Reality, Deeper, Clearer Views, March 2011, Christian Science Bible Lesson

Discover deeper, clearer views of what is real!
Rick Stewart, C.S., Dresden, Germany

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[Discover deeper, clearer views of what is real!]
CedarS Metaphysical Application Ideas for the Christian Science Bible Lesson Sermon on "REALITY" for March 27, 2011
by Rick Stewart, CS, Dresden, Germany (0351 312 4736/rickstewartcs@aol.com)
[with bracketed italics by Warren Huff]

[Editor's Note: The following application ideas for this week, and the Possible Sunday School Topics that will follow, are offered primarily to help CEDARS campers and staff (as well as friends) see and demonstrate the great value of daily study and application of the Christian Science Bible lessons year-round, not just at camp! You can sign up to have them emailed to you free -- in English by Monday each week, or by each Wednesday you can get a FREE TRANSLATION in French thanks to Pascal, in German thanks to Helga or in Spanish thanks to a team of Ana, Erick, Claudia and Patricio. YOU CAN SIGN UP at www.cedarscamps.org/newsletters]

Are you ready for a week of discovering deeper, clearer views of what is real? Especially if those views include things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, virtuous, harmonious, healthy and of "good report?" (B-3) We gain these views of reality as we see through the eyes of the Christ--cherishing all human conditions and environments as glimpses of divine reality. And that is exactly what the Christian Science Bible Lesson for this week offers you.

But why "Reality?" In 1898 Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, chose 26 topics for weekly Bible Lessons. The Christian Science Journal for July 1899 includes this statement: "The subjects for these sermons, as is quite well known, were furnished by our Leader. As has been observed, they follow the order she was wont to employ in teaching her classes." She chose 26 subjects that would be studied during the week and be read as the Sermon on Sunday. Each topic would then be studied twice a year. And when studied and practiced during the week the result was not only a deeper understanding of the individual topic, but also a more demonstrable knowledge of Christian Science. And Mrs. Eddy did place great significance on these Bible Lessons. She writes of the Bible Lesson "a lesson on which the prosperity of Christian Science largely depends." Church Manual, Page 31.

So as we dig into this week's lesson we might ask ourselves, "What did Mary Baker Eddy want me to know about reality?" And, "Why did she think it important to the prosperity of Christian Science?" And, "Could it be that my individual prosperity will support the prosperity of Christian Science, in fact the prosperity of Christian Science might really depend on my prosperity?"

Reality, hmmm? I found this definition of "reality" on Wikipedia, the free internet encyclopedia. "Reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or may be thought to be. In its widest definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible."

So where are you going to look for "the state of things as they actually exist?" "Reality TV"? News reports? The latest best-seller? What the neighbor tells you? Well, I think you have made a very wise choice in looking to the Christian Science Bible Lesson.

Golden Text (GT): I like where the Golden Text from Ecclesiastes tells us to start: "Consider the work of God:" KJV, or how about these versions: New Living Translation, ""Notice the way God does things;" and New International Version, "Consider what God has done:"
[I love the definition of work as "love made visible" or brought into view.]

So "The View" we will be tuning into is not a morning TV talk show (ABC) -- but a daily showing of what divine Love has done and is doing. We will discover what is really going on, as we pay attention and discover that reality is 100 percent spiritual.

Responsive Reading (RR): These introductory ideas lead us to the heart of the Lesson.

Section 1: Reality is entirely spiritual. Beyond material limits.
Bible verses (B-1) - (B-3) make it quite clear that God and God's works are the reality we are seeking. It is a view that is more than breathtaking; it is breath-restoring, health-restoring, harmony-restoring. As the Apostle Paul writes, "For in him we live and move and have our being." We begin to see the necessity of looking to God to find what is really going on.

The radicalness of Mary Baker Eddy's view of reality is often mind-boggling to the human mind. But when approached with an open willingness to seek this view, and learn of its Science, the effect in human experience is revolutionary, and often results in healing. These healings cause "the excuses for ignorance" (Marginal Heading for S-4) to yield to an ever-growing conviction of spiritual reality as All.

Here's a little example from my family. When my mom and dad had been married only a few years, my dad had a healing that began to open his eyes to a life beyond what matter tells us is reality. He was working collecting his insurance debit when he fell through the wooden boards on a client's front porch. He was working with another insurance agent that day, and with this man's help he was able to get back in the car and drive home. He arrived home just before lunch and from appearances he had broken his leg. My mom asked if he would like her to call a Christian Science practitioner. He agreed. After lunch he took a little nap, and when he woke up he came out and announced he was going back to work. He headed back to the debit. The fellow he had been working with could not believe his eyes. "Well, I guess it wasn't broken after all." That's what they both agreed. And when Dad got home he announced this view, "You know my leg couldn't have been broken, probably just sprained." My mom made no comment.

Just a short time after this experience my dad volunteered for service in World War 2. He had to go through an extensive physical examination. He was given a perfect bill of health, but one of the doctors showed him an X-ray and said, "Well I see you had quite a break in your leg, but it is perfectly healed and probably stronger than the other one!" My dad had a lot to think about. He told me that as he rode the troop transport across the Pacific Ocean heading for the Philippines he began to read a copy of Science and Health that mom had given him. Being healed of a broken leg in a couple hours sure might make you want to learn a little more about spiritual reality! My brothers and sister and I always regarded Dad as a remarkable man, but I am not sure we really ever realized how open and receptive he was to the remarkable reality that Christian Science had brought into his experience.

[The citations from Science and Health provide a divine context for this and all healings:]
"All reality is in God and His creation, harmonious and eternal. That which He creates is good, and He makes all that is made." (S-1) Science and Health, page 472
"It is unwise to doubt if reality is in perfect harmony with God, divine Principle, if Science, when understood and demonstrated, will destroy all discord, --since you admit that God is omnipotent; for from this premise it follows that good and its sweet concords have all power." (S-4) Science and Health, page 130

Section 2: Elisha and the poisonous stew made harmless: a miracle? or reality made evident?
In citation (B-4) 2 Kings 4 we are told of Elisha and some of his apprentice prophets preparing a pot of stew. One of the young men by mistake adds some wild gourds to the stew that appear to be poisonous. A disastrous, deadly mistake? "O thou man of God, there is death in the pot." Elisha asks for some "meal" to be added and the stew is rendered harmless. In the "My Bible Lesson" published by the Mother Church an idea of how to think metaphysically about the "meal" Elisha added is given in the acronym: " (M)ore (E)nlightenment (A)nd (L)ove."
Romans 8 tells us that "all things work together for good." (B-5) Even a mistake can become a blessing for "those that love God," that love reality coming to light. The Science and Health citations in this section equip us to handle, "contamination" (S-5), "error" (mistake) (S-6), "inharmony" (S-9)

How grateful that young prophet in training must have been when his deadly mistake was immediately corrected by Elisha's higher knowledge of reality? I know I was grateful beyond words when I witnessed a similar healing. Years ago I was using some recently acquired mushroom-gathering skills to add to a family meal. I thought I knew what I was doing, but I evidently made a mistake. Part of the menu for the meal I prepared for my mother, my brother, his wife, and myself was wild mushrooms. About an hour after our meal together I took a phone call, my sister-in-law was in extreme agony and my brother was driving her to the hospital. It appeared the mushrooms were poisonous. I was not feeling well either, and the report seemed to accentuate the problem. When I told my mom of the call, she immediately began to pray. During the 16 mile drive into town my sister-in-law changed her mind and asked my brother to take her not to the hospital, but to "mom's" house. Also during that time I received a telephone call from someone considering suicide. She wanted help. She was the mother of two children I picked up each week for Sunday School. I spoke with her about the truth of God's love for her and her relationship to God. After some time she assured me all was well; and she knew all was well; and she was no longer tempted to take her own life. I hung up the phone and realized that I was healed, no discomfort whatsoever. Thinking of the reality of her Life, had lifted me from the belief of illness.

When my brother arrived, my sister-in-law was in great distress. We took her into my mom's bedroom and made her as comfortable as possible. We were all acknowledging God's healing presence. And in the middle of what appeared to be terrible symptoms, I heard my sister-in-law say, "Mom, this is my first Christian Science healing." And in a short while after that statement she went peacefully to sleep. She slept comfortably till morning, got up, got dressed and went to work.
Interesting thing about the reality of this situation was healing made evident in so many ways. My mom and brother were basically untroubled by the mistake of "death in the pot." I was freed as I sought to help someone in need. And my sister-in-law saw the reality of healing even before it was physically seen as the fact.

[What a blessing that these same truths in this section and in this Stewart family healing apply to neutralize and render harmless the radioactive "contamination" (S-5) so feared as the result of recent explosions and meltdowns in some of Japan Electric's nuclear reactors. What a good time to remember and share God work, or convincing proofs, for you and your family. "If Christian Science reiterates St. Paul's teaching, we, as Christian Scientists, should give to the world convincing proof of the validity of this scientific statement of being. Having perceived, in advance of others, this scientific fact, we owe to ourselves and to the world a struggle for its demonstration."(Retrospection and Introspection, p. 93:22) Dr. William Frederick Underwood and his daughter, Nancy Kiefer were Christian Scientists who struggled for the demonstration of the scientific statement of being and gave convincing proofs of it to Dr. Albert Einstein. "Fifteen engineers, chemists and physicists on Dr. Underwood's team at the Manhattan Project were accidently exposed to nuclear radiation and all died within one to three years after exposure. Although Underwood was also exposed to radiation poison - far more than the others - he was healed through prayer, even though all his organs had begun to bleed and deteriorate, and a neurodegenerative condition had set in. Any scars from this experience also disappeared.... His daughter, Nancy Kiefer, was also healed (by prayer) of nuclear radiation exposure. ...Einstein had witnessed - and acknowledged - several healings accomplished by prayer alone, including a broken arm and leg of Underwood's daughter, Nancy. Two and one-half hours after the accident, she came walking to the dinner table ... then ate with the "broken" hand! Einstein acknowledged ... a broken hip sustained by Dr. Underwood, and healed by prayer alone, in three days." No wonder Einstein studied Christian Science and commented that the Scientific Statement of Being was "The most profound statement ever uttered by mankind." All above quotes from page 220 of Physics, Metaphysics and God, by Jack W. Geiss, 2006, www.authorhouse.com.]]

Section 3: Hezekiah, sick, sorrowful, and saved.
(B-6) Psalm 103 Who's the healer? God, you're the healer. God forgives all sins and heals all diseases. This Psalm of David appears to be written later in his life. One commentator called it the "Mount Everest" of praise psalms.

(B-7) Isaiah 38 Wow, I kind of shivered when I read Isaiah's instructions to Hezekiah, "Set thine house in order:" What a recipe for healing, house cleaning! I am still working on that one, but praying for compliance. But something special to remember, Hezekiah got right with God, and Hezekiah was healed and saved from death. And then he wrote a beautiful poem acknowledging how low he was and how God had delivered him from death. (B-7) "O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live."

I have thought a lot in recent days about this command, "Set thine house in order." Disorder and chaos often seem to be the cause of sickness, but a messy house? Well, there have been times I realized I needed to establish a better sense of order (sometimes seems a terminal affliction :-) but I do remember that "with God all things are possible." But isn't our house our thought, our consciousness? So what is the primary "ordering" we need? Isn't it remembering to put God first? Or as it says in Proverbs, "in all thy ways acknowledge him." Remembering God in all that we do, putting thoughts of Love, Truth, Principle, first and then not needing to worry about fear, doubt, or personal sense.

Citations (S-11) to (S-15) are a real prescription for harmony and order. A willingness to "forsake" discord. That sounds like a conscious effort to me. By "lifting thought above error," and realizing that "all things are possible to God."

I have "re-found" or "rediscovered" some of my most cherished things as I straightened things up a bit. I have also at times bitterly regretted what may have been lost or destroyed through allowing trash to obscure treasure!! This has often forced a learning of what real treasures are. So the bottom line it seems to me is that it helps to keep first things first and to maintain at least a semblance of order in daily life. But always, always remember that God's gracious, ministering Love can lift us above all clouds of error, to reality. Don't condemn yourself; know yourself as God's reflection. (S-11) "Be firm in your understanding that the divine Mind governs, and that in Science man reflects God's government."

Recently, Johann asked me about some inline skates. "Papa, have you found them yet?" They were hand-me-downs from his brother that would now be his size. I had hopes of finding them in our cellar, but if you looked at our cellar from the standpoint of daily reality, there really was no hope. Boxes upon boxes (they are still calling for sorting and ordering.) But I headed down to the cellar with a conviction that this was the day of salvation. After 15 or 20 minutes of prayerful searching, my faith was wavering. But then I stopped and turned "wholeheartedly" to God. I acknowledged His Mind as the only Mind. I stopped all condemnation. I stopped wasting time in condemning myself for letting things get in such a sorry state. And I listened. I heard a little message. Those skates weren't just stuck in some box. I had consciously put them in a shopping bag that held the skates and all the protection equipment. But where, oh where? I listened again. And I realized I knew where they were. I picked and fought my way to the furthest corner of the cellar, reached passed boxes, and in a moment of eager anticipation grasped a plastic bag. I knew what was inside, and I rejoiced in God's tender mercy and direction. It was the skates. I then knew even the terminal illness of "Messy-Rickitus" couldn't keep a right idea from its rightful place.

Section 4: Reality in action, Jesus sees through the Tempter's cloud of lies.
Citations (B-8 and B-9) make it clear who is in charge and in control. God is identified as ruling with power and might. God is great, powerful and glorious. When a so-called power apart from Good, God comes to tempt us, it can only come in the form of lies.

In citation (B-10) Jesus has just come from being baptized in the Jordan. (Matthew 3) He is filled with the Holy Ghost and has had the assurance that he was the beloved Son of God. He is now led "of the Spirit" into the desert, or wilderness. He fasts (does not eat, or eats little) for a long time, forty days and nights. Obviously he is hungry, we are even told that in Matt. 4:2. So he is tempted to use his understanding of God's Word to satisfy that hunger. But his answer to each of the three temptations comes from Scripture. When we have glimpsed something of God's all-power and see something of our ability in reflecting that power, what a temptation to let it be used to satisfy human needs! And isn't it helpful to us in our walk towards reality to know that our Savior, our Wayshower was also tempted? One of the subtle guises of the liar or tempter is when we are tempted to feel so bad about ourselves that we begin to think of ourselves not as God's beloved, but more of, "How could I think such a thing?" This is where the clarity and depth of Science and Health's citations (S-16) - (S-21) become such a clear defense.

In the summer of 1974 I was working on a special project of The Mother Church to renovate low-income housing near the Church Center. I was studying the Bible Lesson daily, had many, many wonderful healings, but was also pretty troubled with some of the quality of my thoughts at that time. Geoffrey Barrat from Australia was an Editor for the Periodicals. I seemed to really connect with his editorials, so I asked for an appointment to talk with him. As a complete stranger I sat down in front of him and in a few minutes felt like I had known him all my life. And I told him about my concerns. He simply said, "Rick, we all deal with that kind of temptation." Wow, you talk about a weight falling off my shoulders! You mean I wasn't the only Christian Scientist being tempted to think bad thoughts? Whew!! Here he was an Editor, a Christian Science teacher, and a healer, and he dealt with temptation also? Well, of course I can understand that now. But at the time, it was an incredible burden off my chest. I wasn't some kind of evil worm after all. As a matter of fact he helped me glimpse a little of the reality of who I really was, God's beloved child. And with the enlightenment from that conversation I was more ready to rise and resist the lies that tried to convince me otherwise. And being reminded of that significant interview I realize I probably owe Mr. Barrat some money. He never billed me and never asked me for payment, but he sure helped me past the lying temptations, to glimpse a little reality. I wonder if his knowing that three years later I entered the healing practice might serve as some form of payment?

Section 5: Keep the Good, toss out the bad.
Choose wisely. Choose wisely what you seek. Choose wisely what you keep. Choose wisely what you throw out. Choose wisely what you think. And choose wisely what you keep in thought and what you decide to throw out. Remember, one look in my cellar and you will see it is not possible to keep everything. The wise sorting of useful, beautiful treasures from the trash allows you to keep more of the good, and never confuse it with the evil. And that is what my goal is at the moment, as Jesus illustrates, (B-17), like a fisherman sorting his catch for the keepers and throwbacks.
This last section is like the glorious celebration of God's reality. In citations (B-12) - (B-18) you will glimpse all that Good that God hath made. And with the help of citations (S-22) - (S-29) in your textbook, Science and Health, sorting between the "keepable" and the disposable will become easier. And as we "consider the work of God" (GT, Eccl. 7:13) remember that you are a part of that wonderful reality of God‘s spiritual creation.

Citation (S-25) instructs us: "Let us learn of the real and eternal, and prepare for the reign of Spirit, the kingdom of heaven, -universal harmony, which cannot be lost nor remain forever unseen." (S&H 208:20) [The "cannot ... remain forever unseen" part reminds me of] the story of the "Refiner's Fire." "There was a group of women in a Bible study on the book of Malachi. As they were studying chapter three, they came across verse three, which says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, this woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest, so as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot -- then she thought again about the verse that says, "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he also had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, how do you know when the silver is fully refined? He smiled at her and answered, "Oh that's easy -- when I see my image in it." "

One of my favorite observers of reality, Dr. Laurance Doyle once said in an interview, "One needs to check in with reality." I have found that to mean a checking in with reality in all the manifestations [or "work"-GT] of God's creation--in a spiritual discernment that "unfold(s) the unity and the reality of good, the unreality, the nothingness, of evil." (S-23), 269:5 Frequently glimpsing your eternal place in this "reality of good" is "The (REAL) View" most worth keeping and cherishing.