First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada Flintridge
Wednesday Meeting Readings
- Ps. 31:18
18Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
- Gen. 3:1-6
1Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
- Prov. 11:9
9An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.
- Gen. 27:6-24
6¶ And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,
7Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death.
8Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
9Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:
10And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.
11And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:
12My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.
13And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.
14And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.
15And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:
16And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:
17And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
18¶ And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?
19And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.
20And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me.
21And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.
22And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.
23And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.
24And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.
- Job 20:4, 5, 8-10
4Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,
5That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?
... 8He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.
9The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him.
10His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.
- Matt. 23:1-4, 16, 23-26
1Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
2Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:
3All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
4For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
16Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
... 23Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
24Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
25Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
- Prov. 6:16-21
16¶ These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
20¶ My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
21Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
- Acts 5:1-4
1But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
2And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
3But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
- Ps. 101:1, 4-7
1I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O Lord, will I sing.
... 4A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.
5Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.
6Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.
7He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.
- Eph. 4:17, 23-25
17This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
... 23And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
25Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
by Mary Baker Eddy
- SH 16:7-19
Our Master taught his disciples one brief prayer, which we name after him the Lord’s Prayer. Our Mas -9The prayer of Jesus Christter said, “After this manner therefore pray ye,” and then he gave that prayer which covers all human needs. There is indeed some doubt 12among Bible scholars, whether the last line is not an addition to the prayer by a later copyist; but this does not affect the meaning of the prayer itself.
15 In the phrase, “Deliver us from evil,” the original properly reads, “Deliver us from the evil one.” This reading strengthens our scientific apprehension of the peti-18tion, for Christian Science teaches us that “the evil one,” or one evil, is but another name for the first lie and all liars.
- SH 177:15
15 In the Scriptural allegory of the material creation, Adam or error, which represents the erroneous theory The effect of namesof life and intelligence in matter, had the 18naming of all that was material. These names indicated matter’s properties, qualities, and forms. But a lie, the opposite of Truth, cannot name the qualities and 21effects of what is termed matter, and create the so-called laws of the flesh, nor can a lie hold the preponderance of power in any direction against God, Spirit and 24Truth.
- SH 594:1
594:1Serpent (ophis, in Greek; nacash, in Hebrew). Subtlety; a lie; the opposite of Truth, named error; 3the first statement of mythology and idolatry; the belief in more than one God; animal magnetism; the first lie of limitation; finity; the first claim that there is an oppo-6site of Spirit, or good, termed matter, or evil; the first delusion that error exists as fact; the first claim that sin, sickness, and death are the realities of life. The first 9audible claim that God was not omnipotent and that there was another power, named evil, which was as real and eternal as God, good.
- SH 529:21
21 Whence comes a talking, lying serpent to tempt the children of divine Love? The serpent enters into the Mythical serpentmetaphor only as evil. We have nothing in the 24animal kingdom which represents the species described, — a talking serpent, — and should rejoice that evil, by whatever figure presented, contradicts itself and 27has neither origin nor support in Truth and good. Seeing this, we should have faith to fight all claims of evil, be-cause we know that they are worthless and unreal.
- SH 252:15-17 (np)
15 The false evidence of material sense contrasts strikingly with the testimony of Spirit. Material sense lifts its voice with the arrogance of reality and says:
18 I am wholly dishonest, and no man knoweth it. I can cheat, lie, commit adultery, rob, murder, and I elude Testimony of sensedetection by smooth-tongued villainy. Ani-21mal in propensity, deceitful in sentiment, fraudulent in purpose, I mean to make my short span of life one gala day. What a nice thing is sin! How 24sin succeeds, where the good purpose waits! The world is my kingdom. I am enthroned in the gorgeousness of matter. But a touch, an accident, the law of God, 27may at any moment annihilate my peace, for all my fancied joys are fatal. Like bursting lava, I expand but to my own despair, and shine with the resplendency of 30consuming fire.
Spirit, bearing opposite testimony, saith:
I am Spirit. Man, whose senses are spiritual, is my 253 253:1likeness. He reflects the infinite understanding, for I am Infinity. The beauty of holiness, the perfection of being, 3Testimony of Soulimperishable glory, — all are Mine, for I am God. I give immortality to man, for I am Truth. I include and impart all bliss, for I am Love. 6I give life, without beginning and without end, for I am Life. I am supreme and give all, for I am Mind. I am the substance of all, because I am that I am.
9 I hope, dear reader, I am leading you into the under-standing of your divine rights, your heaven-bestowed har-Heaven-bestowed prerogativemony, — that, as you read, you see there is no 12cause (outside of erring, mortal, material sense which is not power) able to make you sick or sinful; and I hope that you are conquering this false sense. 15Knowing the falsity of so-called material sense, you can assert your prerogative to overcome the belief in sin, dis-ease, or death.
- SH 292:19
Explaining the origin of material man and mortal mind, Jesus said: “Why do ye not understand my speech? 21Even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father, the devil [evil], and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode 24not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
- SH 480:23
- SH 447:30-9 (to 2nd .)
30 A sinner is afraid to cast the first stone. He may say, as a subterfuge, that evil is unreal, but to know it, he must demonstrate his statement. To assume that 448 448:1there are no claims of evil and yet to indulge them, is a moral offence. Blindness and self-righteousness cling 3Wicked evasionsfast to iniquity. When the Publican’s wail went out to the great heart of Love, it won his humble desire. Evil which obtains in the bodily senses, 6but which the heart condemns, has no foundation; but if evil is uncondemned, it is undenied and nurtured. Under such circumstances, to say that there is no evil, is an evil 9in itself. When needed tell the truth concerning the lie.
- SH 52:29-3
The accusations of the Pharisees were as self-contra-30Defamatory accusationsdictory as their religion. The bigot, the deb-auchee, the hypocrite, called Jesus a glutton and a wine-bibber. They said: “He casteth out devils 53 53:1through Beelzebub,” and is the “friend of publicans and sinners.” The latter accusation was true, but not in their 3meaning. Jesus was no ascetic.
- SH 53:6-7
- SH 41:8
From the Christian Science Hymnal
Hymn 334: “The spirit breathes upon the Word And brings the truth to sight”
Hymn 383: “Whatever dims thy sense of truth Or stains thy purity”
Hymn 258: “Oft to every man and nation Comes the moment to decide”
