First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada Flintridge, California
Wednesday Meeting Readings
- Ps. 127:1 (to :)
1Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it:
- Ps. 128:1, 2
1Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.
2For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
- Prov. 10:16 (to :), 21 (to :), 28 (to :), 31 (to :)
16The labour of the righteous tendeth to life:
... 21The lips of the righteous feed many:
... 28The hope of the righteous shall be gladness:
... 31The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom:
- Prov. 13:9-11
9The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
10Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.
11Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.
- Isa. 65:21-24
21And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
22They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.
24And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
- John 6:27 (to :)
27Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you:
- Matt. 11:1-30
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.
11Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
13For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
14And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
15He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
16¶ But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,
17And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.
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.
- John 4:34, 35
34Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
35Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
- I Cor. 15:58
58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
by Mary Baker Eddy
- SH 384:6
God never punishes man for doing right, for honest labor, or for deeds of kindness, though they expose him to fatigue, 9cold, heat, contagion. If man seems to incur the penalty through matter, this is but a belief of mortal mind, not an enactment of wisdom, and man has only to enter his 12protest against this belief in order to annul it. Through this action of thought and its results upon the body, the student will prove to himself, by small beginnings, the 15grand verities of Christian Science.
- SH 385:15-18
- SH 28:32-11
There is too much animal courage in society and not 29 29:1sufficient moral courage. Christians must take up arms against error at home and abroad. They must grapple 3Christian warfarewith sin in themselves and in others, and continue this warfare until they have finished their course. If they keep the faith, they will have the 6crown of rejoicing.
Christian experience teaches faith in the right and dis-belief in the wrong. It bids us work the more earnestly 9in times of persecution, because then our labor is more needed. Great is the reward of self-sacrifice, though we may never receive it in this world.
- SH 385:1
It is proverbial that Florence Nightingale and other philanthropists en-3Benefit of philanthropygaged in humane labors have been able to undergo without sinking fatigues and expo-sures which ordinary people could not endure. The ex-6planation lies in the support which they derived from the divine law, rising above the human. The spiritual demand, quelling the material, supplies energy and en-9durance surpassing all other aids, and forestalls the penalty which our beliefs would attach to our best deeds. Let us remember that the eternal law of right, 12though it can never annul the law which makes sin its own executioner, exempts man from all penalties but those due for wrong-doing.
- SH 128:4
The term Science, properly understood, refers only to the laws of God and to His government of the universe, 6Practical Scienceinclusive of man. From this it follows that business men and cultured scholars have found that Christian Science enhances their endurance and 9mental powers, enlarges their perception of character, gives them acuteness and comprehensiveness and an ability to exceed their ordinary capacity. The human 12mind, imbued with this spiritual understanding, becomes more elastic, is capable of greater endurance, escapes somewhat from itself, and requires less repose. A knowl-15edge of the Science of being develops the latent abilities and possibilities of man. It extends the atmosphere of thought, giving mortals access to broader and higher 18realms. It raises the thinker into his native air of insight and perspicacity.
- SH 387:3, 18-24
Because mortal mind is kept active, must it pay the penalty in a softened brain? Who dares to say that actual Mind heals brain-diseaseMind can be overworked? When we reach 6our limits of mental endurance, we conclude that intellectual labor has been carried sufficiently far; but when we realize that immortal Mind is ever active, 9and that spiritual energies can neither wear out nor can so-called material law trespass upon God-given powers and resources, we are able to rest in Truth, refreshed by 12the assurances of immortality, opposed to mortality.
That man does not pay the severest penalty who does the most good. By adhering to the realities of eternal existence, — instead of reading disquisitions on 21the inconsistent supposition that death comes in obedience to the law of life, and that God punishes man for doing good, — one cannot suffer as the result of any labor of 24love, but grows stronger because of it.
- SH 519:22-2
Genesis ii. 2. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh 24day from all His work which He had made.
God rests in action. Imparting has not impoverished, Resting in holy workcan never impoverish, the divine Mind. No 27exhaustion follows the action of this Mind, according to the apprehension of divine Science. The 520 520:1highest and sweetest rest, even from a human standpoint, is in holy work.
- SH xi:22-1
When God called the author to proclaim His Gospel to this age, there came also the charge to plant and 24water His vineyard.
The first school of Christian Science Mind-healing was started by the author with only one student in 27Lynn, Massachusetts, about the year 1867. In 1881, she opened the Massachusetts Metaphysical College in Boston, under the seal of the Commonwealth, a law 30relative to colleges having been passed, which enabled her to get this institution chartered for medical pur-xiixii:1poses.
- SH xii:6-13
During seven years over four thousand students were taught by the author in this College. Meanwhile she was pastor of the first established Church of 9Christ, Scientist; President of the first Christian Sci-entist Association, convening monthly; publisher of her own works; and (for a portion of this time) sole 12editor and publisher of the Christian Science Journal, the first periodical issued by Christian Scientists.
- SH 15:18-20
- SH 18:3-9
Jesus of Nazareth taught and demonstrated man’s oneness with the Father, and for this we owe him Divine onenessendless homage. His mission was both in-6dividual and collective. He did life’s work aright not only in justice to himself, but in mercy to mortals, — to show them how to do theirs, but not to do 9it for them nor to relieve them of a single responsibility.
- SH 28:15-24
Neither the origin, the character, nor the work of Jesus was generally understood. Not a single compo-Misleading conceptionsnent part of his nature did the material 18world measure aright. Even his righteous-ness and purity did not hinder men from saying: He is a glutton and a friend of the impure, and Beelzebub is 21his patron.
Remember, thou Christian martyr, it is enough if thou art found worthy to unloose the sandals of thy 24Persecution prolongedMaster’s feet!
- SH 29:7-10
- SH 1:6
Hymn 41: “Come, labor on: Who dares stand idle on the harvest plain?”
Hymn 278: “...Walk thou with courage each step of the way.”
Hymn 82: “God is working His purpose out”