METAPHYSICAL MEETING, May 17, 2010
Contents
| - Topic | |
| - Call to the meeting | |
| - Readings | |
| - Member contribution A | |
| - Member contribution B | |
| - Member contribution C | |
| - Member contribution D |
Topic
The Eipstle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans
Call to the meeting
Our next metaphysical meeting will be held on Monday, 17 May, at 7:30 p.m., in the reading room study room. The subject is “The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans.” To make preparation more manageable, it is suggested that you concentrate on:
Romans 1:16, 17
Romans 12:1-21
Romans 15:1-21
Romans 16:24-27
Please feel free to consider other parts of the Epistle, too. It is very rich, so rather than asking you to prepare answers to a prescribed set of questions, please share whatever speaks to you with respect to strengthening our church.
We look forward to building on the continuing inspiration that comes from these metaphysical meetings!.
Readings
Psalms 71:1-3, 8, 15-17, 18 O God, 19, 24 (to :)
John 3:16, 17
Matthew 24:14 this (to ;)
Romans 1:16 I am, 17
Romans 3:21 now, 22 (to 1st :)
328:20-4
150:4
55:21
Hymns 273, 204, 335, 441
Benediction: Romans 16:24-27
Member contribution A
According to Bible scholars, the main theme of Paul’s message to the Romans is that the gospel, that is, the good news about Christ Jesus, reveals God’s righteousness, showing that He is faithful to the covenant that He made to the Children of Israel. Not only is God faithful to His promises, but the power of this good news and the salvation resulting from it is available to all, Jews and Gentiles alike. If we think of First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada Flintridge, as the Jews, our community as the Gentiles, and Christian Science as the gospel, we can easily apply Paul’s message to our situation. I took several verses from the suggested chapters to illustrate this.
“...[the gospel of Christ] is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth...” (Rom. 1:16). In Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy defines “salvation” as “Life, Truth, and Love understood and demonstrated as supreme over all; sin, sickness, and death destroyed” (593:20). Paul certainly brings out that salvation is available to everybody who believes the gospel. Many Christians believe in and practice Christian healing. As Christian Scientists, we consistently apply the laws of God to every ill that presents itself. Our duty is to show our community that this salvation, this destruction of sin, disease, and death, is possible and is being practiced now. We do that by “...present[ing] [our] bodies...holy, acceptable unto God...” (Rom. 12:1), by proving through demonstration that we are the image and likeness of God. We show ourselves healed, and as somebody said in a previous meeting, we talk about it. How else will the community know? Paul even tells us how to heal ourselves more effectively: “...be not conformed to this world...” That is, don’t accept world belief as true about yourself. “...be...transformed by the renewing of your mind...” In other words, change your thinking, or as Jesus would say, “Repent!” and we will “...prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Rom. 12:2).
Paul continues in Romans 12 by listing the different talents that each of us brings to the church—prophesy, ministry, teaching, exhortation (preaching), giving, leading, and compassion (v. 6-8). He tells us that just as he is led by the grace of God in his apostleship (v. 3), so is each one of us led to the right kind of outreach that utilizes our talents, the sum of which comprises the work of the church. So, each of us has a role to play in working with our community. We bring our individual talents to the group, and each is equally valuable.
Towards the end of Romans 12, Paul quotes from Proverbs (25:21,22): “...if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head” (Rom. 12:20). This reminded me of Elisha’s treatment of the Syrians when he captured and fed them, instead of killing them. As a result, the Syrians didn’t war against Israel anymore. (See II Kings 6:8-23.) Paul’s command is reminiscent of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus tells us to bless those that curse us and ends with telling us to be as perfect as our Father (see Matt. 5:43-48). This behavior would certainly dissolve any resistance to our church and to Christian Science.
Near the end of chapter 15, Paul promises us that those to whom we reach out will understand our message: “...To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand” (Rom. 15:21). We can expect that our community will understand the gospel message that Christian Science reiterates and that they will be blessed by it.
So, we can see that Paul’s message to the Romans is applicable to our church today. We can know that salvation (complete healing) is available to every member of our community and that they will see this possibility through the individual demonstrations of the members of our church. We each have God-given talents that when used in concert with our fellow members will be a complete outreach “program”. We are taught to respond with love to any criticism that may be placed on us. Finally, we can be assured that our community will understand our message.
Member contribution B
The wisdom of God establishes His church and our church according to His will and His Truth, and it is made manifest now according to His commandment to us that we may be obedient with patience and oneness of heart. Obedience is our action — step by step.
Member contribution C
The twelfth chapter of Romans provides good counsel for church members. Paul exhorts us to refrain from being influenced by the many idols we encounter daily and to maintain a humble estimate of oneself and one’s abilities. You might ask, if one is to abstain from material pleasures and pride in oneself, what is there to feel good about? Can Christian Scientists live separately from world thought and still be happy? What does the life of a happy Christian Scientist look like? It is no small thing to learn that, as Mrs. Eddy reminds us, “[h]appiness is spiritual, born of Truth and Love.” (Science and Health p. 57) To begin to discover that our happiness is not dependent upon material conditions and that our sense of worth is based upon our ongoing relationship with God, not upon what others think of us, is to break away from the enslavement of material sense and to experience increasingly the peace and harmony of immortality. This, in turn, deepens our human existence and brings healing.
This universal struggle for true contentment and meaning in life places certain demands on our relationships in church. We can first recognize the spiritual qualities and talents that we each possess, to bring these out, to employ them, as Paul speaks about in subsequent verses, knowing that the expression of these brings a true sense of worth. Is there anything more satisfying than feeling the obedient connection to God, that we are employed by Him to fulfill His purpose? Secondly, we can exercise brotherly affection and encouragement in recognition of the superimposed, individual and collective struggle to break free from the snares of conventional thought, with its accompanying phases of spiritual searching, doubts and trials. We are “burning with the Spirit,” as Paul says (Amplified Bible), when we recognize ourselves and others as being forever intact, fetterless, and invincible in Truth. We are “not wise in our own conceits,” but “[living] in peace with everyone” when our grace is spent for the benefit of those in need and for our collective progress spiritward.
Member contribution D
The Amplified Bible, in its introduction to Romans, tells us that Paul wrote the epistle from somewhere in Greece. He planned to visit Rome in the future, but meanwhile sent the epistle as a form of instruction to the church there. The Roman church at the time was mainly gentiles plus a small group of Jews who “lacked proper instruction.” Here we see a nice parallel with our own church development, that of a small group of Christians with an important message for their community and great potential needing to be unleashed, as stated in Romans 1:16, the “salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
Paul lays great stress on the Christ, which is, of course, the great significance of the new Christianity that he was preaching compared to traditional religion, in what we today can describe as the availability of individual demonstration, through understanding the totally spiritual nature of man. He tells us to “present your bodies a living sacrifice,” and “be not conformed to this world” (Rom 12:1,2). This instruction is far from urging us to be ascetics, but rather to take on the practical import of the Christ as our key to fruition.
In his instruction, Paul urges many important spiritual attributes including humility, mercy, joy, patience, calm, conscientiousness, goodness, generosity, love, hope. It’s important to see that these are much more than qualities of sound human morality, but the direct outcome of taking on the spiritual mantle of Christ, overcoming and replacing the human tendencies that hold man on a purely material plane.
Great stress is laid on the golden rule, in statements such as “Recompense to no man evil for evil” (Rom. 12:17) and “be like-minded one towards another according to Christ Jesus” (Rom. 15:5). He uses this to bring out how important it is to “unite with the one Mind,” as Mrs Eddy states on page 424 of Science and Health. This important thought-practice opens the way for us to see others, for others to see us, in their and our true light, and to be of service to one another, including ways that will enrich and further our church progress. And how important that this embrace both the traditional church people (the Jews in Paul’s epistle) and even those who have no religious background or affiliation (the gentiles of the epistle.) We can all relate to that in our community efforts and expectations.
Paul lays the foundation for hope and expectation. He knew the spiritual facts, and he expected them to be reflected in the progress of the church in Rome. He expected the Christ to be made widely accessible to people in that community. Of course, this happens through the Christ power, as we listen and allow ourselves to be rightly guided, “to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began” (Rom. 16:25). This “secret” is the Christ-power that worldly thinking and the secularization of society has hidden from view, but which is present to enrich the experience of everyone in our town. In line with Paul’s expectation, we can expect to be led regarding how to facilitate this natural and normal advancement of our church.
