First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada Flintridge, California
Wednesday Meeting Readings
- II Kings 4:8-16 (to 1st .), 17-20, 25, 26, 32, 33, 35-37
8¶ And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.
9And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.
10Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.
11And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.
12And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.
13And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.
14And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.
15And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door.
16And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son.
... 17And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.
18¶ And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.
19And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.
20And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.
25So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite:
26Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.
... 32And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.
33He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the Lord.
... 35Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.
36And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.
37Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.
- Matt. 9:35-38
35And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
36¶ But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
37Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
38Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
- Matt. 10:1, 5-8
1And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
... 5These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not.
6But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
8Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
- Mark 3:1-5, 9-15
1And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.
2And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.
3And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.
4And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.
5And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
... 9And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him.
10For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.
11And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.
12And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.
13And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.
14And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
15And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:
- Luke 10:1, 2, 5, 9, 17
1After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
2Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
... 5And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.
... 9And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
17¶ And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
by Mary Baker Eddy
- SH 366:3-19
In order to cure his patient, the metaphysician must first cast moral evils out of himself and thus Moral evils to be cast outattain the spiritual freedom which will en-6able him to cast physical evils out of his patient; but heal he cannot, while his own spiritual barrenness debars him from giving drink to the thirsty 9and hinders him from reaching his patient’s thought, — yea, while mental penury chills his faith and under-standing.
12 The physician who lacks sympathy for his fellow-being is deficient in human affection, and we have the The true physicianapostolic warrant for asking: “He that loveth 15not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” Not having this spiritual affection, the physician lacks faith in the divine 18Mind and has not that recognition of infinite Love which alone confers the healing power.
- SH 454:17-18
- SH 419:28
- SH 372:1-3
- SH 373:19-4
The fear occasioned by ignorance can be cured; but to remove the effects of fear produced by sin, you must 21rise above both fear and sin. Disease is expressed not so much by the lips as in the functions of the body. Es-tablish the scientific sense of health, and you relieve the 24oppressed organ. The inflammation, decomposition, or deposit will abate, and the disabled organ will resume its healthy functions.
27 When the blood rushes madly through the veins or languidly creeps along its frozen channels, we call these Mind circulates bloodconditions disease. This is a misconception. 30Mortal mind is producing the propulsion or the languor, and we prove this to be so when by mental means the circulation is changed, and returns to that standard 374 374:1which mortal mind has decided upon as essential for health. Anodynes, counter-irritants, and depletion never 3reduce inflammation scientifically, but the truth of being, whispered into the ear of mortal mind, will bring relief.
- SH 374:6
Because mortal mind seems to be conscious, the Mind can destroy all illssick say: “How can my mind cause a disease I never thought of and knew nothing about, 9until it appeared on my body?” The author has an-swered this question in her explanation of disease as origi-nating in human belief before it is consciously apparent 12on the body, which is in fact the objective state of mortal mind, though it is called matter. This mortal blindness and its sharp consequences show our need of divine meta-15physics. Through immortal Mind, or Truth, we can destroy all ills which proceed from mortal mind.
- SH 375:6-8, 11-25
Chills and heat are often the form in which fever mani-fests itself. Change the mental state, and the chills and Science versus hypnotismfever disappear. ... The Christian Scientist demonstrates 12that divine Mind heals, while the hypnotist dispossesses the patient of his individuality in order to control him. No person is benefited by yielding his mentality to any 15mental despotism or malpractice. All unscientific mental practice is erroneous and powerless, and should be under-stood and so rendered fruitless. The genuine Christian 18Scientist is adding to his patient’s mental and moral power, and is increasing his patient’s spirituality while restoring him physically through divine Love.
21 Palsy is a belief that matter governs mortals, and can Cure for palsyparalyze the body, making certain portions of it motionless. Destroy the belief, show mortal 24mind that muscles have no power to be lost, for Mind is supreme, and you cure the palsy.
- SH 365:15-19
- SH 368:20-32
That Life is not contingent on bodily conditions is 21proved, when we learn that life and man survive this Life independent of matterbody. Neither evil, disease, nor death can be spiritual, and the material belief in them dis-24appears in the ratio of one’s spiritual growth. Because matter has no consciousness or Ego, it cannot act; its conditions are illusions, and these false conditions are the 27source of all seeming sickness. Admit the existence of matter, and you admit that mortality (and therefore dis-ease ) has a foundation in fact. Deny the existence of 30matter, and you can destroy the belief in material con-ditions. When fear disappears, the foundation of disease is gone.
- SH 169:18
Science not only reveals the origin of all disease as mental, but it also declares that all disease is cured by Mind the only healerdivine Mind. There can be no healing ex-21cept by this Mind, however much we trust a drug or any other means towards which human faith or endeavor is directed. It is mortal mind, not mat-24ter, which brings to the sick whatever good they may seem to receive from materiality. But the sick are never really healed except by means of the divine power. 27Only the action of Truth, Life, and Love can give harmony.
- SH 428:30-32
- SH 429:31
Jesus said (John viii. 51), “If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.” That statement is not con-430430:1fined to spiritual life, but includes all the phenomena of existence. Jesus demonstrated this, healing the dying 3Life all-inclusiveand raising the dead. Mortal mind must part with error, must put off itself with its deeds, and immortal manhood, the Christ ideal, will appear. 6Faith should enlarge its borders and strengthen its base by resting upon Spirit instead of matter. When man gives up his belief in death, he will advance more rapidly 9towards God, Life, and Love. Belief in sickness and death, as certainly as belief in sin, tends to shut out the true sense of Life and health. When will mankind wake 12to this great fact in Science?
From the Christian Science Hymnal
Hymn 243: “...With mighty power to heal and bless”
Hymn 175: “Lo, He sent his Word and healed them”
Hymn 5: “...your mission is to heal”
