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Spiritual living and blessedness are the only evidences, by which we can recognize true existence and feel the unspeakable peace which comes from an all-absorbing spiritual love.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p264)
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Every step towards goodness is a departure from materiality, and is a tendency towards God, Spirit.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p213)
Wednesday Testimony Meeting Readings.
This recording is of the readings on the topic: The Lord Was Not in the Fire.
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Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, I will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand;
When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
From hymn 123 in the Christian Science Hymnal.
Sometimes, even though we are endeavouring to purify our lives and to grow spiritually, we can wonder whether we are actually making progress. We can wonder whether it is possible for our prayers to lead to healing. Lona Ingerwerson, a Christian Science practitioner of healing offered the following analogy to help us understand what is happening when progress seems slow.
Lona was a member of the Christian Science Board of lectureship and this is an excerpt from her talk entitled: ‘ A Morningside Meal in the Afternoon’.
Once a river flowed free and easy over its rocky bed but one night the temperature dropped a dozen degrees or so and continued to drop all the next day and by night it had formed a thick coating of ice under which the river flowed. Accepting the best of it, the river flowed on under the ice. But that night the coat thickened crowding the activities of the river further down the stream. This went on until the river was a frozen mass. “Oh dear,” said the river as it tried to move and couldn’t. “Was it ever possible that I was free and could move? Will that day ever come again?” The South Wind passed by and said, “If the Sun would shine on you, it would help you.” The next day the Sun did shine on the river and the river was glad and full of expectations. “Ah, now I shall be free.” But after shining all day nothing happened and that evening the river was very despondent.
The Sun, who had more persistence than the river, came again and shone all day and week after week and the river became discouraged and almost knew it would never flow again; never be free again as it once had been. But the sun kept on shining and one day the river felt a little loosening – couldn’t tell just what – and that night it was solid again so the river lost hope; but the Sun came again the next day and loosened it again and that night it froze stiff. “How disgusting.” Said the river, “Every little bit I gain I lose again immediately.” The Sun kept shining. At last the ice broke up into great chunks and floated away so swiftly that the river was all a quiver. How easily it had all departed.
Lona continues: ‘Neither the first day’s sun nor the last melted the ice. It took both and all the days in between, to overcome the condition that had been growing and intensifying for months and years. It took seven times around the walls of Jericho to reduce it to dust, and who shall say which was the most effective trip; the first or the last. Spiritually man is already free, and if he can get this firmly established in his mind and hold to it regardless of the appearance, the demonstration is made.’
Hymn 148 in the Christian Science Hymnal – words by Ann L Waring
In heavenly Love abiding,
No change my heart shall fear;
And safe is such confiding,
For nothing changes here.
The storm may roar without me,
My heart may low be laid;
But God is round about me,
And can I be dismayed?
Wherever He may guide me,
No want shall turn me back;
My Shepherd is beside me,
And nothing can I lack.
His wisdom ever waketh,
His sight is never dim;
He knows the way He taketh,
And I will walk with Him.
Green pastures are before me,
Which yet I have not seen;
Bright skies will soon be o’er me,
Where darkest clouds have been.
My hope I cannot measure,
My path in life is free;
My Father has my treasure,
And He will walk with me.
Wednesday Testimony Meeting Readings.
This recording is of the readings on the topic: Thou Dost Give Me Peace
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The inspiration for these readings came from Violet Hay who wrote the words of hymn 136 in the Christian Science Hymnal (verse 2).
Though storm or discord cross my path
Thy power is still my stay,
Though human will and woe would check
My upward-soaring way;
All unafraid I wait, the while
Thy angels bring release,
For still Thy presence is with me,
And Thou dost give me peace.
Hymn 245 from the Christian Science Hymnal
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O tender, loving Shepherd,
We long to follow thee,
To follow where thou leadest,
Though rough the path may be;
Though dark and heavy shadows
Enshroud the way with gloom,
We know that Love will guide us,
And safely lead us home.
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We know, beloved Shepherd,
The path that thou hast trod
Leads ever out of darkness,
And on and up to God.
If from that path we wander,
And far astray we roam,
O, call us, faithful Shepherd,
And bring us safely home.
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Throughout the way, dear Shepherd,
Thy strong hand doth uphold;
The weary ones, at nightfall,
Thou gently dost enfold.
And when to Truth’s green pastures
With joy at length we come,
There shall we find, O Shepherd,
Our blest, eternal home.
When asked how she was praying about the war in the Middle East Bethany Taylor responded by penning this letter to a young mother:
I was watching the news about Israel and Hamas. You came on talking about trying to keep your baby quiet so you wouldn’t be detected by the attackers and how your husband had been taken as a hostage. My heart went out to you, and in a sincere desire to help, I humbly reached out to God and asked how I could help, how I could pray right then. The answer came in the form of a hymn written by the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy.
I began singing and praying the words: “O gentle presence, peace and joy and power; / O Life divine, that owns each waiting hour” (Christian Science Hymnal, No. 207). I felt assured of God’s ever-present peace, joy, and omnipotent power right then and there for you and all who are feeling alone and afraid, even when in the midst of terror and war.
As a young mother, I was widowed and found myself raising my three-year-old son on my own. I leaned on God’s mothering and fathering my son and me, and I know we can confidently rely on that same love here and now. As a recent Sentinel Watch podcast put it, “Love hasn’t left this home” (Tony Lobl, “Love hasn’t left this home,” cssentinel.com, September 11, 2023).
Love hasn’t left Israel, or Gaza, or Ukraine, or any other area experiencing war and conflict. Even though I am just one individual in a country far removed from these places, I actively pray to know that God’s love is always present, dependable, steadfast, all-powerful. “Thou Love that guards the nestling’s faltering flight! / Keep Thou my child on upward wing tonight,” that hymn says. We are each God’s nestlings, whether struggling with a small problem or the horror of war. We can feel and reflect God’s mothering love here and now.
Another line in this hymn, which I have known and loved for decades, is “Love is our refuge; only with mine eye / Can I behold the snare, the pit, the fall.” But as long as I have been singing this hymn, this was the first time I understood that Mrs. Eddy was saying that we can stay conscious of the spiritual fact that divine Love, God, is our—and everyone’s—ever-present refuge. When, instead, we begin to examine the snares, pits, falls, or material circumstances, that is when we feel immobilized by fear, and illness, conflict, hatred, and evil seem so much larger than Love’s ability to handle them. But that isn’t so. As we learn in Christian Science, God is All-in-all.
“His habitation high is here, and nigh, / His arm encircles me, and mine, and all,” the hymn assures. And I am thinking, in quiet prayer, just how it embraces you and all the mothers in the region.
Love,
Bethany Taylor
This response to the war was originally published in the October 19, 2023 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.
A member of the Christian Science community in Canberra was interviewed by Jenny Sawyer for a Sentinel Watch podcast titled Prayer: What’s It All About? In this she explains how she prayed when faced with difficult situations.
Prayer: What’s It All About? (Part 2) Click here to listen.
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The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
(The Bible KJV – Jeremiah 31:3)
Christian Science Canberra 