First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada Flintridge, California
Wednesday Meeting Readings
- Ps. 101:1, 2 2nd I, 6
1I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O Lord, will I sing.
... I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
... 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.
- Ruth 1:1-11, 14-16
1Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth–lehem–judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
2And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth–lehem–judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
3And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.
4And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.
5And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.
6¶ Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread.
7Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.
8And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.
9The Lord grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.
10And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.
11And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
14And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
15And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.
16And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
- Ruth 2:1-13
1And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.
2And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.
3And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.
4¶ And, behold, Boaz came from Beth–lehem, and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered him, The Lord bless thee.
5Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?
6And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:
7And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.
8Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens:
9Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.
10Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?
11And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.
12The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
13Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens.
- Ruth 4:13-17
13¶ So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bare a son.
14And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel.
15And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him.
16And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.
17And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
- Matt. 1:1, 17
1The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
... 17So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
- Matt. 24:14 (to ;), 45, 46
14And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations;
45Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
- SH 225:5-6
- SH 4:3-26
What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, Efficacious petitionslove, and good deeds. To keep the com-6mandments of our Master and follow his example, is our proper debt to him and the only worthy evidence of our gratitude for all that he has 9done. Outward worship is not of itself sufficient to express loyal and heartfelt gratitude, since he has said: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
12 The habitual struggle to be always good is unceas-ing prayer. Its motives are made manifest in the blessings they bring, — blessings which, even if not 15acknowledged in audible words, attest our worthiness to be partakers of Love.
Simply asking that we may love God will never 18make us love Him; but the longing to be better Watchfulness requisiteand holier, expressed in daily watchful-ness and in striving to assimilate more of 21the divine character, will mould and fashion us anew, until we awake in His likeness. We reach the Science of Christianity through demonstration of the 24divine nature; but in this wicked world goodness will “be evil spoken of,” and patience must bring experience.
- SH 183:21-23
- SH 462:13
Whoever would demonstrate the healing of Christian Science must abide strictly by its rules, heed every state-15ment, and advance from the rudiments laid down. There is nothing difficult nor toilsome in this task, when the way is pointed out; but self-denial, sincerity, Christianity, and 18persistence alone win the prize, as they usually do in every department of life.
- SH 569:6
The Scripture, “Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many,” is literally ful-The robe of Sciencefilled, when we are conscious of the supremacy 9of Truth, by which the nothingness of error is seen; and we know that the nothingness of error is in proportion to its wickedness. He that touches the hem 12of Christ’s robe and masters his mortal beliefs, animality, and hate, rejoices in the proof of healing, — in a sweet and certain sense that God is Love. Alas for those who 15break faith with divine Science and fail to strangle the serpent of sin as well as of sickness! They are dwellers still in the deep darkness of belief. They are in the surg-18ing sea of error, not struggling to lift their heads above the drowning wave.
- SH 444:16-19
- SH 267:19
When examined in the light of divine Science, mortals present more than is detected upon the surface, since 21Waymarks to eternal Truthinverted thoughts and erroneous beliefs must be counterfeits of Truth. Thought is bor -rowed from a higher source than matter, and 24by reversal, errors serve as waymarks to the one Mind, in which all error disappears in celestial Truth. The robes of Spirit are “white and glistering,” like the raiment 27of Christ. Even in this world, therefore, “let thy gar-ments be always white.” “Blessed is the man that en-dureth [overcometh] temptation: for when he is tried, 30[proved faithful], he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” (James i. 12.)
- SH 43:32
- SH 42:1
- SH 539:27
The divine origin of Jesus gave him more than human power to expound the facts of creation, and demonstrate Scientific offspringthe one Mind which makes and governs man 30and the universe. The Science of creation, so conspicuous in the birth of Jesus, inspired his wisest and least-understood sayings, and was the basis of his 540 540:1marvellous demonstrations. Christ is the offspring of Spirit, and spiritual existence shows that Spirit creates 3neither a wicked nor a mortal man, lapsing into sin, sick-ness, and death.
- SH 334:10 The
The invisible Christ was imperceptible to the so-called personal senses, whereas Jesus appeared as a 12The Son’s dualitybodily existence. This dual personality of the unseen and the seen, the spiritual and mate-rial, the eternal Christ and the corporeal Jesus manifest 15in flesh, continued until the Master’s ascension, when the human, material concept, or Jesus, disappeared, while the spiritual self, or Christ, continues to exist in 18the eternal order of divine Science, taking away the sins of the world, as the Christ has always done, even before the human Jesus was incarnate to mortal eyes.
- SH 333:16-27 The
The advent of Jesus of Nazareth marked the first century of the Christian era, but the Christ is 18The divine Principle and ideawithout beginning of years or end of days. Throughout all generations both before and after the Christian era, the Christ, as the spirit-21ual idea, — the reflection of God, — has come with some measure of power and grace to all prepared to receive Christ, Truth. Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and the prophets 24caught glorious glimpses of the Messiah, or Christ, which baptized these seers in the divine nature, the essence of Love. The divine image, idea, or Christ was, is, and 27ever will be inseparable from the divine Principle, God.
From the Christian Science Hymnal
Hymn 417: “Joy to the world, the Lord is come”
Hymn 538: “O come, all ye faithful”
Hymn 511: “It came upon a midnight clear”
