This was originally published in the Christian Science Journal in June of 2007.
Needed: Every Single One
My religion professor's thought-provoking perspective on Jesus' parable of the lost sheep made me think. I had to ask myself: Which one experiences the greater deficiency--one lost sheep or the flock that has lost it?
When I took his college class a few years ago, my professor opened my eyes to a perspective on Christianity I'd never considered--the Eastern perspective. He came from India and was a greatly respected Bishop of the Indian Orthodox Church. He taught class wearing a cross and his full vesture of robes. He told us many "legends of the church," the journeys of Jesus' disciples, their missionary work, and their interactions with Jesus. I suppose, then, that I should not have been surprised to find that even the most straightforward Bible parable (or so I thought) could be subject to a radically different interpretation than the one I'd learned in Sunday School.
The Gospels of Matthew and Luke tell this well-known parable of Jesus. One sheep, out of a flock of 100, becomes separated from the rest of the flock. The shepherd, leaving the flock of 99 in the wilderness, goes to look for the lost sheep until he finds it and comes home, rejoicing (see Matt 18:12-14 and Luke 15:3-7).
I had learned, in my Western Christian upbringing, that the lost sheep is useless without the rest of the flock. That the poor dear one symbolizes separation from God, by choice or tragic event, and needs to be restored to the flock of the Shepherd's care. But Eastern Christian thought, as I learned in my class, has a different take. In this tradition, a flock of 100 sheep signifies wholeness. So if one sheep strays, the 99 left behind are incomplete until that one returns to the flock. It's not about saving that lost sheep only for its own sake, but for the sake of the whole flock. And so that's the reason for such great rejoicing--saving one saves them all.
What a wonderful feeling of family and unity that interpretation brings, I realized. Not only does each of us matter to God, but we each matter to one another. Imagine the possibilities that can come from really living this understanding of wholeness. For example, what if we took to heart each individual who stopped coming to church and considered ourselves lacking without their presence? How great would it feel to bring them back into the fold!
Of course, I'm not suggesting that we badger anyone into returning. But I know that I have probably been guilty of letting those on the fringe just wander off. Maybe a phone call or a visit would have been all that was needed to make those one or two who were drifting away feel more included, loved--even needed. Maybe it would have taken several calls and visits, but just knowing that their presence matters to the rest of us might have had a huge impact on their desire to be part of a church community.
The New Testament talks elsewhere about believers being "one body," made up of many members. First Corinthians says: "For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" (12:12, 13). These verses speak to the impossibility of our separation from God and from one another. So our job isn't to put a straying one back into God's presence, but to know that he or she has never left. We can simply treasure those who seem lost by knowing that they are never separate from the true, spiritual flock of God's children.
Regarding the impossibility of our ever being divided from God, Mary Baker Eddy wrote, "Principle {God} and its idea is one..." (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 465). The unity between God and His child is so inseparable, so profound, that Mrs. Eddy used the verb is instead of are to describe our spiritual relationship and holy interconnectedness. Oneness. Wholeness. Each of us is the image and likeness of our divine Father-Mother, as the book of Genesis claims (see chap. 1). So not only does each individual have a unique purpose and place in God's kingdom, but we are all united as equal creations of our divine Parent.
Each of us does matter--in a family, in our church, and most definitely to God. The 100 are always complete and in their Shepherd's care. When we truly understand that, we can all experience the fruits of this spiritual unity.
copyright Christian Science Publishing Society, 2007.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
"Follow the Angels"
The following is an article from the Christian Science Sentinel for July 20 & 27, 2009 that has gotten such wonderful response that I thought I'd share it here. This is the photo of my husband, Scott, with the kittens mentioned--now named Hiro and Kimba--, that ran with the article
Follow the Angels
My new friends and I agreed: We often just wished that God's messages could be so clear that there would be no way to miss them. The three of us had all just relocated to a small Michigan town, and were sharing our prayer-filled reasoning for the move during an interfaith luncheon. The minister's wife swore that she would gladly sacrifice a bush in the front yard to fire, for one good Moses-like sign. The president of the college in town, who was hosting the luncheon, laughed that she'd just like to come downstairs in the morning and find guidance written on the living room wall!
But we all agreed that a divine impulsion had brought us to this new community, and that, even if there were no burning bushes, we all had been able to clearly understand what God wanted us to do through subtler, quieter messages. I'd come to understand that these messages are what Science and Health [with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy] characterizes as angels--"God's thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality" (p. 581).
For my husband and me, there had been so many of these intuitions along the way that had encouraged and supported us in this move. God had been clearly directing and guiding us in every step as we relocated. And our three years in that small town were filled with many blessings.
But in my younger years, I hadn't always listened to angels. Looking back, I realize that there was a multitude of these mental nudgings pointing me in the right direction, whisperings in my thought that guided me away from poor choices. Had I listened, I might have been spared some angst and drama! But fortunately, God never gave up on me. Divine Mind's guidance and protection and direction were, and are, ongoing. That's just the nature of angels. And I've seen this proven in our family in some interesting ways.
Just recently, for example, my husband, Scott, and I enjoyed a rare night out alone, without the kids, at the local cinema. The film we'd seen addressed many deep spiritual themes, and we were both pondering how those ideas touched our lives. As we drove away from the parking lot, Scott noticed that there was an enticing 40-yard expanse of pavement ahead, where no cars were parked. It occurred to him that he could rev the engine and zoom our little car right through that wide-open space. But just as quickly, the quiet suggestion came that he didn't need to do that. Fortunately, he heeded that thought. In the next moment, a teenage boy ran full-tilt from between the end of parked cars and right out in front of us. Even at a normal speed, Scott had to slam on the brakes. The boy ran on, unfazed. As Scott told me about this angel message, it was clear to both of us that if he had hit the gas, he would have been unable to stop in time to avoid hitting the young man.
So, was this turn of events just good luck? Or was there a divine force at work protecting all of us that evening? Based on a lifetime of little moments like this, and bigger, more dramatic ones, too, I am confident that God's hand was at work. Just a tiny shift in the mental scene was needed. Scott's second thought not to speed was divine Love communicating directly to him and protecting everyone in that parking lot. And it wasn't enough for Scott to hear the guidance to be still, even though there seemed to be no risk in the momentary thrill of whooshing up to that stop sign. He had to obey, to follow.
That wasn't the first time that he'd followed the leadings of an angel thought. A couple of years ago, as we were watching TV after dinner, Scott suddenly jumped up and announced that he was going to walk the dog. He never, ever, walks the dog until later at night, so I thought it was a bit odd. Well, in just a few minutes, Scott was back--with a box containing newborn kittens that had been abandoned at a construction site down the road.
A tiny black and white kitten had been screaming her head off and got his attention when he walked by. And there was another tiny white kitten in the box that was very listless. It quickly became clear that the white kitten probably would not have made it until Scott's normal evening walk time, and that the stores providing the food and supplies we needed would have been closed. It was vital that he went to walk the dog just when he did. There were many hours of love and prayers ahead, and round-the-clock care for these kittens, but the strong feeling that we had been divinely led to them gave it all focus and inspiration.
The kittens recovered and are now healthy and hardy adult cats, and are frankly the most interesting and personable pets we've ever owned. I can't imagine our lives without them. Divine Love's angels sent us to their aid, and they provide our family a daily dose of joy in return.
With all the distractions the world tries to throw at us, it can be easy to miss those quiet messages from God. If I think I'm running the show and have all the answers, I'll miss out simply because there's no way I can see the big picture in the same way that the divine Mind does. When alertness to the constant, spiritual governing Principle of the universe replaces human will, there can be nothing but order, harmony, and blessings. We can trust we'll be shown exactly where to go and what to do when we follow His angels.
copyright Christian Science Publishing Society, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Prac Talk Links 2009
I hope y'all had a wonderful summer filled with love and joy! I was able to spend another week at Cedars Camps this year working at main camp in PAL house as the Christian Science Practitioner in residence. What a joy! Part of that job is to give an inspirational talk each morning, and I've now posted the recordings of my five talks from this year at my web page. Just click the link below and scroll down to the Cedars Camps information for 2009, and you can listen in on our fun.
http://www.megwelchdendlercs.com/activities.html
http://www.megwelchdendlercs.com/activities.html
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Looking Up
This posting is an article published in the Christian Science Sentinel, August 20, 2007.
The Benefits of Looking Up
It was a blue-sky Texas day, late in May. I paused by a shimmering lake with my dog, Max, to bask in the moment. The summer heat hadn't settled in yet, the breeze was peaceful, and there wasn't a cloud to be seen. I thought, "How could anything be wrong, anywhere in the world, on such a beautiful day?"
My morning walks with Max are a time for me to reflect, pray, and think about God's presence. That morning, the presence of God, divine Love, felt so palpable and clear to me. It genuinely seemed impossible that anything evil had a chance to thrive or even exist. The kingdom of heaven felt close and tangible, and it seemed that I was being given a glimpse of it through the glory of that spring morning.
As I look back on that moment, having walked around that lake several times since, an interesting spiritual insight comes to my thought. The area of our neighborhood where the lake is located is under heavy construction with 20 or more homes in various stages of completion. It is often noisy, and the lake is consistently filled with litter from workers' lunches and debris from construction sites--things such as plastic cups, Styrofoam containers, and stray sheets of dry wall.
Had the lake been just as cluttered with garbage on that day when I felt the presence and reality of God's perfection so clearly? It must have been. When I'd been sitting with Max near the water's edge, the garbage had probably been right under my nose. But why hadn't I noticed it? Why hadn't it ruined the scene that appeared to me as totally pure and unmarred? One logical answer is that the clear blue sky had held my attention, not the scene at my feet.
I realize that there is a definite spiritual lesson there. My eyes and focus had been up, instead of down, so I'd been able to concentrate and be uplifted by the good present with me in that moment, regardless of the mess at my feet.
It makes me think of how Mary Baker Eddy described Jesus' way of looking at the world: "Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick. Thus Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is intact, universal, and that man is pure and holy" (Science and Health, pp. 476-477).
When a leper approached Jesus, he didn't see the disease or the ugly effect it had on the man. Instead, he saw a perfect, unmarred creation of God. And by seeing that individual in his true light, Jesus brought to light the man's pure, spiritual identity. This view healed--it completely removed the disease from the man's experience. In fact, Jesus saw everyone he met and every situation he encountered through the clarity of this Christ-view--the same view that healed and transformed multitudes of people who carried the burden of disease, infirmity, or doubt in God's presence. And it's also what enabled Jesus to walk on the water in the middle of a raging storm.
Jesus so consistently lived by this Christly, spiritual vision that he saw only health and perfection. And this perfection is all that our Father-Mother God is ever seeing about each of us as spiritual ideas.
Imagine if each day we practiced seeing the world through that same lens? I don't mean just ignoring the multitude of problems in society, but instead seeing through them--looking above them--to consider them from the prayerful vantage point that brings about healing results.
In the glossary of Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy defined eyes as "spiritual discernment,--not material but mental" (p. 586). Using this spiritual discernment, we can glimpse the genuine reality of any moment, instead of getting mired in the illusion of material life. The trappings of materialism often beg (and sometimes demand) to be seen. But spiritual vision lifts thought above the "mess" in front of us to the kingdom of heaven--the reality of God's perfect universe.
Several years ago, I had an experience that proved the healing benefits of spiritual vision. My second daughter was born seven weeks early and was required to spend a few days in the neonatal intensive care unit of our local hospital for observation. On day three of her stay, the doctors were happy with her progress, but diagnosed her as having jaundice. Even I could see that her skin had an unnatural yellow tinge. The plan was that she would receive some light therapy later in the day.
As I gently rocked this very tiny baby, it was just unacceptable to me that her expression of health could be limited or delayed by this diagnosis. I closed my eyes and mentally turned away from what the physical senses had to say about her appearance. My thoughts became focused on what God knew about this precious child right at that moment. Through spiritual sense and prayerful discernment, I was able to see the baby's innocence and perfection as the creation of God. And in that moment, that spiritual fact was totally clear to me.
When I looked down again a few minutes later, my daughter's skin tone was pink and normal. I rocked her and prayed for a few more minutes, and then she was returned to the care of the nurses. She never needed the light therapy, and the doctors never mentioned jaundice again. Instead, she was moved into the regular nursery the next day and was able to come home with me a few days later.
The benefits this spiritual view has brought to my life, remind me of a hymn I love to sing by Mary Baker Eddy, which says in part:
Aye, darkling sense, arise, go hence!
Our God is good.
False fears are foes--truth tatters those,
When understood.
Love looseth thee, and lifteth me,
Ayont hate's thrall:
There Life is light, and wisdom might,
And God is All.
(Christian Science Hymnal, No. 160)
No matter what turmoil seems to be going on in our lives, the kingdom of heaven is always at hand. Each and every day we can see and acknowledge the uninterrupted beauty of God's day. No fear can darken or muddy up our thoughts when we're "looking up." And when we do, nothing in this world can distract us from feeling the harmony that is ours to claim.
copyright Christian Science Publishing Society, 2007
The Benefits of Looking Up
It was a blue-sky Texas day, late in May. I paused by a shimmering lake with my dog, Max, to bask in the moment. The summer heat hadn't settled in yet, the breeze was peaceful, and there wasn't a cloud to be seen. I thought, "How could anything be wrong, anywhere in the world, on such a beautiful day?"
My morning walks with Max are a time for me to reflect, pray, and think about God's presence. That morning, the presence of God, divine Love, felt so palpable and clear to me. It genuinely seemed impossible that anything evil had a chance to thrive or even exist. The kingdom of heaven felt close and tangible, and it seemed that I was being given a glimpse of it through the glory of that spring morning.
As I look back on that moment, having walked around that lake several times since, an interesting spiritual insight comes to my thought. The area of our neighborhood where the lake is located is under heavy construction with 20 or more homes in various stages of completion. It is often noisy, and the lake is consistently filled with litter from workers' lunches and debris from construction sites--things such as plastic cups, Styrofoam containers, and stray sheets of dry wall.
Had the lake been just as cluttered with garbage on that day when I felt the presence and reality of God's perfection so clearly? It must have been. When I'd been sitting with Max near the water's edge, the garbage had probably been right under my nose. But why hadn't I noticed it? Why hadn't it ruined the scene that appeared to me as totally pure and unmarred? One logical answer is that the clear blue sky had held my attention, not the scene at my feet.
I realize that there is a definite spiritual lesson there. My eyes and focus had been up, instead of down, so I'd been able to concentrate and be uplifted by the good present with me in that moment, regardless of the mess at my feet.
It makes me think of how Mary Baker Eddy described Jesus' way of looking at the world: "Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick. Thus Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is intact, universal, and that man is pure and holy" (Science and Health, pp. 476-477).
When a leper approached Jesus, he didn't see the disease or the ugly effect it had on the man. Instead, he saw a perfect, unmarred creation of God. And by seeing that individual in his true light, Jesus brought to light the man's pure, spiritual identity. This view healed--it completely removed the disease from the man's experience. In fact, Jesus saw everyone he met and every situation he encountered through the clarity of this Christ-view--the same view that healed and transformed multitudes of people who carried the burden of disease, infirmity, or doubt in God's presence. And it's also what enabled Jesus to walk on the water in the middle of a raging storm.
Jesus so consistently lived by this Christly, spiritual vision that he saw only health and perfection. And this perfection is all that our Father-Mother God is ever seeing about each of us as spiritual ideas.
Imagine if each day we practiced seeing the world through that same lens? I don't mean just ignoring the multitude of problems in society, but instead seeing through them--looking above them--to consider them from the prayerful vantage point that brings about healing results.
In the glossary of Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy defined eyes as "spiritual discernment,--not material but mental" (p. 586). Using this spiritual discernment, we can glimpse the genuine reality of any moment, instead of getting mired in the illusion of material life. The trappings of materialism often beg (and sometimes demand) to be seen. But spiritual vision lifts thought above the "mess" in front of us to the kingdom of heaven--the reality of God's perfect universe.
Several years ago, I had an experience that proved the healing benefits of spiritual vision. My second daughter was born seven weeks early and was required to spend a few days in the neonatal intensive care unit of our local hospital for observation. On day three of her stay, the doctors were happy with her progress, but diagnosed her as having jaundice. Even I could see that her skin had an unnatural yellow tinge. The plan was that she would receive some light therapy later in the day.
As I gently rocked this very tiny baby, it was just unacceptable to me that her expression of health could be limited or delayed by this diagnosis. I closed my eyes and mentally turned away from what the physical senses had to say about her appearance. My thoughts became focused on what God knew about this precious child right at that moment. Through spiritual sense and prayerful discernment, I was able to see the baby's innocence and perfection as the creation of God. And in that moment, that spiritual fact was totally clear to me.
When I looked down again a few minutes later, my daughter's skin tone was pink and normal. I rocked her and prayed for a few more minutes, and then she was returned to the care of the nurses. She never needed the light therapy, and the doctors never mentioned jaundice again. Instead, she was moved into the regular nursery the next day and was able to come home with me a few days later.
The benefits this spiritual view has brought to my life, remind me of a hymn I love to sing by Mary Baker Eddy, which says in part:
Aye, darkling sense, arise, go hence!
Our God is good.
False fears are foes--truth tatters those,
When understood.
Love looseth thee, and lifteth me,
Ayont hate's thrall:
There Life is light, and wisdom might,
And God is All.
(Christian Science Hymnal, No. 160)
No matter what turmoil seems to be going on in our lives, the kingdom of heaven is always at hand. Each and every day we can see and acknowledge the uninterrupted beauty of God's day. No fear can darken or muddy up our thoughts when we're "looking up." And when we do, nothing in this world can distract us from feeling the harmony that is ours to claim.
copyright Christian Science Publishing Society, 2007
Monday, July 20, 2009
That's NOT the way it is...
With all of the news reports and wonderful commentaries to honor Walter Cronkite these days, I've been thinking about a vivid memory from childhood.
My father watched Cronkite every night and was a huge fan. He was also a very soft spoken man, at least by the time they were raising me later in life, and I never heard him raise his voice about anything. One night, however, my sweet father came stomping up the stairs from our TV room in a lather. "That's NOT the way it is!" he fumed. I have no idea what Cronkite said that night, but when he gave his standard closing of "that's the way it is..." my dear dad clearly disagreed. I've rarely seen him so upset!
Since my father passed on many years ago, I'll never know what the drama was about that night. But as I've been thinking about his reaction, I've realized that it has some wonderful metaphysical correlations.
What if, every single time we are faced with a problem (physical, financial, relationship, whatever), every single time, we demanded just as vehemently--that's NOT the way it is. Matter is NOT the boss. Life is NOT vulnerable or fragile. Supply is NOT limited. If God is good and eternal and spiritual, then facts that naturally flow from this foundation--facts about man's perfection and God's harmonious control over the universe--are the only reports we need to agree with.
I think I'll have to try it! When I know the "news" report that the world or my body is throwing at me are not a part of God's wonderful creation, I will demand THAT'S NOT THE WAY IT IS. That is NOT reality. A corrected report is all that can follow such a spiritual stance.
My father watched Cronkite every night and was a huge fan. He was also a very soft spoken man, at least by the time they were raising me later in life, and I never heard him raise his voice about anything. One night, however, my sweet father came stomping up the stairs from our TV room in a lather. "That's NOT the way it is!" he fumed. I have no idea what Cronkite said that night, but when he gave his standard closing of "that's the way it is..." my dear dad clearly disagreed. I've rarely seen him so upset!
Since my father passed on many years ago, I'll never know what the drama was about that night. But as I've been thinking about his reaction, I've realized that it has some wonderful metaphysical correlations.
What if, every single time we are faced with a problem (physical, financial, relationship, whatever), every single time, we demanded just as vehemently--that's NOT the way it is. Matter is NOT the boss. Life is NOT vulnerable or fragile. Supply is NOT limited. If God is good and eternal and spiritual, then facts that naturally flow from this foundation--facts about man's perfection and God's harmonious control over the universe--are the only reports we need to agree with.
I think I'll have to try it! When I know the "news" report that the world or my body is throwing at me are not a part of God's wonderful creation, I will demand THAT'S NOT THE WAY IT IS. That is NOT reality. A corrected report is all that can follow such a spiritual stance.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Lecture On-Line
This link will take you to a fabulous public talk on Christian Science that was recorded for the internet. Christine Driessen, the speaker, shares amazing healings and a way rethinking the world and our thought that is sure to enlighten everyone!
http://www.cschurchbeaverton.com/video.html
http://www.cschurchbeaverton.com/video.html
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Born Again article
My article in this month's Christian Science Journal has gotten more wonderful feedback than the over 70 pieces for the CSPS that came before it, so I thought I would put it up here at my blog so it is available on-line and for those who do not read the Journal. Fair warning: it is much longer and more in depth (from the magazine's "Deep Think" section) than most of what I post here. The language and form are also more formal than what I'd normally blog, but I hope it brings you some fresh inspiration today.
Born Again, And Again...
The concept of being "born again" is vital to the commitment many Christians have to God and to their love of Christ Jesus. But just what being born again means can be very individual and understood on a variety of levels. Searching through the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, both her originally published works and many of her unpublished letters and documents archived at the Mary Baker Eddy Library, I found a rich store of how she felt about the concept of being born again.
For instance, in a published sermon titled The People's Idea of God, Mrs. Eddy addressed Christian Scientists as "...thou of the church of the new-born..." (p. 14). Another sermon, titled "The New Birth," is included in her book Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896 (see pp. 15-20). And in other letters and documents, she used words such as rebirth and reborn to explain the transformation that comes with an increasing understanding of God and of our oneness with Him as His loved creations, made in His image and likeness. In these writings she explained clearly that this rebirth process is not a one-time event, but requires ongoing spiritual transformation and progress.
REBIRTH AND BAPTISM
Another word that Mrs. Eddy used to explain this rebirth process is baptism. She took this concept beyond a religious ceremony involving being sprinkled with or immersed in water that many Christian faiths embrace. At the heart of baptism in Christian Science is a process of purifying thought and actions and gaining spiritual insight--a striving to have that mind "which was also in Christ Jesus" that the Apostle Paul referred to in his letter to the Philippians (2:5).
The concepts of baptism and rebirth in many Christian traditions stem from the story recorded in the Gospel of John where Nicodemus, a leader in the synagogue, visits Jesus by night (see John 3:1-8). Nicodemus is impressed by Jesus' works and teachings. He expresses his confidence that Jesus' miracles and wonders are the result of Jesus' closeness to God, divine Spirit. In their brief encounter, the Master tells Nicodemus that one must "be born again." As the Amplified Bible translates this passage, Jesus says, "Unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God."
Jesus then makes it clear to Nicodemus that he was not talking about anyone needing to be born again physically, but needing to be "born of the Spirit." In other words, where true, spiritual rebirth takes place, and where it is constantly going on, is in human consciousness.
To me, human consciousness is like the field of the tares and the wheat that Jesus describes in a parable (see Matt. 13:24-30). In the parable, a landowner discovers that an enemy has planted weeds (tares) in his wheat field. At harvest time, the wheat is gathered and put to good use, while the tares are burned and destroyed. This parable provides a good analogy for what goes on in thought as we progress spiritually. What is real and true is separated from what is unreal and false. Materially based thoughts (those that are "born of the flesh") are eventually exposed as useless and we drop them, or they are destroyed like the tares at harvest time, while we retain ever-advancing spiritual thoughts and allow them to continue to develop.
Fundamental to the rebirth process is the acceptance of our oneness with Spirit and of our own spiritual nature. Our lives are baptized, purified, by the understanding that we are each God's beautiful, loved child and therefore free from materiality and mortality, including sickness and death, as well as sin.
Science and Health, Mary Baker Eddy's primary work on Christian Science, explains that our physique, and really our whole human experience, is determined by the correct or incorrect concepts we hold in thought about ourselves and others. So it naturally follows that a more spiritual and improved consciousness must lead to better lives. Living a healthier, more wholesome life is the natural outcome of a growing understanding of our spiritual nature.
THREE STAGES
In her article "Pond and Purpose," Mrs. Eddy discussed baptism and rebirth in detail (see Mis., pp. 203-207). She spoke of three stages that human thought must go through to reach the highest level of spiritual understanding, that level Jesus so perfectly exemplified in his ascension.
Repentance
The first stage she named is the baptism of repentance--turning from wrong ways, that is, from material ways of thinking and acting. At this point in our progress, we begin to let go of a mortal view of ourselves and of the world, including immoral or unchristlike behavior. The human consciousness at this level, Mrs. Eddy wrote, is in "a stricken state." The human consciousness feels wounded, afflicted, damaged, injured, sick, and fearful. It is a misshapen and disfigured mental state that needs to be healed. This early stage of rebirth sparks a rejuvenation of that consciousness. At this point, an individual may feel like everything he or she had thought of as solid and true has been upended. This stirring in thought can be a bit unnerving.
It is rarely a comfortable experience to see our faults and mistakes in the light of divine Truth. But this process of having errors uncovered in consciousness is vital to experiencing the blessings of a life that is in sync with God. Striving to be better, we begin to feel the divine presence embracing our consciousness, and therefore our daily activities.
An individual mentally wrestling in this state is just beginning to glimpse the reality of God's spiritual creation--just beginning to be born again. Of this first stage Mrs. Eddy wrote, "Tears flood the eyes, agony struggles, pride rebels, and a mortal seems a monster, a dark, impenetrable cloud of error; and falling on the bended knee of prayer, humble before God, he cries, 'Save, or I perish'" (Mis., pp. 203-204).
The imagery that Mrs. Eddy used to describe this mental state brings to mind the account of a penitent woman who slips into a dinner party where Jesus is the honored guest. Ignoring what others may think of her, she washes his feet with her tears, dries his feet with her hair, and anoints them with expensive ointment (see Luke 7:37-50). I've often wondered what brought her there. Had she already heard Jesus' teaching in some public place or had she just heard about him? Whatever it was, her thought had certainly been stirred, and the light of the Christ that Jesus so beautifully represented was burning brightly in her thought. And Jesus assures her, "Thy sins are forgiven." She has been reborn and evidently is ready for a new life with more and greater rebirth to come.
Yet it's not enough just to be sorry for having followed mistaken ways of living, or even to feel the forgiveness that washed away particular propensities. In order to move beyond those ways, one must continue to deeply desire to live in accord with one's spiritual nature. When that genuine striving to think and to live more spiritually is at the heart of our daily life, progressing further is inevitable.
Transformation
The next stage of spiritual development Mrs. Eddy described is the baptism of the Holy Ghost--the spirit of God transforming consciousness and dissolving even minor inclinations to sin. This change involves daily, continual turning away from human willfullness and materially based thinking. As we turn to God to guide every step of our lives, we feel the inspiration, wisdom, and peace of divine Love more and more. Experiencing this baptism and renewal at this stage comes from truly living the life of a follower of Christ Jesus--allowing the Holy Ghost, or divine Science, to be the primary influence controlling our words and actions.
Every step of spiritual growth, every new way of thinking and acting and interacting with those around us, improves our lives. This spiritual growth opens our eyes to the good going on around us and helps us become better witnesses to God's perfect creation in our family and with our neighbors. This progressive improvement of consciousness naturally touches every part of our experience and fortifies and blesses it. The baptism of the Holy Ghost refreshes thought and provides the spiritual insight needed to progress even further. We can expect that an improved awareness of our spiritual identity, and our increased understanding of Spirit as the only true substance will bring tangible changes and physical healing.
Several months ago I had an experience that felt like this baptism. For years I had a mole on my neck that showed several signs of being abnormal. It was distended and often itchy. While it didn't cause me much fear, I knew that this was something that needed to be and could be removed and healed through Christian Science treatment. So one afternoon I spent some quiet prayerful time listening to God, divine Mind, for what was needed to heal this condition. I contemplated God's pure and perfect existence expecting to uncover anything in my thought that was not in line with God's entirely good creation.
In just a few minutes, I had a flash of a memory from decades previous. A co-worker had had an invasive mole removed and had share in great detail this dramatic event in her life. I realized that I had accepted this as a part of her experience and had never challenged it spiritually. So I did just that. I prayerfully denied that this woman or anyone could ever be contaminated by or invaded by such a condition. That this condition was a lie about God's true creation. My co-worker's pure spiritual nature became so clear to me that I knew I had corrected the misperception of her that I had let sit in thought for so long.
Within a week, the mole on my neck had dried up and fell away. My consciousness had been refreshed with this new, pure view of my co-worker, and that change naturally resulted in a physical change in my own experience.
Every healing we have involves some degree of being born again into the clearer understanding of our and others' true spiritual nature. What we see as healing is really the unfolding revelation of what is always true. Every moment of rebirth--of awakened realization of our spiritual nature--transforms how we view reality and helps us to see more clearly through the lens of spiritual reasoning.
Immersion in Love
And this clarity leads to the final stage of rebirth: the baptism of Spirit, where we experience nothing but our complete oneness with God. Of this climactic stage, Mary Baker Eddy said that we will find the "...final immersion of human consciousness in the infinite ocean of Love..." (Mis., 205). Who wouldn't want to be immersed in an infinite ocean of Love?
Very often in my prayerful communion with God, as I pray either for myself or for someone who has requested my help, I have felt moments of this complete oneness with Love. It is a sense of being totally surrounded by joy and health and peace, and that there could not possibly be anything else anywhere that could harm God's glorious creation. Physical surroundings seem to melt away, and there is nothing but Love. It is hard to maintain this mental state when the phone starts ringing, the dog starts barking, and the kids want dinner. But just knowing that it is attainable--and that this state of peace and pure spirituality often results in dramatic healings--makes it worth continuing to strive to maintain it more consistently.
That clear, spiritual knowledge of existence transcends, even if just for a brief time, the material sense of life. I think of it as the "one moment of divine consciousness..." that Mrs. Eddy explained is possible for us now. Each of us, here and now, can be "...in the full consciousness of {our} immortality and eternal harmony, where sin, sickness, and death are unknown" (Science and Health, p. 598). Relating this enlightened state of consciousness to St. John's visions in Revelation, she assured that this is possible for us, too. As she wrote, it is "...a foretaste of absolute Christian Science" (Science and Health, p. 573).
RIPE FOR REBIRTH
That state of existence may seem like a far-off, pie-in-the-sky goal, but it doesn't have to be done in a day. Our spiritual journey is forever ongoing. As the desire to be reborn spiritually deepens, we will continue to move through those first two stages until we arrive at the full understanding of our oneness with the divine--until we find ourselves immersed in that infinite ocean of Love.
Pondering Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, Mrs. Eddy wrote to one of her students: "Your new birth seems such as Jesus declared to the Rabbi of old, even an awakening to the realities that satisfy the immortal cravings. This great hope, faith, and understanding come forth in Divine Science as naturally as the Spring-tide to those ripe for it" (LO8381, Mary Baker Eddy to J. R. Clarkson, April 1, 1898, The Mary Baker Eddy Collection).
This truth speaks to everyone. Each of us can be ripe for spiritual rebirth and awaken to the truth of the universe that will satisfy the natural craving for better and higher and happier lives. We all can open our hearts and our minds to being born again today--and again tomorrow. Divine Love is supporting and encouraging each of us every moment. And Love is continually providing the infinite ocean of harmony and joy--the kingdom of God and divine consciousness--for everyone to experience.
originally published in the Christian Science Journal, May 2009, pp. 28-31.
copyright Christian Science Publishing Society.
Born Again, And Again...
The concept of being "born again" is vital to the commitment many Christians have to God and to their love of Christ Jesus. But just what being born again means can be very individual and understood on a variety of levels. Searching through the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, both her originally published works and many of her unpublished letters and documents archived at the Mary Baker Eddy Library, I found a rich store of how she felt about the concept of being born again.
For instance, in a published sermon titled The People's Idea of God, Mrs. Eddy addressed Christian Scientists as "...thou of the church of the new-born..." (p. 14). Another sermon, titled "The New Birth," is included in her book Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896 (see pp. 15-20). And in other letters and documents, she used words such as rebirth and reborn to explain the transformation that comes with an increasing understanding of God and of our oneness with Him as His loved creations, made in His image and likeness. In these writings she explained clearly that this rebirth process is not a one-time event, but requires ongoing spiritual transformation and progress.
REBIRTH AND BAPTISM
Another word that Mrs. Eddy used to explain this rebirth process is baptism. She took this concept beyond a religious ceremony involving being sprinkled with or immersed in water that many Christian faiths embrace. At the heart of baptism in Christian Science is a process of purifying thought and actions and gaining spiritual insight--a striving to have that mind "which was also in Christ Jesus" that the Apostle Paul referred to in his letter to the Philippians (2:5).
The concepts of baptism and rebirth in many Christian traditions stem from the story recorded in the Gospel of John where Nicodemus, a leader in the synagogue, visits Jesus by night (see John 3:1-8). Nicodemus is impressed by Jesus' works and teachings. He expresses his confidence that Jesus' miracles and wonders are the result of Jesus' closeness to God, divine Spirit. In their brief encounter, the Master tells Nicodemus that one must "be born again." As the Amplified Bible translates this passage, Jesus says, "Unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God."
Jesus then makes it clear to Nicodemus that he was not talking about anyone needing to be born again physically, but needing to be "born of the Spirit." In other words, where true, spiritual rebirth takes place, and where it is constantly going on, is in human consciousness.
To me, human consciousness is like the field of the tares and the wheat that Jesus describes in a parable (see Matt. 13:24-30). In the parable, a landowner discovers that an enemy has planted weeds (tares) in his wheat field. At harvest time, the wheat is gathered and put to good use, while the tares are burned and destroyed. This parable provides a good analogy for what goes on in thought as we progress spiritually. What is real and true is separated from what is unreal and false. Materially based thoughts (those that are "born of the flesh") are eventually exposed as useless and we drop them, or they are destroyed like the tares at harvest time, while we retain ever-advancing spiritual thoughts and allow them to continue to develop.
Fundamental to the rebirth process is the acceptance of our oneness with Spirit and of our own spiritual nature. Our lives are baptized, purified, by the understanding that we are each God's beautiful, loved child and therefore free from materiality and mortality, including sickness and death, as well as sin.
Science and Health, Mary Baker Eddy's primary work on Christian Science, explains that our physique, and really our whole human experience, is determined by the correct or incorrect concepts we hold in thought about ourselves and others. So it naturally follows that a more spiritual and improved consciousness must lead to better lives. Living a healthier, more wholesome life is the natural outcome of a growing understanding of our spiritual nature.
THREE STAGES
In her article "Pond and Purpose," Mrs. Eddy discussed baptism and rebirth in detail (see Mis., pp. 203-207). She spoke of three stages that human thought must go through to reach the highest level of spiritual understanding, that level Jesus so perfectly exemplified in his ascension.
Repentance
The first stage she named is the baptism of repentance--turning from wrong ways, that is, from material ways of thinking and acting. At this point in our progress, we begin to let go of a mortal view of ourselves and of the world, including immoral or unchristlike behavior. The human consciousness at this level, Mrs. Eddy wrote, is in "a stricken state." The human consciousness feels wounded, afflicted, damaged, injured, sick, and fearful. It is a misshapen and disfigured mental state that needs to be healed. This early stage of rebirth sparks a rejuvenation of that consciousness. At this point, an individual may feel like everything he or she had thought of as solid and true has been upended. This stirring in thought can be a bit unnerving.
It is rarely a comfortable experience to see our faults and mistakes in the light of divine Truth. But this process of having errors uncovered in consciousness is vital to experiencing the blessings of a life that is in sync with God. Striving to be better, we begin to feel the divine presence embracing our consciousness, and therefore our daily activities.
An individual mentally wrestling in this state is just beginning to glimpse the reality of God's spiritual creation--just beginning to be born again. Of this first stage Mrs. Eddy wrote, "Tears flood the eyes, agony struggles, pride rebels, and a mortal seems a monster, a dark, impenetrable cloud of error; and falling on the bended knee of prayer, humble before God, he cries, 'Save, or I perish'" (Mis., pp. 203-204).
The imagery that Mrs. Eddy used to describe this mental state brings to mind the account of a penitent woman who slips into a dinner party where Jesus is the honored guest. Ignoring what others may think of her, she washes his feet with her tears, dries his feet with her hair, and anoints them with expensive ointment (see Luke 7:37-50). I've often wondered what brought her there. Had she already heard Jesus' teaching in some public place or had she just heard about him? Whatever it was, her thought had certainly been stirred, and the light of the Christ that Jesus so beautifully represented was burning brightly in her thought. And Jesus assures her, "Thy sins are forgiven." She has been reborn and evidently is ready for a new life with more and greater rebirth to come.
Yet it's not enough just to be sorry for having followed mistaken ways of living, or even to feel the forgiveness that washed away particular propensities. In order to move beyond those ways, one must continue to deeply desire to live in accord with one's spiritual nature. When that genuine striving to think and to live more spiritually is at the heart of our daily life, progressing further is inevitable.
Transformation
The next stage of spiritual development Mrs. Eddy described is the baptism of the Holy Ghost--the spirit of God transforming consciousness and dissolving even minor inclinations to sin. This change involves daily, continual turning away from human willfullness and materially based thinking. As we turn to God to guide every step of our lives, we feel the inspiration, wisdom, and peace of divine Love more and more. Experiencing this baptism and renewal at this stage comes from truly living the life of a follower of Christ Jesus--allowing the Holy Ghost, or divine Science, to be the primary influence controlling our words and actions.
Every step of spiritual growth, every new way of thinking and acting and interacting with those around us, improves our lives. This spiritual growth opens our eyes to the good going on around us and helps us become better witnesses to God's perfect creation in our family and with our neighbors. This progressive improvement of consciousness naturally touches every part of our experience and fortifies and blesses it. The baptism of the Holy Ghost refreshes thought and provides the spiritual insight needed to progress even further. We can expect that an improved awareness of our spiritual identity, and our increased understanding of Spirit as the only true substance will bring tangible changes and physical healing.
Several months ago I had an experience that felt like this baptism. For years I had a mole on my neck that showed several signs of being abnormal. It was distended and often itchy. While it didn't cause me much fear, I knew that this was something that needed to be and could be removed and healed through Christian Science treatment. So one afternoon I spent some quiet prayerful time listening to God, divine Mind, for what was needed to heal this condition. I contemplated God's pure and perfect existence expecting to uncover anything in my thought that was not in line with God's entirely good creation.
In just a few minutes, I had a flash of a memory from decades previous. A co-worker had had an invasive mole removed and had share in great detail this dramatic event in her life. I realized that I had accepted this as a part of her experience and had never challenged it spiritually. So I did just that. I prayerfully denied that this woman or anyone could ever be contaminated by or invaded by such a condition. That this condition was a lie about God's true creation. My co-worker's pure spiritual nature became so clear to me that I knew I had corrected the misperception of her that I had let sit in thought for so long.
Within a week, the mole on my neck had dried up and fell away. My consciousness had been refreshed with this new, pure view of my co-worker, and that change naturally resulted in a physical change in my own experience.
Every healing we have involves some degree of being born again into the clearer understanding of our and others' true spiritual nature. What we see as healing is really the unfolding revelation of what is always true. Every moment of rebirth--of awakened realization of our spiritual nature--transforms how we view reality and helps us to see more clearly through the lens of spiritual reasoning.
Immersion in Love
And this clarity leads to the final stage of rebirth: the baptism of Spirit, where we experience nothing but our complete oneness with God. Of this climactic stage, Mary Baker Eddy said that we will find the "...final immersion of human consciousness in the infinite ocean of Love..." (Mis., 205). Who wouldn't want to be immersed in an infinite ocean of Love?
Very often in my prayerful communion with God, as I pray either for myself or for someone who has requested my help, I have felt moments of this complete oneness with Love. It is a sense of being totally surrounded by joy and health and peace, and that there could not possibly be anything else anywhere that could harm God's glorious creation. Physical surroundings seem to melt away, and there is nothing but Love. It is hard to maintain this mental state when the phone starts ringing, the dog starts barking, and the kids want dinner. But just knowing that it is attainable--and that this state of peace and pure spirituality often results in dramatic healings--makes it worth continuing to strive to maintain it more consistently.
That clear, spiritual knowledge of existence transcends, even if just for a brief time, the material sense of life. I think of it as the "one moment of divine consciousness..." that Mrs. Eddy explained is possible for us now. Each of us, here and now, can be "...in the full consciousness of {our} immortality and eternal harmony, where sin, sickness, and death are unknown" (Science and Health, p. 598). Relating this enlightened state of consciousness to St. John's visions in Revelation, she assured that this is possible for us, too. As she wrote, it is "...a foretaste of absolute Christian Science" (Science and Health, p. 573).
RIPE FOR REBIRTH
That state of existence may seem like a far-off, pie-in-the-sky goal, but it doesn't have to be done in a day. Our spiritual journey is forever ongoing. As the desire to be reborn spiritually deepens, we will continue to move through those first two stages until we arrive at the full understanding of our oneness with the divine--until we find ourselves immersed in that infinite ocean of Love.
Pondering Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, Mrs. Eddy wrote to one of her students: "Your new birth seems such as Jesus declared to the Rabbi of old, even an awakening to the realities that satisfy the immortal cravings. This great hope, faith, and understanding come forth in Divine Science as naturally as the Spring-tide to those ripe for it" (LO8381, Mary Baker Eddy to J. R. Clarkson, April 1, 1898, The Mary Baker Eddy Collection).
This truth speaks to everyone. Each of us can be ripe for spiritual rebirth and awaken to the truth of the universe that will satisfy the natural craving for better and higher and happier lives. We all can open our hearts and our minds to being born again today--and again tomorrow. Divine Love is supporting and encouraging each of us every moment. And Love is continually providing the infinite ocean of harmony and joy--the kingdom of God and divine consciousness--for everyone to experience.
originally published in the Christian Science Journal, May 2009, pp. 28-31.
copyright Christian Science Publishing Society.
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