First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada Flintridge, California
Wednesday Meeting Readings
- Deut. 33:1, 2 (to ;), 3, 11, 12 The, 27 (to ;), 29
1And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.
2And he said, The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them;
... 3Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words.
11Bless, Lord, his substance, and accept the work of his hands: smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again.
12The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.
27The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee;
... 29Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.
- Ps. 101:1-7
1I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O Lord, will I sing.
2I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
3I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.
4A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.
5Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.
6Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.
7He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.
- Ps. 106:3-5, 7-10
3Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.
4Remember me, O Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation;
5That I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance.
... 7Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea.
8Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.
9He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
10And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
- Prov. 6:16-23
16¶ These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
20¶ My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
21Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
22When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
23For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
- Amos 5:14, 15 (to :), 24
14Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.
15Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate:
24But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
- Matt. 4:12-17
12¶ Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;
13And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
14That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
15The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
16The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
17¶ From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
- Matt. 5:1, 2, 10-12 (to 2nd :), 43-45
1And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
2And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
... 10Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven:
43¶ Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
- Luke 10:25-37
25¶ And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
27And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
28And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
29But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
30And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
33But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
36Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
- SH 454:9
- SH 462:20-30
Anatomy, when conceived of spiritually, is mental self-21knowledge, and consists in the dissection of thoughts to Anatomy defineddiscover their quality, quantity, and origin. Are thoughts divine or human? That is the 24important question. This branch of study is indispen-sable to the excision of error. The anatomy of Christian Science teaches when and how to probe the self-in-27flicted wounds of selfishness, malice, envy, and hate. It teaches the control of mad ambition. It unfolds the hallowed influences of unselfishness, philanthropy, spir-30itual love.
- SH 339:1 The, 7 Since, 20 As
339:1The destruction of sin is the divine method of pardon. Divine Life destroys death, Truth destroys 3Divine pardonerror, and Love destroys hate. Being de-stroyed, sin needs no other form of forgiveness. Does not God’s pardon, destroying any one sin, prophesy 6and involve the final destruction of all sin?
Since God is All, there is no room for His unlikeness. God, Spirit, alone created all, and called it 9Evil not produced by Godgood. Therefore evil, being contrary to good, is unreal, and cannot be the product of God. A sinner can receive no encouragement from the fact that 12Science demonstrates the unreality of evil, for the sinner would make a reality of sin, — would make that real which is unreal, and thus heap up “wrath against the 15day of wrath.” He is joining in a conspiracy against himself, — against his own awakening to the awful un-reality by which he has been deceived. Only those, who 18repent of sin and forsake the unreal, can fully understand the unreality of evil.
As the mythology of pagan Rome has yielded 21to a more spiritual idea of Deity, so will our material Basis of health and immortalitytheories yield to spiritual ideas, until the finite gives place to the infinite, sickness to health, 24sin to holiness, and God’s kingdom comes “in earth, as it is in heaven.” The basis of all health, sin-lessness, and immortality is the great fact that God is 27the only Mind; and this Mind must be not merely be-lieved, but it must be understood. To get rid of sin through Science, is to divest sin of any supposed mind 30or reality, and never to admit that sin can have intelli-gence or power, pain or pleasure. You conquer error by denying its verity. Our various theories will never lose 340 340:1their imaginary power for good or evil, until we lose our faith in them and make life its own proof of harmony 3and God.
- SH 43:11-4
Jesus’ last proof was the highest, the most convincing, 12the most profitable to his students. The malignity of Convincing evidencebrutal persecutors, the treason and suicide of his betrayer, were overruled by divine Love to 15the glorification of the man and of the true idea of God, which Jesus’ persecutors had mocked and tried to slay. The final demonstration of the truth which Jesus taught, 18and for which he was crucified, opened a new era for the world. Those who slew him to stay his influence perpetu-ated and extended it.
21 Jesus rose higher in demonstration because of the cup of bitterness he drank. Human law had condemned Divine victoryhim, but he was demonstrating divine Science. 24Out of reach of the barbarity of his enemies, he was acting under spiritual law in defiance of mat-ter and mortality, and that spiritual law sustained him. 27The divine must overcome the human at every point. The Science Jesus taught and lived must triumph over all material beliefs about life, substance, and intelli-30gence, and the multitudinous errors growing from such beliefs.
Love must triumph over hate. Truth and Life must 44 44:1seal the victory over error and death, before the thorns can be laid aside for a crown, the benediction follow, 3“Well done, good and faithful servant,” and the suprem-acy of Spirit be demonstrated.
- SH 44:28-21
His disciples believed Jesus to be dead while he was hidden in the sepulchre, whereas he was alive, demon-30Obstacles overcomestrating within the narrow tomb the power of Spirit to overrule mortal, material sense. There were rock-ribbed walls in the way, and a great 45 45:1stone must be rolled from the cave’s mouth; but Jesus vanquished every material obstacle, overcame every law 3of matter, and stepped forth from his gloomy resting-place, crowned with the glory of a sublime success, an everlasting victory.
6 Our Master fully and finally demonstrated divine Sci-ence in his victory over death and the grave. Jesus’ Victory over the gravedeed was for the enlightenment of men and 9for the salvation of the whole world from sin, sickness, and death. Paul writes: “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the [seeming] death 12of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” Three days after his bodily burial he talked with his disciples. The persecutors had failed to hide im-15mortal Truth and Love in a sepulchre.
Glory be to God, and peace to the struggling hearts! Christ hath rolled away the stone from the door of hu -18The stone rolled awayman hope and faith, and through the reve-lation and demonstration of life in God, hath elevated them to possible at-one-ment with the spiritual 21idea of man and his divine Principle, Love.
From the Christian Science Hymnal
Hymn 228: “O Love divine, that dwells serene”
Hymn 141: “...Cleansing men of fear and hate”
Hymn 207: “...Wait, and love more for every hate,...”
