The true meaning of Easter is wondrous! Its message promises such blessings to each one of us and to our world. To hide it behind bunnies and eggs, secularism and skepticism, is heart breaking.
Jesus was crucified by the materialistic world’s hatred of his divinity. His grace and power to bring peace and healing to the world was unsurpassed and something human power could not control. It tried to silence his holy message by crucifying him. But how he reacted to such evil intent was an example to us all. He responded with the lovingkindness, calmness and confidence that could only come from the deepest understanding that evil cannot conquer goodness any more than the darkness can conquer the light.
For three days it seemed like evil had won. Then, when even the disciples had given up hope, Jesus emerged from the tomb alive.
Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science church, described this surprising re-appearance, when she said, ‘The lonely precincts of the tomb gave Jesus a refuge from his foes, a place in which to solve the great problems of being… He proved Life to be deathless and Love to be the master of hate.’
In the resurrection, Jesus proved that there is life beyond what we see, like someone journeying on after they have sailed out of our sight. I think of it like writing a sum on a page, say 2+2=4. If we destroy the page, is the truth that sum represents also destroyed, or is it eternally true and untouched? Jesus showed us that each one of us has just such an eternally true identity, something that the outward appearance only hints at, something that never dies. What a glorious message.
He also showed that to react with love instead of hate or anger, disempowers evil. This love, however, is more than human love or kindness. It is a love that has its source in God, a God that the Bible tells us is Love itself. Hatred and evil, being a lack of love, can no more stand in the face of divine Love than the darkest night can stand in the presence of the light of the dawn. Not reacting stops evil from spreading. That’s why Jesus counteracted the old thought of ‘eye for an eye’ with ‘turn the other cheek’ – don’t ever react to evil, stop it in its tracks. Is this not a message the world needs to remember and live by much more consistently? Is this not a message that could bring peace to our world? Is this not the ‘Golden Rule’ – ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’?
The true meaning of Easter is of the utmost importance to our own lives and to the world. If we remember it in our hearts and live it in our lives, then that precious sacrifice made by Jesus is not lost but still as relevant today as it was 2000 years ago.
by Beth Packer, CS,
Practitioner of Christian Science Healing, listed in the world-wide Journal of healers and Member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship
You are so welcome to attend the Easter Service this Sunday at First Church of Christ Scientist, Canberra which is located on the corner of Macquarie and Bligh Streets in Barton from 10.00-11.00 am.
How do you see yourself, how do others see you, a friend, a spouse, people you work with?
Chet Manchester is explaining in this Daily Lift, that the only image that is important, is how our creator sees us, the image that God is holding of us forever.
There is no glass ceiling that can hold us back from expressing our true identity
Have you felt victimized for being a woman in your work place? This contributor is telling how she faced discrimination in her work place by re-shaping her own concept of who she really is and understanding the divine unstoppable laws of integrity, fairness, and equality.
Mary Baker Eddy’s statement in 1883 An article titled “Taking Offense” in Mary Baker Eddy’s Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896 includes this statement: “To punish ourselves for others’ faults, is superlative folly. The mental arrow shot from another’s bow is practically harmless, unless our own thought barbs it.” The same article concludes, “He who can wilfully attempt to injure another, is an object of pity rather than of resentment; while it is a question in my mind, whether there is enough of a flatterer, a fool, or a liar, to offend a whole-souled woman” (pp. 223–224).
Read the full article by Virginia Anders from the March 4, 2019 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel here
For students, it’s about discovering how spirituality is relevant in your life—how it fits into every day and shows up in everything you love to do. It’s an environment where you feel totally supported. You can ask the hardest questions with your peers and teacher as you work out how to apply spiritual truths to your own experiences. It’s an opportunity to look together for meaningful answers to the stuff that comes up in your lives. And it’s open to anyone under age 20.
For parents, it’s about giving your child a solid moral foundation—a spiritual framework that will help them face questions about who they are, their value, and their purpose. It’s an environment where each student is welcomed with love, respected, and encouraged to discover their relationship to God.
For teachers, it’s where the love of Christian Science – the love of thinking and living spiritually – extends to embrace the youth in our community. It’s diving deep into the timeless lessons of the Bible. It’s exploring together the spiritual laws that apply to any situation. And it’s nurturing the innate healer in everyone.
What’s taught in Sunday School?
Each Sunday School class is designed to meet the students’ needs. Students are taught in small discussion groups with others of similar age and ability. The lessons in all classes are based on the Bible. Mary Baker Eddy’s book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures is used to help students explore the deeper meanings of the Bible. Instruction is based around the Ten Commandments and the teachings of Jesus.
Central to the teachings of Christian Science is the understanding that God is Love. God is seen in every act of kindness, of loyalty, of generosity, of compassion. Hence, Christian Science is a religion of tolerance. Acceptance of the individual differences that enrich our communities is central to the understanding of God who is unconditional Love.
Christian Science also teaches that God is Principle. Valuing Principle means that qualities such as order, punctuality, lawfulness, honesty, discipline are encouraged in students.
Gradually students will also come to know God as infinite Mind, as Spirit, Soul, Truth and Life. They will discover that living the qualities associated these terms enriches their lives and brings harmony, satisfaction and improved health. These are the qualities that make life work. Armed with them, our children are better equipped to cope with the many challenges that will face them in this modern world.
The Christian Science Sunday School in Canberra is always ready to welcome new students. It is located with the church on the corner of Macquarie and Bligh Streets in Barton. To contact the Sunday School superintendent, please ring 02 6273 1715. We would love to welcome you.
“On a summer vacation, I was feeling especially proud and assured as my motorcycle galloped the sinuous blacktop in the hills of Northern California. I put the bike on cruise control, and was feeling invincible and on top of the world. ”
The writer, Waji Danoun recalls his experience how he lost control of his bike and plunges into an abyss but is wonderfully protected when he reaches out to divine power to protect him and his “affection for God grew in spontaneous immensity.”
Reflecting on this incident and the fragility of the human ego, he ponders this quote by Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, who writes in the textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, on page 322: “The sharp experiences of belief in the supposititious life of matter, as well as our disappointments and ceaseless woes, turn us like tired children to the arms of divine Love.”
Read his experience in this ‘Spiritual short’ from the January 2019 issue of The Christian Science Journal, “A humbling experience” here
Every Wednesday at 6.00 pm a Testimony Meeting is held at the Christian Science church in Barton (corner of Macquarie and Bligh Streets). At these meetings short readings are followed by time for members of the congregation to share how they have been helped and healed through prayer. Everyone is welcome. If you are in Canberra on any Wednesday, please join us.
The topic for the readings this week was: The Grand Necessity of Existence. These words were taken from a passage in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy (p560: 13-15):
…the grandnecessity of existence is to gain thetrue idea of what constitutes the kingdom ofheaven in man.
She goes on to give the definition of the Kingdom of Heaven as:
The reign of harmony in divineScience; the realm of unerring, eternal, and omnipotentMind; the atmosphere of Spirit, where Soul is supreme (SH 590: 1).
In the Bible Jesus gives many descriptions of the Kingdom of Heaven. In one he says:
…the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearlofgreatprice, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. (The Bible – Matthew 13: 45, 46)
and …
The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you (The Bible – Luke 17: 20, 21).
This recording is of the readings on this topic of The Grand Necessity of Existence.
Every Wednesday at 6.00 pm a Testimony Meeting is held at the Christian Science church in Barton (corner of Macquarie and Bligh Streets). At these meetings short readings are followed by time for members of the congregation to share how they have been helped and healed through prayer. Everyone is welcome. If you are in Canberra on any Wednesday, please join us.