METAPHYSICAL MEETING, April 26, 2010
Topic
What can we do to work God's work? (Hymn 82)
Call to the meeting
In preparation for our next metaphysical meeting on Monday, 19 April 2010, please read/study the Acts of the Apostles. Feel free to use any translation. As you study, you might consider these interesting ideas from Larry Kreider's book “Starting a House Church”:
“The New Testament church, the church encountered in the book of Acts, was defined as people. Believers did not go to church or join church-they were the Church ... These followers of Christ practiced their faith in spiritual families ... and radically changed their world.” (p.9)
There are three excellent articles you will find in our Reading Room that impel us to teaching and healing and radically changing our world as the early workers did:
Erickson, The Acts of the Apostles, Journal 108:7, p 5
Leishman, Luke and the Book of Acts, Journal 59:6, p 340
Martha Sage Vang, A Walk through the Book of Acts, Journal 103:6, p 379
As we move forward, here is the one important question we will be considering at our meeting:
We are members of Mrs. Eddy's last class and she is sending us all the way out to La Cañada Flintridge, CA, to introduce Christian Science and start a church. How would we go about it? What would be our first steps?
Some ideas to consider as we start our church:
How did the early Christians see their mission?
How did the early Christians spread the word?
What was Peter's vision of the church? Was it the same as Paul's?
And, finally, how do WE see our mission to our church and to our community?
In other words, how do we ACT?
We'll meet in the Reading Room on Monday night, the 26th of April, at 7:30 p.m. and share ideas, pray together, and sing. Let's come together to make a joyful noise.
Readings
From the Bible, and from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, and Miscellaneous Writings by Mary Baker Eddy.
Member contribution A
I’ve loved this topic we were asked to re research and pray about. It’s been fun yet a bit scary placing ourselves in the Apostle’s roll in that time frame. Aren’t we very blessed to have had knowledge of God’s word, Jesus’ works, and Mary Baker Eddy’s key to the scriptures unfolding the Truth to us and that we are now demonstrating the Christian life in its freest form? As the Apostles accepted and acted upon Jesus’ expectations that they exemplify His works as in John 14:12, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall be do also.”
This command was not taken lightly by the Apostles. Peter, John and later Paul were in keeping with those healings of Jesus. They proved their understanding in their daily lives and stood firm in their faith, undaunted by fear, threats, imprisonment, or mistreatment. They were armed with the wisdom that Man’s spiritual selfhood is made in God’s own image. They listened, really listened quietly for the “still, small voice” of Truth and direction, then followed trustingly.
Erickson’s article, “The Acts of the Apostles”, summed up the model that the Apostles followed. “It requires spiritual awareness, stamina, persistence, discipline, and boldness.” Jesus was the way-shower and the model for us all. He never hesitated to heal or bless his fellow man.
Our life is easier these days, we can share our love of Christian Science freely without fear. It is our love and understanding of the Truth which we want to offer to others in need, just like it was offered to us when we needed the Christ, Truth, to come into our lives and enlighten our thinking.
This morning I was listening to the message the Board of Directors from The Mother Church had videoed. They were inviting all members to join with them in attending the Annual Meeting in Boston or gather in churches to view it on the internet. I felt each of their love and dedication for this great church. They invited us to unite, dedicate ourselves, and support the worldwide movement of love for humanity. They wanted input into these thoughts and what the title, The Pearl of Great Price, meant to us in this light. I was so moved by their love that I wrote right back and shared my thoughts as well as expressing my great appreciation for each one of them and their dedication and unity in Boston and how they were Pearls carrying on Mary Baker Eddy’s vision of elevating thought to the recognition of a spiritual view of reality.
So now, my vision of church is not novel, just practical, a love of understanding God’s works in action, all around me, everyday, and in every moment. I want to share this “Pearl” of the Christ Truth to all who are in need of comfort and healing, enlightenment, and clarity.
We build our church with good works, love, obedience, enthusiasm, faith, healing, praising, awareness, demonstration, unity, understanding the law (God’s law), daily practice, persistence, boldness of action, a touch more love. The instructions are already stated, defined by God, Jesus, and Mary Baker Eddy. We only have to be obedient to the Truth and listen.
I ask myself each day: “Am I living and demonstrating the spiritual life of a Christian Scientist? Am I destroying all erroneous thoughts and seeing the healing Truth of the Christ in everything I see and do?” I had better be as this is how others will learn about Christian Science.
Member contribution B
In considering what our mission to church is, these two passages came to mind:
12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil
heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day;
lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the
beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; (Heb 3:12-14)
and
20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy
faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy
of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. (Jude 1:20,21)
Keeping the faith is our mission to church and this is done through caring for and praying for each other, fellowship that is based upon unity with the Christ, exhortation, communing together, and sharing experiences which illustrate the power and presence of God. Everyone who comes to church, comes to the light, and it is our task to keep the light burning brightly, recognizing the pull from empty worldly promises and the pitfalls from falling prey to temptation. It is not always an easy task to decipher whether or not an influence is harmful, but we can derive great protection for our church by encouraging each other to find peace in God and to give priority to blessing others and in doing good through healing. These things will keep us busy in the Christ and illumine our path to life’s deeper meaning and purpose.
Keeping the faith among us cannot be done through self-righteousness. This turns would-be adherents away. Paul wrote that we must “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4) The difficulty lies in shifting between two worlds, between the demands of normal life with such things as paying bills, keeping up appearances, “keeping up with the Joneses”, vain pursuits, amusements, and playing the market vs. taking time to illumine our consciousness, pray for family, church, and community, participate wholeheartedly in church, and reach out beyond ourselves to heal others. Does it seem at times that we are conflicted? How can we ever hope to make our world, one world? I’ve been considering that our divinity embraces our humanity. God is in charge of everything or He is in charge of nothing. Which one is it? Mrs. Eddy states on page 184 of Science and Health, “Truth, Life, and Love are the only legitimate and eternal demands on man, and they are spiritual lawgivers, enforcing obedience through divine statutes.” Is the demand from above or from beneath? Will it bless others? What are our motives? Are we trying to compartmentalize our lives? Can we really let God in on everything we do? Why not?
With regard to our mission to the community, we are engaged in nothing less than changing the world. It can feel like such a tall order. But we are not doing the changing: “Eternal Truth is changing the universe.” (S&H p. 255) There is much that is pleasant and even redemptive about the larger community, and it can seem quite bewildering at times as to why we are expected to change the world when we are just trying to get along and survive and/or even thrive to the best of our ability. Mrs. Eddy states, “Remember that mankind must sooner or later, either by suffering or by Science, be convinced of the error that is to be overcome.” (S&H p. 240) Wouldn’t it be compassionate of us to illustrate that Science does overcome error with a sense of Love, puts an end to suffering, and leads us out of the bondage of materiality into a permanent and eternal state of spiritual being.
I’ve been thinking about the definition of salvation in the glossary of Science and Health:
SALVATION. Life, Truth, and Love understood and demonstrated as supreme over all; sin, sickness, and death destroyed. (S&H p. 593)
It reminds me that I cannot merely be satisfied with understanding Christian Science intellectually, finding relief from suffering, so that I may go back to what I was doing as an ant in the colony in a maze of tunnels in a heap. I have to overcome the world and ascend, as Jesus did, in order to demonstrate that Life, Truth, and Love are supreme over all, to be conscious increasingly that the universe where we dwell is spiritual. To be influenced otherwise is to be affected by the carnal mind’s enmity against God.
Jesus described our mission on earth so eloquently: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” How am I putting God first today?
