First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada Flintridge, California
Wednesday Meeting Readings
- Ps. 55:22 (to :)
22Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee:
- Ex. 23:20, 23 (to 1st ,), 25
20¶ Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
... 23For mine Angel shall go before thee,
... 25And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
- Matt. 11:1-10, 13, 15, 18-30
1And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.
2Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
3And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
4Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
5The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
6And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
7¶ And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
8But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.
9But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
10For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
13For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
... 15He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.
19The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
20¶ Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:
21Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
23And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
24But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
25¶ At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
26Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.
27All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
28¶ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
- Matt. 15:1-3, 7-31
1Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
2Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
3But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
... 7Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
8This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
10¶ And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
11Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
12Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
13But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
14Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
15Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
16And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
17Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
18But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
19For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
20These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
21¶ Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
22And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
23But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
24But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
26But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.
27And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.
28Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
29And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.
30And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them:
31Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
by Mary Baker Eddy
- SH 561:32-3
- SH 26:28
Our Master taught no mere theory, doctrine, or belief. It was the divine Principle of all real being which he 30taught and practised. His proof of Christianity was no form or system of religion and worship, but Christian Science, working out the harmony of Life and Love. 27 27:1Jesus sent a message to John the Baptist, which was in-tended to prove beyond a question that the Christ had 3come: “Go your way, and 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, 6to the poor the gospel is preached.” In other words: Tell John what the demonstration of divine power is, and he will at once perceive that God is the power in 9the Messianic work.
- SH 224:22-13
A higher and more practical Christianity, demonstrat-ing justice and meeting the needs of mortals in sickness 24and in health, stands at the door of this age, knocking for admission. Will you open or close the door upon this angel visitant, who cometh in the quiet of meekness, as he 27came of old to the patriarch at noonday?
Truth brings the elements of liberty. On its banner is the Soul-inspired motto, “Slavery is abolished.” The 30Mental emancipationpower of God brings deliverance to the cap-tive. No power can withstand divine Love. What is this supposed power, which opposes itself to God? 225 225:1Whence cometh it? What is it that binds man with iron shackles to sin, sickness, and death? Whatever enslaves 3man is opposed to the divine government. Truth makes man free.
You may know when first Truth leads by the few-6ness and faithfulness of its followers. Thus it is that Truth’s ordealthe march of time bears onward freedom’s banner. The powers of this world will fight, 9and will command their sentinels not to let truth pass the guard until it subscribes to their systems; but Science, heeding not the pointed bayonet, marches on. There is 12always some tumult, but there is a rallying to truth’s standard.
- SH 333:16 The, 32 By
The advent of Jesus of Nazareth marked the first century of the Christian era, but the Christ is 18The divine Principle and ideawithout beginning of years or end of days. Throughout all generations both before and after the Christian era, the Christ, as the spirit-21ual idea, — the reflection of God, — has come with some measure of power and grace to all prepared to receive Christ, Truth. Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and the prophets 24caught glorious glimpses of the Messiah, or Christ, which baptized these seers in the divine nature, the essence of Love. The divine image, idea, or Christ was, is, and 27ever will be inseparable from the divine Principle, God. Jesus referred to this unity of his spiritual identity thus: “Before Abraham was, I am;” “I and my Father are 30one;” “My Father is greater than I.” The one Spirit includes all identities.
By these sayings Jesus meant, not that the hu-334334:1man Jesus was or is eternal, but that the divine idea or Christ was and is so and therefore antedated Abraham; 3Spiritual onenessnot that the corporeal Jesus was one with the Father, but that the spiritual idea, Christ, dwells forever in the bosom of the Father, God, from 6which it illumines heaven and earth; not that the Father is greater than Spirit, which is God, but greater, infinitely greater, than the fleshly Jesus, whose earthly career was 9brief.
- SH 334:10 The, 21-24 This
The invisible Christ was imperceptible to the so-called personal senses, whereas Jesus appeared as a 12The Son’s dualitybodily existence. This dual personality of the unseen and the seen, the spiritual and mate-rial, the eternal Christ and the corporeal Jesus manifest 15in flesh, continued until the Master’s ascension, when the human, material concept, or Jesus, disappeared, while the spiritual self, or Christ, continues to exist in 18the eternal order of divine Science, taking away the sins of the world, as the Christ has always done, even before the human Jesus was incarnate to mortal eyes.
This was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,” — slain, that is, according to the testi-Eternity of the Christmony of the corporeal senses, but undying in 24the deific Mind.
- SH 332:9-15 Christ, 19, 23 He
Christ is the true idea voicing good, the divine message from God to men speak-The Son of Goding to the human consciousness. The Christ 12is incorporeal, spiritual, — yea, the divine image and likeness, dispelling the illusions of the senses; the Way, the Truth, and the Life, healing the sick and 15casting out evils, destroying sin, disease, and death.
X. Jesus demonstrated Christ; he proved that Christ Holy Ghost or Comforteris the divine idea of God — the Holy Ghost, 21or Comforter, revealing the divine Principle, Love, and leading into all truth.
He was appointed 24to speak God’s word and to appear to mortals in such Christ Jesusa form of humanity as they could understand as well as perceive. Mary’s conception of 27him was spiritual, for only purity could reflect Truth and Love, which were plainly incarnate in the good and pure Christ Jesus. He expressed the highest type of 30divinity, which a fleshly form could express in that age. Into the real and ideal man the fleshly element cannot enter. Thus it is that Christ illustrates the coincidence, 333 333:1or spiritual agreement, between God and man in His image.
From the Christian Science Hymnal
Hymn 34: “Christ comes again with holy power”
Hymn 96: “He stood of old, the holy Christ”
Hymn 265: “Onward, Christian, though the region...seem drear and lone”