METAPHYSICAL MEETING, February 16, 2009
Contents
| - Topic | |
| - Call to the meeting | |
| - Opening readings | |
| - Member contribution A | |
| - Member contribution B | |
| - Member contribution C | |
| - Member contribution D | |
| - Member contribution E |
Topic
To improve our ability, individually and collectively, to practice spiritual healing
Call to the meeting
Our next metaphysical meeting, focusing on improving our ability, individually and collectively, to practice spiritual healing will be held on Monday, February 16, at 7:30 in the Reading Room. This meeting is the next in our effort “to gain a deeper understanding of Mrs. Eddy's discovery and to improve our ability, individually and collectively, to practice spiritual healing, bless our communities, and revitalize our congregations and Sunday Schools [and Reading Rooms].”
As you prepare for the meeting, you may want to consider the following questions:
- What does it mean to be “n the practice” of Christian Science?
- Am I practicing Christian Science with the same dedication, effort, and enthusiasm as my secular profession and recreational activities?
- How is my practice of Christian Science improving, blessing our community, and revitalizing our branch church?
- What do I need to do to achieve the results I desire?
- How can I support my fellow church members in their efforts to improve their practice of spiritual healing?
“Healing the sick and the sinner with Truth demonstrates what we affirm of Christian Science, and nothing can substitute this demonstration. I recommend that each member of this Church shall strive to demonstrate by his or her practice, that Christian Science heals the sick quickly and wholly, thus proving this Science to be all that we claim for it.” (Church Manual, 92:4)
We look forward to sharing inspiration and treatments for the practice at our meeting.
Opening readings
I Chron 16:11,12,23
Mark 16:9,14 (to ,),15 (to ,),17 these,18,20 (to 1st .)
James 5:16 pray
S&H 136:1-2
S&H 583:14
Hea 3:3-8
Man 17:8
My 46:13-20 To
Mis 252:17-25
Mis 281:32-3
Man 92:4
Note: S&H is Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “Hea” is Christian Healing, “Mis” is Miscellaneous Writings, “My” is The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, “Man” is the Manual of The Mother Church, all by Mary Baker Eddy.
Member contribution A
As I was thinking about the readings for tonight, I was reminded of this verse from Revelation: “...the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” (Rev. 22:2 the leaves) I thought, “Well, leaves are on branches and our church is a branch. So, we members are the healing leaves on the branch that is called, ‘First Church of Christ, Scientist, in La Cañada Flintridge.’” It’s kind of corny, I know, but it put into perspective for me the relationship between the role of church members and healing. As church members, our practice of Christian Science is vital. Trees without leaves photosynthesizing usually die. And, as we heard in the readings, Mrs. Eddy expected us not only to practice, but to achieve results through that practice. These results must include not only healthier bodies and minds and more harmonious human relationships, but also growth in our church.
I considered two of the questions posed for this meeting. First, “how is my practice of Christian Science improving, blessing our community, and revitalizing our branch church?” I’d like to share an example. Specific treatment of our Reading Room is on my daily list of prayers. When I started doing this, it was really hard. When I prayed, “I know that our Reading Room reflects all of the activity of God,” I felt like I was lying. I knew that it was right that our Reading Room be active, but it didn’t seem like it was possible. I seem to fall into the trap of thinking that it’s a pretty quiet place. Then I reasoned: If somebody called me with a physical problem, I would know that it’s not true, no matter how aggressive the claim seemed to be. I would argue scientifically that the person is well and that there is no disease. I would address the fear concerning the situation, knowing that the person is sustained and maintained by divine Love. So, I asked myself, “Why can’t I do that for the Reading Room?” Affirm the truth and realize it. So I have been. My prayers are pretty simple and generally focus on some aspect of God’s infinite activity. As one would expect, I’ve been seeing results. Last Tuesday, I had a busy day with two members and one visitor coming in to study and another visitor first calling and then coming in to make a purchase. I consider this to be “work in progress,” because activity needs to be consistently experienced in the Reading Room and is independent of the attendant. How does this continuing demonstration answer the question posed? Well, it has certainly improved my practice of Christian Science - I learned something I can apply to every situation that presents itself for healing; and, increased Reading Room activity as a result of my practice will bless our community and revitalize our church.
The other question I’ll address is, “How can I support my fellow church members in their efforts to improve their practice of spiritual healing?” I come to this question with great humility and with gratitude for the help I have received from my fellow church members in improving my practice of spiritual healing. For me, at the top of the list are the testimonies at our Wednesday meetings. Our members give good testimonies. In fact, our two recent visitors have told me that they come to our church, driving by others, because we give testimonies that are helpful to them. Testimonies are not only expressions of gratitude for healing received, but they also tell the listener how you prayed and reassure the listener that a particular situation can be cured. I also greatly appreciate the support of my fellow church members in my public practice. I have felt your support from the day I started and appreciate the encouragement I received. The support we give each other to improve our practice doesn’t need to be confined to those going into the public practice; we can support each other in our practices, public or private.
Rather than write out a treatment for the practice, I thought I’d share some of the ideas that I work with daily when I pray for it. I usually begin by affirming that the practice is God’s work, not the work of any human, and that it glorifies Him by seeing His creation as He created it - perfect. Then I address specific aspects of the practice, often using the last part of “A Rule for Motives and Acts” as a guide: “The members of this Church should daily watch and pray to be delivered from all evil, from prophesying, judging, condemning, counseling, influencing or being influenced erroneously.” (Man. 40:11) I find that this list that we are to pray daily to be delivered from is a great list of things that a Christian Science practitioner is not supposed to do. It also provides a good basis for interacting with clients. Finally, I often use “Alertness to Duty” - “to defend himself daily against aggressive mental suggestion” (Man. 42:4) - to defend against any malicious thought that would try to imply that Christian Science practice is not effective. I know that every Christian Science treatment is effective because God is omnipotent. We are the reflections of the omnipotence of God. Through His omnipotence, we heal and are healed and bless each other and the community in the process.
Member contribution B
“It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony.” S & H 390:7-9 this simple one sentence is powerful and tells us that we simply have to know God better - to have a better understanding of God, our Father, Mother, God. As we learn more about God, we learn more about his creations, the universe including man. As we see perfect God, so we can “see” perfect man. Jesus healed by beholding “in Science the perfect man.” Since Jesus is our “Ensample,” we must follow his example in healing. (In 1828 dictionary it states, “This word is seldom used either as a noun or as a verb.”)
In Miscellaneous Writings (p. 258:4), Mrs. Eddy uses the word Ensample again - the only other time in her published writings that she used that word other than in the Manual. “Our great Ensample, Jesus of Nazareth, met and abolished this unrelenting false claim of matter with the righteous scorn and power of Spirit. When, through Mind, he restored sight to the blind, he figuratively and literally spat upon matter; and, anointing the wounded spirit with the great truth that God is All, he demonstrated the healing power and supremacy of the law of Life and Love.”
Barbara Vining’s article in the February 23, 2009 Sentinel, page 6, “God-empowered Prayer” tells how she had “been prayerfully realizing that because God is the only real power, I didn’t have to convince anyone of this truth in order to prove it true for myself or others. I only had to be convinced of it in my own mind, and give God my undeviating trust.” Shortly a man called suffering with severe cold symptoms. She said she spoke a few words to him and hung up. He immediately called back to say he was completely healed - completely free of all the symptoms.
This was a reminder to me that we must know God better - to not be ignorant of God because this produces discord, and “the right understanding of Him restores harmony.”
Again Mrs. Eddy states this better than anyone when she wrote, “Truth is the power of God which heals the sick and the sinner, and is applicable to all the needs of man.” Miscellaneous Writings (p. 259:27-29).
Member contribution C
Today's rain is an apt metaphor for the blessings of the Christian Science practice. Let's look at Isaiah 55: 10-11. Here's the KJV:
“as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
And here's Moffatt: “As rain and snow from heaven fall not in vain, but water earth until it yields seed for the sower, food for hungry men, so with the promise that has passed my lips; it falls not fruitless and in vain, but works out what I will, and carries out my purpose.”
And finally here's Eugene Peterson and The Message: “Just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don't go back until they've watered the earth, doing their work of making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry, So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed. They'll do the work I sent them to do, they'll complete the assignmentI gave them.”
And isn't this the healing work in which we all are engaged. It covers everyone, no one is left out. It blesses all with whom it comes in contact. It gives us all, patient and practitioner alike, spiritual nourishment. And it is always effective.
This is the firm answer to the question: does Christian Science heal? Yes, indeed. It heals all who know the truth about God and man — it heals all upon whom that word rests — it goes forth to fellow church members and to our community without partiality — and we “practice” so we are ready whenever we are asked to plant a garden.
Member contribution D
Discussion of Practicing Christian Science: “The practice” refers, in general, to the systematic discipline of translating material sense testimony into the spiritual evidence of reality. In the glossary definition of Elias in Science and Health, Christian Science is described as that “with which can be discerned the spiritual fact of whatever the material senses behold.” The practice of Christian Science implies a commitment to turn away from the entrapments of worldliness and to focus on one’s cultivated, spiritual understanding in order to bring out the one, spiritual reality.
Human activity, in and of itself, does not bring lasting fulfillment. It is only when, through prayer, one listens for a higher purpose or a way to be a blessing that true fulfillment is realized. Unselfed love is man’s nature and we will naturally devote more of our attention to exercising this love. The carnal mind, however, opposes this devotion and mental struggles may ensue and persist. But as we cherish and increasingly awake to our true nature and embrace opportunities to express it by praying for specific issues and reaching out to others, the waves of resistance will abate and we will find ourselves employed more and more as a follower of Jesus.
Healing as Embracing Spiritual Growth: Divine Love is continuously unfolding grand ideas, new visions of reality to man and in turn man bears them out in pervasive and perfect expression. God, being the only Cause and the source of only good, we cannot mistake this unfoldment for something other than good. We cannot fear the prompting of divine Love. The Christ is present to humble us to recognize where we are resistant to these higher ideals of life, to wipe out falsity and free us for progress. There is no evil intelligence or will outside the divine Mind that holds sway and can interfere with spiritual development. As we embrace divine demands for change, crisis need not be the pattern of progress; divine Science and the Holy Spirit rouse us to perceive and to accept this divine rhythm of being. (You may be interested to research Chaos Theory.)
Member contribution E
In the Manual of The Mother Church, the introductory section called Historical Sketch makes clear the purpose of the Church of Christ, Scientist, as specifically a healing church: It states: “The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass., is designed to be built on the Rock, Christ, even the understanding and demonstration of divine Truth, Life, and Love, healing and saving the world from sin and death; thus to reflect in some degree the Church Universal and Triumphant.”
The extract from the Historical Sketch is dealt with in some length in the article, Our healing Church, by Eric Bold, in the Christian Science Journal of April 1983 (not necessarily all applicable for the current topic.) But here let me give my own thoughts about this extract.
The Historical Sketch statement contains a number of key works that are important in understanding the church, and fostering its progress. They all bring out the practicality of the church movement. It’s sole purpose is to promote demonstration and healing.
Rock: (with upper-case “R”: This word is defined in the Glossary of Science and Health as, “Spiritual foundation; Truth. Coldness and stubbornness.” This contains two separate definitions, of course, one positive and the other negative. It follows that if we are actively pursuing a “spiritual foundation” to our thoughts and actions, individually and as a church collectively, then there is no “coldness and stubbornness.” This in turn dictates what is needed to promote the church and its purpose. In particular, we have before us a spiritual adventure, the demand for a practical expression of Soul, avoiding the emptiness of becoming shipwrecked by an impractical, unspiritual view of church.
The truly practical view is, of course, to take a healing approach to everything related to church. With every step, we see only the “structure of Truth and Love”, which negates any sense of weakness, emptiness, or stubbornness. Only the good is the real, and that includes our individual, native ability to reflect the healing Christ, moment by moment, to see only a spiritual foundation and a spiritual superstructure. That is the Rock that is our foundation, and that we build with.
Understanding and demonstration: These two words go together. Science and Health states, “We must recollect that Truth is demonstrable when understood, and that good is not understood until demonstrated.” What a wonderful way to express the essential practical nature of divine Science. It calls out for practicality, for an increase in Christianly scientific practice. It also illustrates that increased spiritual understanding is naturally accompanied by unfoldment and demonstration. That is what we can expect. Thus “the practice” is based on a mental affirmation of what we know to be already established in the absolute, - about ourselves, those around us, and our church community, - with the demonstration flowing from it. When that happens, we know that we understand this Science. Moreover, that demonstrates our true, spiritual being as God’s ideas. And that’s what we naturally express.
Healing and saving the world from sin and death: What is sin? It is nothing but a belief in the reality of that which has no reality. It’s just an incorrect manner of thinking. And what is death? The Glossary in Science and Health defines it as, “An illusion, the lie of life in matter; the unreal and untrue, the opposite of Life.” The cure for both sin and death, as applied to individual demonstration and to the life of our church, is thus the realization that “Life is neither in nor of matter,” that “Life is not limited.” and “Death and finiteness are unknown to Life.” We can conform our thoughts to realize this through every moment. Not just occasionally, on Sundays or during a church meeting, but constantly. That is practice, and is what we can and must do.
Church Universal and Triumphant: In the Church Universal we see the tangible effect of our church on its neighborhood and community. The Christ idea is speaking to us all, and cannot be silenced; it is the harbinger of fruitage..It enables us to love our neighbor as ourselves, to see the real, spiritual man, not the material, unsatisfied, unsatisfiable, uncooperative, or unhelpful man. (Do you know anyone like that? In truth, you/we should not!) Which man are we seeing, in our families, in our church membership, and in our neighborhood? There is only one man, the spiritual idea that is the image of God.
Our church stands very specifically for demonstration, Christian practice. And this not some mystical capability attained only by a saintly few. No, it is the practical healing impact when each of us grasps the spiritual facts about all that we see and do, about everything that we comprehend. This is practical spiritual understanding, and it is what brings demonstration and practice, and the advancement of our church.