’s eating of the witch’s food and his growth in sin, as Mr. Beaver pointed out, treachery. Edmund had communed with the White Witch. He was, in a sense, in covenant with her. He had joined her side. The Turkish delight was his sacrament. He was not merely eating candy. Edmund ate the witch’s food and took on a countenance born of his spirit which was in union with her. He grew in the characteristics of his queen. His countenance was a sign that was clearly understood by a discerning observer.

This turned my thoughts to the Lord’s Table and our communion with Christ.

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons (1 Cor. 10:21).

Interestingly, the demons and the Lord both have tables. Lewis’ portrayal of Edmund’s temptation with Turkish delight has shown me that both tables lead to union and either growth in holiness or depravity. The antithesis, the enmity between the seed of the serpent and the Seed of the woman, is real.

The Heidelberg Catechism (Q. 76) states that when we partake of the body and blood of Christ we “become more and more united to His sacred body.” This is in line with John 6:55, 56 where Jesus states, “For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” The Westminster Confession of Faith (XXVII) states that the sacraments as a sign place “a visible difference between those that belong unto the Church and the rest of the world.” This difference can be considered our separateness and, as such, part of our holiness.

When we come to the Lord’s table, we are dining with the King and feeding on Him. Here is the purest picture of nobility. Here is grace indeed. To dine at the King’s table is a great privilege. The table is not mere empty ritual or memorial. It is our life as Jesus further explains, “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever (Jn. 6:57, 58).”

This helps me look forward with great anticipation to participating in the Lord’s Supper weekly. As my friend Greg pointed out recently, “How badly we need God’s grace!” In the Supper there is life, grace, and all the benefits of Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension. When we dine with our King, we take on more and more of His character. May our countenance and actions show it.