I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
(The Bible KJV – Daniel 4: 5)
When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
(The Bible KJV – Proverbs 3: 24-26)
The understanding, even in a degree, of the divine All-power destroys fear, and plants the feet in the true path, — the path which leads to the house built without hands “eternal in the heavens.”
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p454: 5-9)
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
The true meaning of Easter is wondrous! Its message promises blessings to each one of us and to our world. To hide it behind bunnies and eggs, secularism and skepticism, is saddening.
Jesus was crucified by the materialistic world’s hatred of his goodness. The world tried to silence his holy message of love. 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 darkness can conquer 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.
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. It’s like writing a number fact on a page, say 2+2=4. If we destroy the page, the truth that the fact expresses is not destroyed. It is 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.
Jesus also showed that to react with love instead of hate or anger, disempowers evil. 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 responding to evil with evil stops evil from spreading. That’s why Jesus countered an ‘eye for an eye’ with ‘turn the other cheek’. Is this not a message the world needs to remember and live by? Is this not a message that could bring peace to our world? Is this not the ‘Golden Rule’ – ‘do to others as you would have them do to 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 will not be lost sight of, but remain as relevant today as it was 2000 years ago.
This article was published in the 26 March issue of the Canberra Weekly.
Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother,
(The Bible KJV – Malachi 2: 10)
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
Christian Science commands man to master the propensities, — to hold hatred in abeyance with kindness,to conquer lust with chastity, revenge with charity, and to overcome deceit with honesty. Choke these errors in their early stages, if you would not cherish an army of conspirators against health, happiness, and success.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p405: 5)
Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good. God has made man capable of this, and nothing can vitiate the ability and power divinely bestowed on man.
God has endowed man with inalienable rights, among which are self-government, reason, and conscience. Man is properly self-governed only when he is guided rightly and governed by his Maker, divine Truth and Love.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p106)
Christian Science Canberra 