Excerpt below from the APRIL 7, 1928 ISSUE of the Christian Science Sentinel

“It is finished”

FANNY DE GROOT HASTINGS

When on the cross Jesus uttered the words, “It is finished,” he voiced no sense of the ending of his life, but rather, as John says, the “knowing that all things were now accomplished.”

A dictionary gives “to complete” as one of the definitions of the verb “to finish;” as another, “to bestow the last required labor upon;” and as yet another, “to perfect.” Christ Jesus, the great Way-shower, was undoubtedly conscious of having bestowed the last requisite work upon his problem, in knowing for himself and all humanity the truth of eternal Life; and he could therefore say, “It is finished,” even in the face of seeming failure, and three days prior to his victory in the resurrection.

It was the constant, unshaken knowledge of Jesus of the completeness of creation, of the perfection here and now of all true being, which earlier enabled him at the marriage feast to order that wine be poured from vessels previously filled with water; to invite the five thousand to sit down even before the loaves and fishes had been multiplied; and to give thanks before, not after, the raising of Lazarus from the dead. “Jesus restored Lazarus by the understanding that Lazarus had never died, not by an admission that his body had died and then lived again,” writes Mrs. Eddy on page 75 of “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” the textbook of Christian Science.

As Christian Scientists we need to realize, as did Jesus, that the work of God is finished; that we have to change or alter nothing real, in order to bring harmony into our experience. The humble opening of our consciousness, with gratitude, to the fact that God’s work is perfect, complete, finished, and willingness to rest with divine Principle in this understanding, assures demonstration. Mrs. Eddy writes in “The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany” (p. 242), “Christian Science is absolute; it is neither behind the point of perfection nor advancing towards it; it is at this point and must be practised therefrom.”

Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:28-30)

Meaning of “It is finished” as Tetelestai

“It is finished” is the English translation of the Greek word Tetelestai, which was the last thing Jesus’ said before dying on the cross. Tetelestai comes from the verb teleo, which means “to bring to an end, to complete, to accomplish.” It’s a crucial word because it signifies the successful end to a particular course of action. It’s the word you would use when you climb to the peak of Mt. Everest; it’s the word you would use when you turn in the final copy of your dissertation; it’s the word you would use when you make the final payment on your new car; it’s the word you use when you cross the finish line of your first 10K run. The word means more than just “I survived.” It means “I did exactly what I set out to do.”

But there’s more here than the verb itself. Tetelestai is in the perfect tense in Greek. That’s significant because the perfect tense speaks of an action which has been completed in the past with results continuing into the present. It’s different from the past tense which looks back to an event and says, “This happened.” The perfect tense adds the idea that “This happened and it is still in effect today.”

https://www.christianity.com/jesus/death-and-resurrection/last-words/what-was-finished.html

The defiant soldiers of Snake Island are actually ‘alive and well,’ says Ukraine’s navy

By Sebastian Shukla and Lianne Kolirin, CNN

Updated 3:06 PM ET, Mon February 28, 2022

Ukrainian Navy says soldiers who cursed out Russian warship are still alive 02:59

(CNN)The Ukrainian defenders of Snake Island — who were all feared dead after their defiant response to threats from a Russian warship — are actually “alive and well,” according to the Ukrainian Navy. 

All of the soldiers on the tiny island in the Black Sea were thought to have been killed in an attack on the first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last Thursday. 

According to a purported audio exchange, one of the Ukrainian troops had responded to a warning from an approaching Russian vessel to lay down their weapons or face bombing by saying, “Russian warship, go f*** yourself.”

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/28/europe/snake-island-ukraine-russia-survivors-alive-intl/index.html

“Accounts of exceptional bravery from Ukrainian soldiers have buoyed nationalistic pride for many in the country. Zelensky has said the defenders of Zmiinyi Island, or Snake Island, would be honored with the title “Hero of Ukraine,” the highest in the country, after battling to the last man. Audio files shared on social media appeared to show a small team of Ukrainian border guards being asked to lay down their weapons or die by a Russian warship.

Their response? “Russian warship, go f— yourself.” All were then killed.”

February 25, 2022|

The Washington Post

“And Greater Works Than These ”

Unless we have better healers, and more of this work…

By MARY BAKER EDDY 

From the June 1936 issue of The Christian Science Journal

---

From a letter dated 1903.

Unless we have better healers, and more of this work than any other is done, our Cause will not stand and having done all stand. Demonstration is the whole of Christian Science, nothing else proves it, nothing else will save it and continue it with us. God has said this—and Christ Jesus has proved it.

MARY BAKER EDDY

Twenty Twenty Two

POEM

JANUARY 3, 2022 ISSUE

Christian Science Sentinel

Peniel

Peter Tyner

Today I see in a brand new way
Today I will wrestle the bleak past away
Like Jacob who feared the payoff of sin
And discovered instead the kingdom within
Today is the moment and this is the place
Where I can see God while beholding your face
Today’s the beginning but also the end
For today’s not a sunrise
But a thought you can send
To all weary wrestlers
With ears still to hear
My dear tired strivers 
Your victory is near.

e-inspire, December 24th, 2021

by Laura Moliter

“The wakeful shepherd beholds the first faint morning beams, ere cometh the full radiance of a risen day. So shone the pale star to the prophet-shepherds; yet it traversed the night, and came where, in cradled obscurity, lay the Bethlehem babe, the human herald of Christ, Truth, who would make plain to benighted understanding the way of salvation through Christ Jesus, till across a night of error should dawn the morning beams and shine the guiding star of being.” 

(Science and Health, p. vii)

That eve so many centuries ago was one of expectation, an impulsion toward something yet unseen, but powerful enough to pull shepherds and wise men to journey out into the night. The star in the gloom presaged the morning radiance of Jesus’s birth.

This star and the tiny baby in a manger were an appearance of the Christ on earth. The humility and readiness of the watchers in the night gave them insight and guided them to where they could witness something greater than what they had known before. God’s Love revealed its healing and saving presence in a quiet yet mighty way. The first Christmas was about to unfold.

We can see that light in the dark as well. We can recognize that divine Love is always leading us into understanding, a deeper awareness of who we truly are, our own Christly nature as children of God. We can remember that on the first Christmas eve, long-held limiting beliefs, centuries old, were about to be challenged and defeated.

Let’s enjoy today the holy anticipation of a fresh outlook, of the always active Christ-Truth forever ready to change us and to change the world as well.

Have a Merry Christmas!

In The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, Mrs. Eddy speaks of Christmas as “the birth of Truth, the dawn of divine Love breaking upon the gloom of matter and evil with the glory of infinite being.”

Excerpt Above from the Christian Science Sentinel – DECEMBER 19, 1983 ISSUE

This add just gives me such optimism and joy. The holiday season alone helps to bring people together and shows the good in in us all. Even in hard times we can be with each other and bring hope and joy. If one holiday can bring 2 enemies together just imagine what we can accomplish by dropping our prejudices for a second and see our similarities through our eyes we can all come together. Not just at this time of year but year round. I hope you are all well and safe, happy holidays to all and good faith towards you all.

– Comment Section

C. Kresik

Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together.” 

(Colossians 3: 13, Contemporary English Version)

E-inspire

By Laura Moliter

December 16th, 2021

Love is greater than anything. It is powerful, inexhaustible, and an absolute necessity for life.

We can get involved in personal and professional pursuits with conviction and drive. We can expand our thinking to embrace new ideas and gain new capacities. We can reason with others and come up with good solutions and understanding.

And yet, without love, these good aims and actions are missing what makes them really work to their highest potential, what brings progress and promotes genuine joy. Love unifies our causes and brings us together as individuals and as fellow children of God.

Divine Love received and expressed is mighty and tender. It awakens us to our best selves and gives us the energy and impetus to help others thrive as well. As we love, we feel love, and it revives us. We can never lack in love, because it comes from God, so it is abundant, available, and active.

Let’s be alive to Love’s presence. Let’s use love generously, receive it gratefully, and behold its ability to bring out right and healing results for us and for all.

Laura Moliter, Divine Purpose Coach and Spiritual Activist

GOD’S LOVE IS EVERYWHERE

ALICE TROXELL MCCOUN 

Excerpt from the January 1938 issue of The Christian Science Journal

---

You need my love? Then take it all, my dear.
It came to me from God, to bless and cheer,
To meet my need—and now I share with you
The strength, the healing power, the fragrance too.

His love is everywhere,
Not merely here or there.

So take my love—take all of it, my dear,
And let its tenderness dispel the fear
That God’s completeness may have left you out,
Or else forgotten quite your whereabout.

His love is everywhere,
Not merely here or there.

This is just what I needed.

Name Withheld

11/09

A prayer for prodigals

By SANDRA LUERSSEN HOERNER 

From the April 1982 issue of The Christian Science Journal

---

Moses, in sudden anger,
once killed an Egyptian.
Yet God appointed Moses to voice
divine commandments, including
“Thou shalt not kill.”

David arranged for Bathsheba’s
husband to be slain in battle.
Yet God anointed David to sing
holy songs, including,
“The Lord will lighten my darkness.”

Paul gave his consent for
Stephen to be stoned.
Yet God ordained Paul to write
inspired epistles, including
“We are the children of God.”

There are those today
who feel so far from the Father.
Having sinned against God and man,
these prodigals expect no welcome home.

But no child is lost to the Father.

As of old, the Christ within will rise
and lead the way, and all wanderers
will come home at last—
redeemed, reclaimed, reclothed.

God will write His truth in their hearts,
and each precious prodigal will announce
in commandments/songs/epistles
that man is the son of God!

Who are you walking with?

Christian Science Sentinel

OCTOBER 25, 2021 ISSUE

by Lona Ingwerson

“Noah walked with God.” ¹ 
He didn’t walk with fear,
trepidation,
suspicion,
weakness,
uncertainty,
timidity . . .

Be careful who you walk with
if you wish to get to your desired destination.
The wrong companion thoughts can trip you up,
delay your voyage,
send you to the wrong destination.
Noah got the message to build the ark.
You’ll get the message you need as well.​ 

Lona Ingwerson

¹ Genesis 6:9

What lies ahead?

By MARY BEATTIE 

From the November 2021 issue of The Christian Science Journal

---

We can’t always know what’s around the corner. Nevertheless, the more we accept the rock-solid security of God’s goodness, the more confident we are when stepping forward. The concept of God articulated by Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, reveals that Love is divine Principle, the source of all good. The yearning for good is not in vain when we look at the scope of God as Love and Principle and realize the spiritual fact that divine Principle and Love actually underpin and provide only good for each of us. 

When praying and communing with God as Principle, we become conscious of the operation of divine law. This law pertains to the good that comes from the tender and caring Truth that is God. Divine law is stable and reliable, and ultimately guides our day-to-day lives. It is available to everyone no matter where they are located. As God’s children, we are constantly embraced by divine Principle, governed by the law of divine Love. We can yield to that embrace no matter what our age, race, or background is. Therefore, every one of us can depend on spiritual law as the bedrock of our lives.

Sometimes we might hope that rosier pictures of the past—for our families or our churches or other aspects of our lives—would be established again in a future that has not yet taken shape. All the good ideas and circumstances that we yearn to see restored are forever sustained by the Principle of all good. The Bible has this to say: “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten” (Joel 2:25). God wants only good for His creation, and you and I and our children and communities are included in that good.  

If the durability of success appears to be fading, or to have completely disappeared, this is an invitation to prayerfully dig more deeply into the foundation of divine Principle. Then we find it to be the rock that Jesus referred to in a parable about a house. When “the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; . . . it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock” (Matthew 7:25). This “house” can represent consciousness. If floods of trouble seem to beat upon our thought, we can stand firm. We are divinely empowered so that we are not swept downstream. The law of God’s ever-present goodness is like a rock, grounding us—securing us in Love’s divine care in whatever way we need.

The chain of purposeful work, caring relationships, happy homes, and health is based on God’s restorative law of good. The more we recognize this, the more we are able to see how God’s promise of goodness for each of us, now and in the future, is being fulfilled—whatever’s around the corner.

EDITORIAL – OCTOBER 25, 2021 ISSUE of the Christian Science Sentinel

Excerpt – “What really defines us”

Thomas Mitchinson 

We do not need to accept that any disease or problem defines us. But this is more than just disassociating a material problem from a material view of ourselves. Instead, it’s letting our thought be consistently oriented to fully accepting that we are so much more than what a physical body—a sick body or even a healthy one—presents. It’s starting from a completely different basis—that we are actually wholly spiritual, complete children of God, here and now.

Based on the Bible, Christian Science teaches that man (the true, spiritual identity of each of us) is made in the image and likeness of God, Spirit (see Genesis 1:26, 27and Romans 8:9). God is completely good; God did not create sickness and doesn’t send it. Therefore, each of us is in reality the manifestation of all the qualities of God, including health, strength, agility, and purity. This expression of divine qualities—not sickness—defines us.

Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, came to this conclusion after deeply studying the Bible, searching for the truth about God and man, and seeing how this understanding of God and His creation heals both mental and physical illness. She wrote these words in her main work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “All reality is in God and His creation, harmonious and eternal. That which He creates is good, and He makes all that is made. Therefore the only reality of sin, sickness, or death is the awful fact that unrealities seem real to human, erring belief, until God strips off their disguise” (p. 472).

The fact that each of us is created as God’s spiritual offspring is the understanding that Jesus confirmed over and over in his healing ministry. When he and his disciples saw a man who was blind from birth, the disciples tried to figure out whose fault it was. They appeared willing to accept that this condition, this “disguise,” defined the man. But Jesus stated, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” This understanding cleared away the misconception—the belief in the reality of an illness called congenital blindness—and the man’s sight was restored (see John 9:1–7). 

This type of healing is available for all of us. As we understand our relation to the Divine as God’s beloved children, we awaken to God’s, divine Love’s, unceasing care, our inseparability from that Love, and the truth of our being. God continuously expresses undeviating perfection in His spiritual creation. As we live from that basis, the disguises—the illness, fear, loneliness, disappointment, and so on—don’t seem so real to us, don’t appear to be the defining measure of our lives. Instead, we see more clearly, and increasingly evidence, our true selfhood as God’s child—happy, well, loved, loving, and at peace. 

Thomas Mitchinson, Guest Editorial Writer

Spirit Day 2021- This Thursday, October 21st, marks the 12th annual Spirit Day!

We can say to those who have assumed the responsibility of attacking us, what Joseph said to his brothers when they came to him after they had seen the mistakes which they had made: “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”

Gen 50:20

“Love takes everything that comes without giving up. Love believes all things. Love hopes for all things. Love keeps on in all things. Love never comes to an end.” 

(I Corinthians 13: 7-8, New Life Version)

Danielle Steel

10-11-21

Excerpt from “Busy Bumpy and Beautiful“

Just read back through your comments and messages on my recent blogs, you touch my heart—the regulars, the recurring names, some new ones. You warm my heart. You can’t imagine how much I appreciate your comments and messages. You always touch me, you give me back tenfold whatever I am able to give to you in my books and the blog. Thank you with all my heart for your responses, they truly mean the world to me, they feed my soul, as you say I feed yours—it is a fair and good exchange that I am so grateful for!!!

Your messages are often very profound, I love the beautiful quote from Corinthians to the effect that “Love faces whatever comes along and doesn’t give up.” Wow, that’s a good one and a tall order. I believe it, and sometimes it is so hard not to give up, to keep on going through every storm. But every time I do that, the rewards are enormous. But it certainly isn’t easy sometimes. And it certainly is good advice.

I faced a challenging situation this week. I always tell my children, and have always told them, “Stand up for what you believe in, even if you stand alone.” Great motherly advice!! So noble, so strong, so honorable—-easy to say and sometimes so incredibly hard to do. I found myself alone in an unpopular position this week. And standing up for what you believe in can cost you: a job, a friend, someone you love. It’s all very nice if everyone agrees with you, but when you take a hard position, based on principle, or your profound beliefs, or you know what’s right, there can be stiff consequences, and wisdom may dictate not to stick your neck out and rock the boat. If you do it at work, you can lose, and we all have responsibilities. It’s easy to take tough, unpopular positions if you have nothing at risk. In any case, I found myself unexpectedly in an unpopular position this week, with a stand I knew I had to take. I truly felt I had no choice. I anticipated heavy criticism, and got some, and the potential for a major storm was great. I wound up alone on the firing line, stuck to my guns as politely as possible, and in the end I had one ally at my side to support me (but an ally who didn’t agree with me). I took my position firmly…..and much to my amazement, the roof didn’t fall in, no major explosion happened, the ‘other side’ had thought it over and agreed with me, and everything fell into place quietly without a battle. Wow!! But I had the guts to take a stand on what I believed to be principle, and I’m so glad I did. Even if you appear to lose from doing that, it’s the right thing to do in the end. It was a good reminder that what I’d always said to my kids was right….but it was scary as hell for a while!!! Doing and saying the right thing is always the right thing, even if it’s hard. I stuck to what I believed in. At every age we are faced with the same questions, the same battles, the same challenges, to test us, and make us stronger. But it’s definitely not fun when it’s happening. It’s a good feeling though, standing for what you believe in.

10/11/21, “Busy Bumpy and Beautiful”

“I’ve always said everyone needs heroes and everyone deserves to see themselves in their heroes and I’m very grateful DC and Warner Bros. share this idea,” writer Tom Taylor said, according to the release. “Superman’s symbol has always stood for hope, for truth and for justice. Today, that symbol represents something more. Today, more people can see themselves in the most powerful superhero in comics.”

Writer – Tom Taylor

Oct. 11, 2021, 12:54 PM MDT

By Jo Yurcaba

NBC News

Happy Coming Out Day to the latest Man of Steel.

DC Comics announced Monday, on National Coming Out Day, that the new Superman is bisexual and will start a relationship with a man in the forthcoming issue of “Superman: Son of Kal-El,” as first reported by IGN.

Jon Kent — the son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane, who inherited his father’s powers — will fall for reporter Jay Nakamua, whom he met while trying and failing to attend high school using a secret identity, according to The New York Times. After Jon Kent burns out from “trying to save everyone that he can,” Jay is there to care for him, according to a news release from DC Comics. 

The two kiss in the fifth issue, which will hit stands Nov. 9. 

“I’ve always said everyone needs heroes and everyone deserves to see themselves in their heroes and I’m very grateful DC and Warner Bros. share this idea,” writer Tom Taylor said, according to the release. “Superman’s symbol has always stood for hope, for truth and for justice. Today, that symbol represents something more. Today, more people can see themselves in the most powerful superhero in comics.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-pop-culture/new-superman-comes-bisexual-upcoming-dc-comic-rcna2864

Christian Science Sentinel

EDITORIAL – SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 ISSUE

Excerpt – “From indignation to inclusiveness”

Tony Lobl 

At a meeting hosting an international panel of guests, an audience member was very sure of the superiority of one side of a polarized global debate. She explained how the issue was playing out locally, and presumed the panel would endorse her view of what was right.

The avenues for succumbing to the temptation to feel a moral superiority and circulate such views are greatly enlarged in this digital era. But doing so is nothing new. In the public square of his day, Christ Jesus roundly rebuked religious leaders for criticizing the trespasses of others while ignoring their own moral failings. He called them “blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel” (Matthew 23:24).

Clearly, any moral superiority we entertain is alien to this higher identity. Self-righteousness—like the debilitating sins of anger, dishonesty, selfishness, resentment, and egotism—does not express what we truly are. All these stem from being mistakenly persuaded that there’s more than one Mind and that we can have a separate mind that sees both good and evil as real. This is the flawed conclusion of the limited and distorted physical senses, which convey the false claim of our separation from God’s infinite goodness. 

Every gain in moral clarity is a step away from the self-righteous indignation that would limit our lives and self-center our love. It’s a step toward fully embracing the unlimited love native to us as God’s children, in which we reflect divine Love’s all-inclusive care. Far from weakening our influence on issues of concern, this shift spiritualizes and broadens it, and supports the emergence of divinely wise and innovative solutions.

Perhaps the sweet words of the speaker at that conference were correct. We are all right! Not in the human opinions we entertain, but in the Christliness that is our true nature. Lifting our perspective to this true view, we begin to see that we are God’s loved offspring. And whichever “they” we might be tempted to stand in judgment of, so are they!

Tony Lobl, Associate Editor

“Tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.”

Luke 7: 22 KJV

Several articles and editorials have been written explaining why homosexuals cannot be admitted to membership.  One of these I wrote myself, the title: “Homosexuality Can Be Healed.”  All I can say in defense of myself for writing it is that it was based on information I thought was authentic, but which later was disproved.  If I were to write another article on the subject now, I would probably entitle it, “We’re ALL God’s Children.”

by Carl J. Welz,  C.S.B.

Houston, TX – October 11, 1986

FILE – In this May 12, 2021 file photo, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington.(AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)By Associated Press

Published: Sep. 26, 2021 at 7:31 PM MDT|Updated: 11 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney tells CBS News’ “60 Minutes” that she was wrong to have opposed gay marriage. In the interview aired Sunday night, Cheney also says that her 2022 reelection campaign is the country’s most important House race because the issue is support for the Constitution or for former President Donald Trump. 

Forces aligned with Trump are trying to unseat Cheney. 

The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney was a rising Republican leader before the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. She voted to impeach Trump and now serves as vice chair of a committee investigating the assault.

I will not be silent.

POWERFUL

H.B

The ending is EXCELLENT, when Mary Magdalene describes the kingdom of God.

G. Manning

Mary Magdalene

Mary has just witnessed the resurrected Christ and comes to tell the disciples in the scene below:

PETER: You were with him?

MARY: To the end.

Peter, as the sun rose,
I saw him.
He was there, and he was…
All his pain was gone from him.

PETER: A dream.

MARY: It wasn’t a dream.
He was there.

Mary, he is gone from us.
He is dead.

MARY: He’s not gone.
Even death cannot hold him.
This whole time, we’ve been looking
for a change in the world,
but it’s not what we thought.
The kingdom is here, now.

JAMES: Mary.
You saw him? Truly?
But then, the kingdom,
how can that be right?

MARY: Because it’s not something
we can see with our eyes.
It’s here within us.
All we have to do is let go of
our anguish and our resentment,
and we become like children,
just as he said.

PETER: What do you mean?

MARY: The kingdom, it can’t be
built through conflict.
Not by opposition,
not by destruction.
It grows with us, with every
act of love and care,
with our forgiveness.
We have the power
to lift the people,
just as he did, and then we
will be free, just as he is.

PETER: Mary.
Why would he come to you alone?

MARY: Why does that matter?

PETER: Because you say the
kingdom is here. Now.
And just outside that door,
there is no new world.
No end of oppression.
No justice for the poor,
for the suffering.

MARY: How does it feel to carry that
anger around in your heart?
Does it lessen
as the days go by?
We have the power
to relieve their suffering.
It is up to us.

PETER: I believe you, Mary.
I believe that you saw him,
that he came to you,
and it was a sign
that he will return,
and he will bring the kingdom,
the true kingdom.
The new world.

MARY: The world will only change
as we change.

PETER: It’s not right that you come here now
to tell us he has chosen you before us,
that he has brought you
some special message.

MARY: He gathered us
for what was inside.
We were all precious to him.
We were all his apostles.

PETER: (SIGHS) You have weakened us, Mary.
You weakened him.

MARY: All I can do is hope that
you’ve heard what I have said.
Pray that you see me as I am.
I value each one of you
as he did.
You are all my brothers,
and I thank you.
But I will not stay
and be silent.

I will be heard.

JESUS: You do not lose heart.
Even now.
Didn’t you ask,
“What will it be like?”
“The kingdom?”

(BOTH LAUGH)

MARY:
It is like a seed.
A single grain of mustard seed,
which a woman took
and sowed in her garden.
And it grew,
and it grew.
And the birds of the air
made nests in its branches.

COMPASSIONATE LOVE

J. P. FILBERT, C. S. D. 

From the December 1891 issue of The Christian Science Journal

What think you, were you to call a Christian Scientist to the bedside of the heavenly homesick and suffering patient, and he should repeat Homer or Shakspeare to the patient for relief? What comfort could the creature obtain from such a course? Yet, for me to call upon a suffering patient, and repeat the letter only, minus the spiritual rays of Love, would be a parallel procedure. The mortal that is heavy laden by the hand of the lord god of this world, is in a parched condition; and one drop of the waters of sympathy and kindness, and a crumb of the bread of tenderness from a fellow-mortal, will do a hundred times more for such a mortal than all the combined utterances of lore or logic, committed to memory and repeated orally or silently.

Jesus wept at Lazarus’ grave, because of the sisters’ blindness to spiritual Truth. But his deep, tender compassion for their need brought forth his (at that time) highest demonstration of Love. This brought out the true sense of the words,—”See how he loved him.” Such sympathy as this is a heavenly shower and solvent that first cools mortal mind and then dissolves it, and so cleanses the foul atmosphere of error, delivering the patient from his enemy and destroyer, the carnal mind.

Such is the surgery of Christian Science, all by the selfsame Spirit, Love reflected, or God made manifest in the flesh. The anti-Christian, serpentine logic that has crept into beliefs of so-called Christian Scientists and has given vent to such utterances, in substance, as, “you must be stoical and bereft of all human sympathy towards your own family and in the sick room,” is one of those detestable things that so-called Christian Scientists have defiled themselves with. Such a mode as this is eating and drinking damnation, not reflecting the Christ-image, which alone can heal and save.

e-inspire, September 16th, 2021 by Laura Moliter

“Love takes everything that comes without giving up. Love believes all things. Love hopes for all things. Love keeps on in all things. Love never comes to an end.” 

(I Corinthians 13: 7-8, New Life Version)

Love is truly defined by its endurance, its infinite and abiding nature. This love is the expression of God’s own Love. Human affection only goes so far, for it can’t help but be bound up in ego and limitation.

But as we yield to divine Love, which is with us and in us, there is a boundless supply of love to give, and it has a strength that does not fail or diminish. We can lean into and utilize this divine Love, which supplies us with the capacity and the stamina to continue to believe no matter what. Let’s accept nothing less than the Love that doesn’t give up when things get hard or when fear wants to set in.

This pure Love doesn’t leave us in the lurch. It is constantly reminding us that we are not alone and that we always have more love to feel as well as to offer. When we stop qualifying love by persons and behaviors, we feel more free to be generous with our own love. We become more forgiving, hopeful, expectant, as well as genuinely grateful.

Laura Moliter, Divine Purpose Coach and Spiritual Activist