Wednesday Meeting Readings

December 23, 2009

Topic: Christmas joy is yours under all circumstances

 

The Bible:

(1)   Luke 1:26,27,39-47,56

26  And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

27  To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

39  And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;

40  And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

41  And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

42  And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

43  And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44  For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

45  And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

46  And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

47  And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

56  And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

 

(2)   Matt 1:18-25

18  ¶ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

19  Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

20  But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

21  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

22  Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

23  Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

24  Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

25  And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

 

(3)   Matt 3:1,2,13,16,17

1  In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

2  And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

13  ¶ Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

16  And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

17  And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

 

(4)   Matt 5:1-5,16

1  And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

2  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

3  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4  Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

5  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

 

(5)   Luke 10:21 Jesus,23,24

21  Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.

23  ¶ And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:

24  For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

 

(6)   Acts 3:1-8,11,12 (to ?),13 (to ;),25,26

1  Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.

2  And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;

3  Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.

4  And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.

5  And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.

6  Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

7  And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

8  And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.

11  And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.

12  ¶ And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this?

13  The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus;

25  Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

26  Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

 

 

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures

by Mary Baker Eddy

(1)   30:5-8,11,19

           Born of a woman, Jesus' advent in the flesh partook

 6    partly of Mary's earthly condition, although he was en-

       dowed with the Christ, the divine Spirit, with-                   Jesus the

       out measure.                                                                         way-shower

 

       Had his origin and birth been wholly apart from mortal

12   usage, Jesus would not have been appreciable to mortal

       mind as "the way."

 

           As the individual ideal of Truth, Christ Jesus came to

       rebuke rabbinical error and all sin, sickness, and death, —

21   to point out the way of Truth and Life. This                       Rebukes

       ideal was demonstrated throughout the whole                    helpful

       earthly career of Jesus, showing the difference between

24   the offspring of Soul and of material sense, of Truth and

       of error.

 

(2)   31:12-17

12       First in the list of Christian duties, he taught his fol-

       lowers the healing power of Truth and Love. He attached

       no importance to dead ceremonies. It is the                         Healing

15   living Christ, the practical Truth, which makes                    primary

       Jesus "the resurrection and the life" to all who follow him

       in deed.

 

(3)   vii:1-2,13-17 Truth

 1        To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is

       big with blessings.

 

                                                       Truth, independent

       of doctrines and time-honored systems, knocks at the

15   portal of humanity. Contentment with the past and

       the cold conventionality of materialism are crumbling

       away.

 

(4)   489:13,28

           Corporeal sense defrauds and lies; it breaks all the

       commands of the Mosaic Decalogue to meet its own de-

15   mands. How then can this sense be the God-                      Decalogue

       given channel to man of divine blessings or                         disregarded

       understanding? How can man, reflecting God, be de-

18   pendent on material means for knowing, hearing, seeing?

       Who dares to say that the senses of man can be at one time

       the medium for sinning against God, at another the me-

21   dium for obeying God? An affirmative reply would con-

       tradict the Scripture, for the same fountain sendeth not

       forth sweet waters and bitter.

 

                                                                                                    Organic

                                                                                                    construction

                                                 Outside the                                 valueless

       material sense of things, all is harmony. A wrong sense

30   of God, man, and creation is non-sense, want of sense.

       Mortal belief would have the material senses sometimes

       good and sometimes bad. It assures mortals that there

 1    is real pleasure in sin; but the grand truths of Christian

       Science dispute this error.

 

(5)   266:6-15,16

 6        Would existence without personal friends be to you

       a blank? Then the time will come when you will be

       solitary, left without sympathy; but this                              Uses of

 9    seeming vacuum is already filled with divine                      adversity

       Love. When this hour of development comes, even if

       you cling to a sense of personal joys, spiritual Love will

12   force you to accept what best promotes your growth.

       Friends will betray and enemies will slander, until the

       lesson is sufficient to exalt you; for "man's extremity

15   is God's opportunity."

 

                                                                Thus He teaches

       mortals to lay down their fleshliness and gain spirituality.

18   This is done through self-abnegation. Universal Love

       is the divine way in Christian Science.

 

(6)   512:8

           Spirit is symbolized by strength, presence, and power,

 9    and also by holy thoughts, winged with Love. These an-

       gels of His presence, which have the holiest                        Seraphic

       charge, abound in the spiritual atmosphere of                      symbols

12   Mind, and consequently reproduce their own character-

       istics. Their individual forms we know not, but we do

       know that their natures are allied to God's nature; and

15   spiritual blessings, thus typified, are the externalized, yet

       subjective, states of faith and spiritual understanding.

 

(7)   545:11-15,17,27

                                                                    The notion

12   of a material universe is utterly opposed to the theory

       of man as evolved from Mind. Such fundamental errors

       send falsity into all human doctrines and conclusions,

15   and do not accord infinity to Deity.

 

                                                                                    Out-

18   side of Christian Science all is vague and hypothetical, the

       opposite of Truth; yet this opposite, in its false view of

       God and man, impudently demands a blessing.

 

27                                                                         Truth has

       but one reply to all error, — to sin, sickness, and death:

       "Dust [nothingness] thou art, and unto dust [nothingness]

30   shalt thou return."

 

(8)   518:15

15                The rich in spirit help the poor in                             Assistance in

       one grand brotherhood, all having the same                        brotherhood

       Principle, or Father; and blessed is that man who seeth

18   his brother's need and supplieth it, seeking his own in

       another's good. Love giveth to the least spiritual idea

       might, immortality, and goodness, which shine through

21   all as the blossom shines through the bud. All the varied

       expressions of God reflect health, holiness, immortality —

       infinite Life, Truth, and Love.

 

(9)   428:19-29

                                 We must realize the ability of mental

       might to offset human misconceptions and to replace them

21   with the life which is spiritual, not material.

           The great spiritual fact must be brought out that man

       is, not shall be, perfect and immortal. We must hold

24   forever the consciousness of existence, and                         The present

       sooner or later, through Christ and Christian                       immortality

       Science, we must master sin and death. The evidence

27   of man's immortality will become more apparent, as ma-

       terial beliefs are given up and the immortal facts of being

       are admitted.

 

(10)   570:18-21,24

18                                                     What if the old dragon

       should send forth a new flood to drown the Christ-idea?

       He can neither drown your voice with its roar, nor again

21   sink the world into the deep waters of chaos and old night.

 

24                                               The waters will be paci-

       fied, and Christ will command the wave.

 

(11)   264:10-19

                      We must look where we would walk, and we

       must act as possessing all power from Him in whom we

12   have our being.

           As mortals gain more correct views of God and man,

       multitudinous objects of creation, which before were

15   invisible, will become visible. When we                               Self-

       realize that Life is Spirit, never in nor of                              completeness

       matter, this understanding will expand into self-com-

18   pleteness, finding all in God, good, and needing no other

       consciousness.

 

(12)   15:25-26

           Christians rejoice in secret beauty and bounty, hidden

       from the world, but known to God.

 

(13)   249:1,6-10,18-19

 1        Let us accept Science, relinquish all theories based on

       sense-testimony, give up imperfect models and illusive

 3    ideals; and so let us have one God, one Mind, and that

       one perfect, producing His own models of excellence.

 

 6    Let us feel the divine energy of Spirit, bringing us into

       newness of life and recognizing no mortal nor                    Renewed

       material power as able to destroy. Let us re-                        selfhood

 9    joice that we are subject to the divine "powers that be."

       Such is the true Science of being.

 

18       Life is, like Christ, "the same yesterday, and to-day,

       and forever."

 

 

From the Christian Science Hymnal:

Hymn 170: "Let every creature hail the morn On which the holy child was born" 

Hymn 119: "Holy Spirit, source of gladness, Come with all Thy rdiance bright"

Hymn 417: "Joy to the world, the Lord is come, Let earth receive her King"