First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada Flintridge, California
Wednesday Meeting Readings
- Lev. 24:13, 15, 19, 20, 22
13And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
... 15And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin.
19And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him;
20Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.
... 22Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the Lord your God.
- Lev. 19:1, 2, 18
1And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.
18¶ Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.
- Heb. 10:30
30For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
- Matt. 4:23
23¶ And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
- Matt. 5:1, 2, 7, 9, 10, 25 (to ;), 38, 39, 43-48
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,
... 7Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
... 9Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
25Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him;
38¶ Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
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.
46For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
48Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
- Luke 6:33 if (to ?), 35-38 love
if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye?
... love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
36Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
37Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
38Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
- Mal. 2:10
10Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?
- Isa. 35:4
4Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
- II Kings 6:8 (to 1st ,), 15-23
8¶ Then the king of Syria warred against Israel,
15And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
16And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
17And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
18And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
19¶ And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria.
20And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
21And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?
22And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.
23And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
- II Tim. 3:1-5
1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
- I Thess. 4:1-3 (to 2nd ,), 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12
1Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.
2For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
3For this is the will of God, even your sanctification,
... 4That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
... 6That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.
7For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.
... 9But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
... 11And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;
12That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
- Rom. 12:1, 2, 9-19, 21
1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
... 9Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
10Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
11Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
12Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
13Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
14Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
15Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
16Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
17Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
18If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
19Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
... 21Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
- SH 22:27-32
- SH 30:14-30
Rabbi and priest taught the Mosaic law, which said: 15“An eye for an eye,” and “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.” Not so did Jesus, the new executor for God, present the divine law of Love, 18which blesses even those that curse it.
As the individual ideal of Truth, Christ Jesus came to rebuke rabbinical error and all sin, sickness, and death, — 21Rebukes helpfulto point out the way of Truth and Life. This ideal was demonstrated throughout the whole earthly career of Jesus, showing the difference between 24the offspring of Soul and of material sense, of Truth and of error.
If we have triumphed sufficiently over the errors of 27material sense to allow Soul to hold the control, we shall loathe sin and rebuke it under every mask. Only in this way can we bless our enemies, though they 30may not so construe our words.
- SH 31:1
- SH 445:19
Christian Science silences human will, quiets fear with Truth and Love, and illustrates the unlabored motion 21Divine energyof the divine energy in healing the sick. Self-seeking, envy, passion, pride, hatred, and revenge are cast out by the divine Mind which heals 24disease. The human will which maketh and worketh a lie, hiding the divine Principle of harmony, is destructive to health, and is the cause of disease rather than its cure.
- SH 188:4
The belief of sin, which has grown Embryonic sinful thoughtsterrible in strength and influence, is an uncon-6scious error in the beginning, — an embryonic thought without motive; but afterwards it governs the so-called man. Passion, depraved appetites, 9dishonesty, envy, hatred, revenge ripen into action, only to pass from shame and woe to their final punishment.
- SH 288:27-28, 31-13
Science reveals the glorious possibilities of immortal The Christ-element man, forever unlimited by the mortal senses.
The eternal Truth destroys what mortals seem to have learned from error, and man’s real existence as a child 289 289:1of God comes to light. Truth demonstrated is eternal life. Mortal man can never rise from the temporal débris 3 of error, belief in sin, sickness, and death, until he learns that God is the only Life. The belief that life and sensa-tion are in the body should be overcome by the under-6standing of what constitutes man as the image of God. Then Spirit will have overcome the flesh.
A wicked mortal is not the idea of God. He is little 9else than the expression of error. To suppose that sin, Wickedness is not manlust, hatred, envy, hypocrisy, revenge, have life abiding in them, is a terrible mistake. Life 12 and Life’s idea, Truth and Truth’s idea, never make men sick, sinful, or mortal.
- SH 327:8-13 (to 2nd .)
What a pitiful sight is malice, finding pleasure in re-9venge! Evil is sometimes a man’s highest conception Image of the beastof right, until his grasp on good grows stronger. Then he loses pleasure in wickedness, and it 12becomes his torment. The way to escape the misery of sin is to cease sinning. There is no other way.
- SH 404:10-12
- SH 407:6
Man’s enslavement to the most relentless masters — passion, selfishness, envy, hatred, and revenge — is con-Universal panaceaquered only by a mighty struggle. Every 9hour of delay makes the struggle more severe. If man is not victorious over the passions, they crush out happiness, health, and manhood. Here Christian 12Science is the sovereign panacea, giving strength to the weakness of mortal mind, — strength from the immortal and omnipotent Mind, — and lifting humanity above 15itself into purer desires, even into spiritual power and good-will to man.
- SH 405:5-11
Christian Science commands man to master the pro-6pensities, — to hold hatred in abeyance with kindness, Mental conspiratorsto conquer lust with chastity, revenge with charity, and to overcome deceit with hon-9esty. Choke these errors in their early stages, if you would not cherish an army of conspirators against health, happiness, and success.
- SH 451:16-23, 26
If our hopes and affec-tions are spiritual, they come from above, not from be-18neath, and they bear as of old the fruits of the Spirit.
Every Christian Scientist, every conscientious teacher of the Science of Mind-healing, knows that human will 21Obligations of teachersis not Christian Science, and he must recog-nize this in order to defend himself from the influence of human will. All mental 27malpractice arises from ignorance or malice aforethought. It is the injurious action of one mortal mind controlling another from wrong motives, and it is practised either 30with a mistaken or a wicked purpose.
- SH 419:1
A moral question may hinder the recovery of the sick. Lurking error, lust, envy, revenge, malice, or hate will 3perpetuate or even create the belief in disease. Errors of all sorts tend in this direction. Your true course is to destroy the foe, and leave the field to God, Life, Truth, 6and Love, remembering that God and His ideas alone are real and harmonious.
- SH 462:25-30
- SH 55:16-21
Hymn 178: “Love is life's true crown and glory”
Hymn 88: “Gracious Spirit, dwell with me”
Hymn 105: “Help us to help each other, Lord”