First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada Flintridge, California
Wednesday Meeting Readings
- Ex. 2:1-10 there
there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.
2And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.
3And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.
4And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.
5¶ And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.
6And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.
7Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?
8And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother.
9And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it.
10And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.
- Isa. 9:6, 7
6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
- Isa. 11:1-4 (to :), 5, 6
1And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
2And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
3And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
4But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth:
... 5And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
6The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
- Matt. 18:1-5
1At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
2And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
- Mark 9:14-27, 33-37
14¶ And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.
15And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.
16And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them?
17And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
18And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
19He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
20And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
21And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
22And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
23Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
24And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
25When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
26And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
27But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
33¶ And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?
34But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.
35And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
36And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them,
37Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
- SH 515:11, 21-8 Man
Genesis i. 26. And God said, Let us make man in our 12image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping 15thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Man is the family name for all ideas, — the sons and daughters of God. All that God imparts moves in accord with Him, reflecting good-24ness and power.
Your mirrored reflection is your own image or like-ness. If you lift a weight, your reflection does this also. 27Reflected likenessIf you speak, the lips of this likeness move in accord with yours. Now compare man before the mirror to his divine Principle, God. Call the mirror 30divine Science, and call man the reflection. Then note 516 516:1how true, according to Christian Science, is the reflection to its original. As the reflection of yourself appears in 3the mirror, so you, being spiritual, are the reflection of God. The substance, Life, intelligence, Truth, and Love, which constitute Deity, are reflected by His creation; 6and when we subordinate the false testimony of the corporeal senses to the facts of Science, we shall see this true likeness and reflection everywhere.
- SH 516:24-31
Genesis i. 27. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.
27 To emphasize this momentous thought, it is repeated that God made man in His own image, to reflect the Ideal man and womandivine Spirit. It follows that man is a generic 30term. Masculine, feminine, and neuter gen-ders are human concepts.
- SH 517:15
The world believes in many persons; but if God is per-sonal, there is but one person, because there is but one Divine personalityGod. His personality can only be reflected, 18not transmitted. God has countless ideas, and they all have one Principle and parentage. The only proper symbol of God as person is Mind’s infinite ideal. 21What is this ideal? Who shall behold it? This ideal is God’s own image, spiritual and infinite. Even eternity can never reveal the whole of God, since there is no limit 24to infinitude or to its reflections.
- SH 518:27
The divine Principle, or Spirit, comprehends and ex-presses all, and all must therefore be as perfect as the divine Principle is perfect. Nothing is new to Spirit. 519 519:1Nothing can be novel to eternal Mind, the author of all things, who from all eternity knoweth His own ideas. 3Perfection of creationDeity was satisfied with His work. How could He be otherwise, since the spiritual creation was the outgrowth, the emanation, of His infinite self-6containment and immortal wisdom?
- SH 519:9
Thus the ideas of God in universal being are complete and forever expressed, for Science reveals infinity and Infinity measurelessthe fatherhood and motherhood of Love. Hu-12man capacity is slow to discern and to grasp God’s creation and the divine power and presence which go with it, demonstrating its spiritual origin. Mortals 15can never know the infinite, until they throw off the old man and reach the spiritual image and likeness. What can fathom infinity! How shall we declare Him, till, 18in the language of the apostle, “we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the ful-21ness of Christ”?
- SH 13:25-29
- SH 70:1-5, 6-9
Mortal existence is an enigma. Every day is a mystery. The testimony of the corporeal senses 3cannot inform us what is real and what is delusive, but the revelations of Christian Science unlock the treasures The infinite one Spiritof Truth. ... There is but one Spirit. Man is never God, but spiritual man, made in God’s likeness, reflects God. In this scientific 9reflection the Ego and the Father are inseparable.
- SH 125:31-2 (to 1st .)
- SH 126:2 The
- SH 288:27-28, 31-1
- SH 572:19-18 (to .)
In Revelation xxi. 1 we read: —
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first 21heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
The Revelator had not yet passed the transitional 24stage in human experience called death, but he already Man’s present possibilitiessaw a new heaven and a new earth. Through what sense came this vision to St. John? Not 27through the material visual organs for seeing, for optics are inadequate to take in so wonderful a scene. Were this new heaven and new earth terrestrial or celestial, mate-573573:1rial or spiritual? They could not be the former, for the human sense of space is unable to grasp such a view. 3The Revelator was on our plane of existence, while yet beholding what the eye cannot see, — that which is in-visible to the uninspired thought. This testimony of Holy 6Writ sustains the fact in Science, that the heavens and earth to one human consciousness, that consciousness which God bestows, are spiritual, while to another, the 9unillumined human mind, the vision is material. This shows unmistakably that what the human mind terms matter and spirit indicates states and stages of con-12sciousness.
Accompanying this scientific consciousness was an-other revelation, even the declaration from heaven, su-15Nearness of Deitypreme harmony, that God, the divine Principle of harmony, is ever with men, and they are His people. Thus man was no longer regarded as a mis-18erable sinner, but as the blessed child of God.
- SH 295:16-22, 25
The manifestation of God through mortals is as light passing through the window-pane. The light and the 18Goodness transparentglass never mingle, but as matter, the glass is less opaque than the walls. The mortal mind through which Truth appears most vividly is that 21one which has lost much materiality — much error — in order to become a better transparency for Truth.
All that is called mortal thought is made up of error. The theoretical mind is matter, named brain, or mate-27rial consciousness,Brainology a myth the exact opposite of real Mind, or Spirit. Brainology teaches that mortals are created to suffer and die. It further 30teaches that when man is dead, his immortal soul is resurrected from death and mortality. Thus error the-orizes that spirit is born of matter and returns to mat-296296:1ter, and that man has a resurrection from dust; whereas Science unfolds the eternal verity, that man is the spiritual, 3eternal reflection of God.
Hymn 475: “Forget not who you are, O child of God”
Hymn 181: “...We would learn, O gracious Father, To reflect Thy healing love”
Hymn 439: “...May our lives reflect thy radiance”
