 There is a divine Principle in which we can have total confidence. It's an infallible, absolute, invariable, concrete and substantial Principle that provides security in life. In Christian Science, divine Principle is another way of describing God - not a man on a throne, a superhuman god - but that which is the cause and source of all that is true and good. If it doesn't meet the criteria of being true AND good, it doesn't correspond with the order of Principle. The divine Principle of life is powerful, strong, illuminating, liberating. Principle is real. It is a present help in any situation. Principle is just, impartial, available, universal, unconfined and glorious. Divine Principle is the fundamental basis of everything, the origin and ultimate of all that is real. Principle is stable, positive, precise and demonstrable. It commands obedience, integrity, health and harmony. Why? Because divine Principle reproduces its own characteristics. The divine Principle is perfectly reflected in its own creation. True law (that which under-girds human justice and is unassailable by variable opinions) is an attribute of this Principle. That is, the law that counts, the law that protects and enforces good is sourced in Principle. Two verses from the Bible shed light on this Principle: Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. (I Chronicles 29) Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (James 1:17, 18)  The divine Principle of life is Love, universal and divine Love. If you feel the term Principle seems distant or cold, think of divine Love and you will have a good idea of it. One of my favorite things to think about is that Principle without Love would be like steel - cold, hard and unyielding. And Love without Principle would be like jam - lacking structure, stability or form. But Principle IS Love - perfectly balanced in strength and tenderness, in power and affection, in authority and support. Christian Science discoverer Mary Baker Eddy uses imagery that I think describes so well the tenderness of divine Principle, when she writes of the ocean, "able to carry navies, yet yielding to the touch of a finger." (The First Church of Christ, Scientist and Miscellany, 121) With an understanding of God as divine Principle comes a sense of the omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence of the law of good. And with it we can begin to drop the sense of limitation in God or in his creation - the spiritual man and the spiritual universe. Divine Principle is expressed through its own laws, in its own kingdom - the kingdom of all that is real and permanent - the realm of Spirit. The concept of another realm or another control - ie matter or material law - is an illusion that a better understanding of the divine Principle erases. Christ Jesus walked on water in direct violation of material law, but in obedience to the spiritual law of Love. This gave him complete mastery over the wind and waves. Moses divided the Red Sea in disobedience to the laws of physics that would render the act impossible. But his obedience to Principle and His unswerving commitment to follow Love's leading out of Egyptian bondage opened the way to demonstrating the higher spiritual law that was in place and accessible to him. Matter and material law are not a real substance to be controlled, improved, healed, by turning to divine Principle in prayer. Prayer that reveals that there is only one true Principle or law, one true substance of life - Spirit - adjusts our reality view. Spirit is expressed in the spirituality that breaks the illusion of matter and its so-called laws, restrictions and problems. A miracle fulfills God's law, but does not violate that law. (Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, 134 )  Miracles aren't really exceptional. What many term a miracle is the natural activity of the divine Principle that is understood to be God in Christian Science. In the beginning of my public practice I had a case that resulted in a resuscitation of life from death. As it turned out, it wasn't more or less difficult a case than any other. I was on my knees hand-washing the kitchen floor when the call came explaining that a person had died. I was asked to pray by the nurse in attendance. I did. I knelt back down and continued washing the tile as I prayed. My prayer was a gentle, yet firm, affirmation that the divine Life that is God is manifest normally and continually - that is, that neither God nor his creation can be interrupted in being. The normal activity of man, under the perpetual control of the Principle of life, only includes the expression of the Life that is God, not death. I was aware of the ease with which I returned to washing my floor after the call. I hadn't been shocked by the news. I then realized that this man, too, could continue with his day without being shocked by the belief that life could suddenly end, when it couldn't. Life really is eternal. My words, here, seem somewhat feeble to explain the deep significance of what I saw of spiritual reality in that prayer. My prayer wasn't difficult or complicated. It was completely logical and natural. I wasn't a bit afraid. I didn't feel I was engaged in a great battle with death. My prayer was a simple witness to the divine Principle of life that holds all creation in Life, God, without rupture, without interruption. The patient revived. Ten or so minutes after his sudden decease, he sat up - and not in a state of recovery, but in a better state of health than before he passed. And he continued on in good health. This kind of things happens more often than we may realize. To go deeper as you consider Principle, remember that:
The divine Principle that is God holds you completely secure in life. Like? Please share. Let's spread the good.
Not a subscriber and want to be? It's easy! Just sign up in the sidebar. You may also wish to: VISIT MY WEBSITE HOME PAGE FIND LINKS TO MY OTHER PUBLISHED CONTENT LISTEN TO A COLLECTION OF MY "YOUR DAILY LIFT" 2-MINUTE PODCASTS  The Daily Lift for this weekend was inspired by the prodigious, loving men in my life (my dad, my first and second husbands, my brothers and many others) whose lives reflect such rich and generous love for others. Based on Christ Jesus' parable of the prodigal son, this two-minute podcast recounts a familiar story with a new twist. Find the Lift in English and in French. And if you would like to read the full parable, here it is:  Luke 15:11-32 King James Version (or you can read it from the New International Version): And he [Jesus] said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father.  But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. Happy Father's Day! To be sure you don't miss something,
you can have new posts delivered to your email inbox. Simply subscribe in the sidebar. And if this post is meaningful to you, it may also help others. Please share! You may also wish to: VISIT MY WEBSITE HOME PAGE FIND LINKS TO MY OTHER PUBLISHED CONTENT LISTEN TO A COLLECTION OF MY "YOUR DAILY LIFT" 2-MINUTE PODCASTS 6/6/2013 Spiritual sense: You are equipped A number of years ago, I spoke to an association of atheists on Christian Science. I’ll admit, I was prepared for a debate. Instead, I encountered a thoughtful, respectful audience cherishing the universal desire to experience lasting good. While the word “God” was loaded with too many unhelpful connotations for them, we could dialogue on intelligence, on Life, Principle, Truth, Love— all terms used in Christian Science to describe the universal Good that is God. I learned from that encounter that we all have spiritual sense – the capacity to break through restrictive barriers and beliefs to discover and understand God as He really is. Mary Baker Eddy called this spiritual sense “a conscious, constant capacity to understand God.” In the Glossary of Scriptural terms in the Key to the Scriptures part of Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy gives a definition for God that exposes the divine from many angles. “God. The great I AM; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence." p.587  That one definition alone gives everyone a jumping-off point to understand God. The Bible speaks of God as an unchanging power, or law, in whom is “neither variableness nor shadow of turning.” (James 1). In Christian Science, the term divine Principle describes the invariable law of Good that is God. Principle is always expressed in good. Good doesn’t end. Love never quits. Scripture also identifies God as Spirit. So God that is Principle and Love, is also everpresent Spirit. This means that God’s creation – you and I and everyone, really - are spiritual – that is, we are made by, and of, the substance of Spirit. Love equates to unlimited goodness, Principle to invariable law, Spirit to true substance. Do you see the expansive nature of the God vocabulary of Christian Science? And it is practical, too. The facts of God are like the facts of math. You just can’t know too much. The more math facts you know, the less of a problem you find in daily calculations. Who is afraid of a multiplication problem, when they have learned their multiplication tables? A kid who knows his 9’s table isn’t afraid of 9 x 9. Just the opposite. He can’t wait to use his 81 every chance he gets! Considering the true nature of God from so many angles, can actually change the way one deals with life problems, because an expansive sense of God gives ready answers to any issue that may arise. Now some may be tempted to think, “But I have always been bad at math!” Whether it is the truth of math or the Truth that is God, we are all equipped with the spiritual sense necessary to know what is true. Christ Jesus used the term “kingdom of God” to describe spiritual sense. "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." Luke 17:20,21 "This kingdom of God 'is within you,' — is within reach of man's consciousness here... In divine Science, man possesses this recognition of harmony consciously in proportion to his understanding of God." Science and Health 576:21  The kingdom of God describes God’s revelation of good to His creation. Spiritual sense is a term used in Christian Science to convey our capacity as God’s children to understand what God is. Spiritual sense lets us experience the divine in everyday life. We all have it, but we don’t all use it. Why? Jesus answered that. He knew that we often become buried in, preoccupied with, material sense – what I call the “Eat, Drink, Clothing syndrome” of a focus on material comforts and discomforts. Material sense pulls the attention to externals, instead of to seeking the kingdom of God within. Material sense is the backward, downward drag of the perpetual, mistaken belief:
Jesus challenged this: "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? ... But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6, King James Version In The Message, I think Eugene Peterson has a helpful take on Jesus' words, showing the contrast between the masters of material sense and spiritual sense, when he paraphrases: “You can’t worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you’ll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other...There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body...People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met." Matthew 6, The Message  And the rest of Jesus teachings show that when you put first things first, and exercise your spiritual sense, human needs are met without the drag of limitation, risk or fear. “Take no thought” is not a Pollyanna approach to life that ignores problems. It’s work. Hard work! Christian Science makes strong moral and ethical demands on one. It’s not enough to know God’s law of good if you don’t obey it. It’s not enough to know math facts if you never work an equation. We must take what we learn of God and live it through honesty, purity, selflessness and love, even when it is difficult. This is the spiritual and moral sense that gave Jesus the power to heal sickness and sin and to supply human needs. It can do the same for us. Mrs. Eddy once wrote – “The talent and genius of the centuries have wrongly reckoned. …They have not accepted the simple teaching and life of Jesus as the only true solution of the perplexing problem of human existence.” Unity of Good, Eddy, 9 Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is within us. God’s kingdom of health and harmony is with us, within all of us, already, right now. We all have the spiritual sense that allows us to understand and experience God and His marvelous creation. To be sure you don't miss something,
you can have new posts delivered to your email inbox. Simply subscribe in the sidebar. And if this post is meaningful to you, it may also help others. Please share! You may also wish to: VISIT MY WEBSITE HOME PAGE FIND LINKS TO MY OTHER PUBLISHED CONTENT LISTEN TO A COLLECTION OF MY "YOUR DAILY LIFT" 2-MINUTE PODCASTS 6/4/2013 Coming soon: Angry no more Blog readers are always the first to know. A new lecture is under development. Keep your eyes peeled for the announcement on my LECTURES page of when the new lecture "Angry no more" will be available. Here is a synopsis: From hurt to health through forgiveness.This one hour lecture introduces Christian Science and healing through prayer for emotional, mental and physical issues stemming from unhealed anger. For those who have felt victimized by their circumstances, trailed by a sad past, or who are marked by abuse, this lecture offers insights that neutralize perpetual reaction to pain and anger. The spiritual reasoning through prayer, taught in Christian Science unlocks ones potential for peace, forgiveness, restoration and progress. This lecture presents the life of Mrs. Eddy in the context of her personal journey from grief and disappointment to the spiritual insight and healing that led to her becoming a world-renowned American religious reformer. It addresses common questions about Christian Science and its practice:
To be sure you don't miss something,
you can have new posts delivered to your email inbox. Simply subscribe in the sidebar. And if this post is meaningful to you, it may also help others. Please share! You may also wish to: VISIT MY WEBSITE HOME PAGE FIND LINKS TO MY OTHER PUBLISHED CONTENT LISTEN TO A COLLECTION OF MY "YOUR DAILY LIFT" 2-MINUTE PODCASTS
Jesus made his first unique appearance as a baby born to a virgin. This indicated off the bat the special nature of his relationship to the Christ. He may have appeared to those around him to be a fragile infant, but he wasn’t weak. He came to this world with an already developing understanding of His nature as God’s Son. Where did this understanding come from? He later would explain what he knew of his eternity. He said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” See the switch? Where you and I might consider life as occurring on a limited human timeline – the was and will be line beginning with birth and ending in death – Christ Jesus lived on the is line of eternity, where existence isn’t broken down into was, is and will be, but simply always is. Jesus' well-developed spiritual sense allowed him to see his own eternity, and this gave him power and authority over fear, sin, disease and death. Christ Jesus experienced life - his and everyone's - as immortal. His sense of himself included the knowledge of life before human birth and the continuity of his forever life as God’s son. What Jesus explained about real life came from a personal knowledge of God, not only as his Source, his Father, but as the real Father and Mother of us all. Jesus was a revelator of the eternal Christ, the eternal expression of divine Life. The Christ-message to humanity, that life is eternal and that we had better get on with living our real life free of sin and sorrow and hate, is just as important to us today as it was when Jesus walked the earth. Jesus gave us an example to follow, through his words and life, that develops in us our innate spiritual sense and leads to the understanding of real life as eternal. "When mortal mind is silenced by the "still, small voice" of Truth that regenerates philosophy and logic; and Jesus, as the true idea of Him, is heard as of yore saying to sensitive ears and dark disciples, "I came from the Father," "Before Abraham was, I am," coexistent and coeternal with God, — and this idea is understood, — then will the earth be filled with the true knowledge of Christ." To be sure you don't miss something,
you can have new posts delivered to your email inbox. Simply subscribe in the sidebar. And if this post is meaningful to you, it may also help others. Please share! You may also wish to: VISIT MY WEBSITE HOME PAGE FIND LINKS TO MY OTHER PUBLISHED CONTENT LISTEN TO A COLLECTION OF MY "YOUR DAILY LIFT" 2-MINUTE PODCASTS 5/26/2013 Walking and talking to Jesus' beat Walking the streets of Neuchatel, Switzerland, our small group encountered two Mormon missionaries. One, a young man from Spain, said, "Hi! We are Mormons, and we are here to share the Book of Mormon with anyone who doesn't have it." I replied, "Wonderful! I am a visiting Christian Scientist, here to give a lecture on finding God." "Really?" the second missionary, a young man from England, asked. "What time is the lecture, and where is it?" Several hours later they came. Those with me were interested in how easily I conversed with the missionaries and how readily I invited them to the lecture. I just followed Christ Jesus' example. Mary Baker Eddy wrote, "Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man..." (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, 476) He didn't limit his encounters to those of a singular religious order; he embraced those around him in the family of man and the science, or true knowledge, of God's good creation. He classified men by their inherent spirituality, by their inclusion in the family of Spirit, not by their nationality, color or creed. He spoke to men's hearts. And their hearts beat in rhythm with his. "Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way?" (Luke 24:32) Our Mormon friends acknowledged that it was a good lecture - that they were touched by what they heard. They gifted the sponsoring church with a Book of Mormon and happily received a copy of Mary Baker Eddy's Science and Health in return. What's not to love when we encounter others, and allow them to encounter us, '"in Science"? "Deeds, not words, are the sound test of love... " (from a letter by LEWIS D. STRANG, reprinted in First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, Mary Baker Eddy, vii.) To be sure you don't miss something,
you can have new posts delivered to your email inbox. Simply subscribe in the sidebar. And if this post is meaningful to you, it may also help others. Please share! You may also wish to: VISIT MY WEBSITE HOME PAGE FIND LINKS TO MY OTHER PUBLISHED CONTENT LISTEN TO A COLLECTION OF MY "YOUR DAILY LIFT" 2-MINUTE PODCASTS  Meet Jessi! She is the high school junior daughter of one of my longest-enduring friends. In her blog bio, she describes herself as working to keep her relationship with Jesus strong by worshiping and ushering at her local church, attending and teaching Sunday school and youth groups, going on various summer camps and mission trips, singing in a Youth Choir, wearing her Jesus t-shirts, and a bajillion other things.
Jessi just posted a blog at Day4ministries.com - a self-described group of young people with a passion for Jesus and a God-sized vision to change the world. They produce Christian media for the Internet. I am reposting the intro to her message here, and hope you will click through to read the full post. She is a spiritual thinker with a deep love for God, and for Jesus. Her message packs a healing punch. Go, go, Jessi! Halloween is one of the best times of the year. You can become anyone you choose — a princess, a firefighter, a robot, anyone! By putting on a costume, you are instantly transformed into someone else, usually someone you view as bigger and better than yourself. So many people go through life this way. By putting on a mask, they hope to put on the appearance of being someone who they feel is greater than who they truly are. By putting on a masked smile, they try to hide who they are. But the Bible tells us over and over that no one needs to do this. God says how He sees our true selves, that He knows what’s under our masks. In 1 Samuel 16:7, God told Samuel to “not look at his appearance or his stature… Man does not see what the Lord sees, for man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.” Then, in Luke 12, Jesus told the disciples to be careful of the Pharisees with their religious masks, for “There is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered, nothing hidden that won’t be made known.” The amazing thing is that while He sees what’s behind our costume, HE STILL LOVES US... (Read the rest of the post at day4ministries.com.) 8/7/2012 A faith that isn't blind What makes the healing prayer taught in Christian Science distinct from other types of prayer for healing? Mary Baker Eddy devotes an entire book - Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures - to this question. Specifically, page 12 clears up some of the fog and mystery surrounding Christian Science prayer. Interestingly, the discussion begins with a statement of what it is not. The healing prayer practiced in Christian Science is not a human “mind over matter” blind faith-cure method. Mrs. Eddy writes, “‘The prayer of faith shall save the sick,’ says the Scripture. What is this healing prayer? A mere request that God will heal the sick has no power to gain more of the divine presence than is already at hand.” If we use prayer something like a balloon or emergency flare we send up, - “Hey, I could really use some help over here on my problem,” - where is God in this prayer? Circling around somewhere outside the problem, needing our help through prayer to find it and fix it? Holding sickness at the center of a case and bringing God to it indicates a misunderstanding of the Everpresent One. Spiritual healing involves correcting misperceptions of the who and what and where of God. God is the infinite All – the one reality, power, presence. If we are holding onto a problem, or a disease, to be one fixed reality, which we hope another reality, our God, will come to heal – this is a human “mind over matter" blind faith-cure attempt.  Sometimes faith-cures have positive physical results and sometimes very negative. It all depends on the strength of the human will of the healer acting through his blind belief. But whether the results are good are not, there is no guarantee they will be permanent. And if one’s spiritual understanding of the one reality as God, or Good, isn’t growing, the case can be left in a worse state than before, vulnerable to any new belief – regardless of the appearance of a physical improvement. As Mrs. Eddy says, "The common custom of praying for the recovery of the sick finds help in blind belief, whereas help should come from enlightened understanding. Changes in belief may go on indefinitely, but they are the merchandise of human thought and not the outgrowth of divine Science." When it comes to the healing prayer taught in Christian Science, Mrs. Eddy makes an important distinction between a blind belief - holding limited human thoughts about God - and the total yielding to divine Principle, to the Science of God and man, in the human understanding. Mrs. Eddy puts blind belief completely outside of the practice of Christian Science when she explains, “It is neither Science nor Truth which acts through blind belief, nor is it the human understanding of the divine healing Principle as manifested in Jesus, whose humble prayers were deep and conscientious protests of Truth, - of man’s likeness to God and of man’s unity with Truth and Love.”  There we have Mary Baker Eddy’s statement of what constitutes the Christian Science practice of healing prayer, “the human understanding of the divine healing Principle as manifested in Jesus, whose humble prayers were deep and conscientious protests of Truth, - of man’s likeness to God and of man’s unity with Truth and Love.” Jesus’ theology of the perfection and spirituality of man as the likeness to perfect Spirit who is God, and of man as inseparable from Truth and Love, heals. When one protests for, affirms with well-reasoned understanding, the truth of God and man, healing is the natural outcome. Health is the outward evidence of an inner truth. Prayer doesn’t change reality, or exchange one form of reality for another. It is the confirmation of Truth’s, God’s presence and the permanence of health in God’s creation. Healing prayer affirms what is real and true, and physical, mental, emotional and spiritual healing confirms the truth. Jesus said, “To this end was I born… that I should bear witness unto the Truth.” (John 18:37)The same goes for each one of us. Healing is normal to the Christ. It is not a special talent or unique dispensation given to some and denied to others. Christian healing – Christian Science healing - is the natural confirmation of God’s presence and power – His Christ - here and now reflected in us. Helpful? Can you think of someone who could be helped by this blog? Please share.
Also, if you aren't yet a subscriber, a full-text version of the blog can be delivered to your email inbox. It's easy to sign up in the sidebar. You may also wish to: VISIT MY WEBSITE HOME PAGE READ MORE BLOG POSTS FIND A LIST OF MY OTHER PUBLISHED CONTENT  Some years ago, when I was teaching Sunday School, one of our lessons included the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet. The students wondered: “Why did Jesus do this, anyway?" Well, he had met his disciples for an important meal and they had neglected to wash his feet. This was a natural, hospitable act in those days of sandals and dirt roads. Feet could be very dusty in dry weather and muddy in wet weather! After their meal together, Jesus kneeled down in front of his students and began to wash their feet. You can imagine their discomfort. Their Teacher, not a servant, was on his knees performing this menial duty! When Jesus finished the washing, he asked: “Do you understand what I was doing? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’, and you are right for that is what I am. So, if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet. I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do. I’m only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master, an employee does not give orders to the employer. If you understand what I am telling you, act like it, and live a blessed life. (John 13:12-17 New Living Translation, The Message.)  Did we understand what Jesus was telling them? I decided we could try this out for ourselves. The following Sunday, I carried a large bowl and a towel to the class. The students were wide-eyed. One of them said: “Not my feet!” She decided, though, that she would go outside with the rest of us and watch the proceedings. I washed their feet and they washed mine. Still, they were puzzled. Jesus taught that we should follow his example but we weren’t seeing any foot-washing going on in our community! Should we be doing this today? If we got on our knees and began to wash our friend’s feet, they would think we were crazy! Finally, we came to the conclusion that Jesus’ example was one of humility. Perhaps he was asking his followers to see everyone as “dust-free”. In other words, we should understand that each of us is a child of God. We are equal in His eyes. After all, each of us walks on the same ground - each of us has the same relation to God - and each of us has the same need of Christ, the spirit of God. So, I just washed my husband's feet. I simply asked if I could, and he said yes. At first, he thought I'd lost it! But then he loved it. What he might not have known is, I have been seeing him as dust-free for a long, long time. The foot bath was just a tender way to say "I know who you are, and I love you." Kay Olson CSB is loving blogging on the Radical Acts of Jesus that are part of a summer project on Time4Thinkers.com. Kay is a Christian Science practitioner and teacher in Pennsylvannia, USA. Click the following link if you are interested in reading up on this, or one of the other 17 Radical Acts being practiced this summer. Love it? Please share it for others to enjoy.
Let's work together to share the love. Also, if you aren't yet a subscriber, a full-text version of the blog can be delivered to your email inbox. It's easy to sign up in the sidebar. You may also wish to: VISIT MY WEBSITE HOME PAGE READ MORE BLOG POSTS FIND A LIST OF MY OTHER PUBLISHED CONTENT  There is a "don't miss" conversation going on at Time4thinkers.com. "Radical Acts" is a summer project - online and ecumenical - inviting anyone and everyone to take one of 18 of Jesus' toughest teachings and to live it this summer. One of these teachings is to befriend lepers, prostitutes - so-called undesirables or untouchables - and the comments and stories being shared on this subject are unbelievably powerful. Melody Colliate is one who has committed to living this radical act. She blogged: "What makes someone undesirable? Their physical appearance? Their actions? Does God see people as undesirable?  "I once had a roommate who I thought was 'undesirable.' This girl had a strong, opinionated attitude, and she was not afraid to show her full emotions and judgments toward people. I was quick to judge too and our interactions included many eye rolls and snotty glares. "I did what I could to change the situation and we ended up in separate rooms. But a week later I heard an angel voice telling me that I needed to befriend this girl so that I could grow..." What she did next was pretty remarkable. And the sharing in the comments section after her post will warm your heart and impel you to stretch your love muscles - finding no one is out of reach. I left a comment, too. I told a story that I also shared last Christmas in a post - an unforgetable experience of reaching out and touching someone who hadn't been touched in a long time.  About ten years ago I was scheduled to lecture in Vero Beach, Florida. Sunday morning before the lecture, I attended a local church. As we rose to sing, a homeless man entered the auditorium. Looking around, he spotted me sitting on my own and made a bee-line to sit next to me. It was clearly his first time in this church. I helped him with the hymnal and showed him how to follow the order of service. A few minutes into the worship, he became very restless and agitated. He smelled strongly of alcohol and appeared to be struggling with withdrawal. I reached out and took his hand. He became very still as he clutched mine. For the rest of the hour he barely moved. I had the sense that he hadn't had such human contact for a really long time and was afraid that I might let go. I couldn't let him go. My heart wouldn't let me. I held his hand for the entire service. At the end, he turned to me and said, "I love you." Then he made his way to the lobby where he was greeted by the church members.  Meeting this man was a gift. I thought about his courage. He broke through the resistance to attend a service at a church he had never visited before, to leave the bottle and his shopping cart full of his belongings outside, to enter even though he was unbathed and didn't know what type of reception he might receive. This man entered the church, sat next to me and gave me the gift of his presence. He loved me and gave me an opportunity to love him right back - simply by taking his hand in mine. This experience changed forever how I think of loving one's neighbor, and of the healing impact of touching the so-called "untouchables." Matthew tells of Jesus healing a man of leprosy simply through breaking cultural and religious laws that restricted human contact with a person in that state. The Message (Eugene Peterson) says, "A leper appeared and went to his knees before Jesus, praying, "Master, if you want to, you can heal my body." Jesus reached out and touched him, saying, "I want to. Be clean." Then and there, all signs of the leprosy were gone." Fear of contagion or of critics was nothing to Jesus when it came to loving and healing. No one was beyond his touch. Jesus was a true friend.  If you are interested in this, or other Radical Acts we're focusing on this summer, check out these links: 1. BE childlike. 2. BEFRIEND lepers, prostitutes, “undesirables.” 3. CAST the beam out of your own eye. 4. CHALLENGE Pharisees. 5. DO GOOD to people who hate you. 6. FEED the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter strangers, visit prisoners. 7. FORGIVE 70 x 7. 8. HEAL the sick, cast out evil, raise the dead. 9. LIVE more abundantly. 10. LOSE your life to find it. 11. LOVE your neighbor as yourself. 12. MULTIPLY loaves and fishes. 13. SEEK the kingdom first — don’t worry about food/drink/clothing. 14. SELL what you have - give to the poor. 15. TAKE up your bed and walk. 16. TRAVEL without a wallet. 17. WASH someone’s feet. 18. WALK on water. Love it? Please share it. Let's work together to share the love.
Also, if you aren't yet a subscriber, a full-text version of the blog can be delivered to your email inbox. It's easy to sign up in the sidebar. You may also wish to: VISIT MY WEBSITE HOME PAGE READ MORE BLOG POSTS FIND A LIST OF MY OTHER PUBLISHED CONTENT 4/10/2012 Resurrecting the heart after a betrayal Nothing touches my heart in the Easter story like the disappointment and betrayal of Jesus by his closest friends. First, the disciples slept through their prayer watch in the garden of Gethsemane. Then Judas, whom Jesus loved, betrayed him to the Roman soldiers. And finally Peter and others abandoned him to spend those lonely, difficult hours on the cross without their support. I have found that, of the range of human difficulties, acts of betrayal can be particularly challenging to move beyond. Although insignificant in light of what Jesus suffered, many years passed before I stopped sucking in the halting breath of a sucker punch and stopped feeling an aching tightness mid-chest when I thought of a high school sweetheart whom I had discovered to be cheating on me with one of my best friends. Finding a way past the pain of betrayal often involves forgiveness. And forgiveness sometimes requires stepping out of well-worn thought paths and choosing to see others in a better light. That was certainly the case for me. In fact, it was Jesus' story that some years later helped me resurrect my heart from the dark, dank tomb of betrayal. The Bible Lesson I studied the week before Easter one year focused heavily on Judas' betrayal and Jesus' turning to God to forgive. "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," were the healing words Jesus spoke from the cross on behalf of all his persecutors. It seemed so natural for such a Godlike man to make God's forgiveness of others his first line of attack in combating sin and pain. Forgiveness was a part of his makeup, a holy expression of the Christ. For him, it was the most natural thing.  But as I read the story, I felt overwhelmed, sunk under anger for what Judas had done. How could he so abuse Jesus' love? How could I ever forgive Judas? Anger stirred up all kinds of ugly feelings of the betrayal of trust, innocence and love. During that week before Easter, my thoughts became darker and darker with unhealed anger. I understood that the real message of Easter is not to be confined to the suffering of crucifixion, but it involves the resurrection to a renewed life and the ascension above the effects of sin, sorrow, pain and death. I longed to honor Jesus by my own resurrection from anger to forgiveness. So I prayed for a change of heart. I prayed to know how to love Judas and to forgive him. My prayers took me back to the Bible. The book of Lamentations covers the period of sharp, intense pain, anger and sadness immediately after the fall of Jerusalem. The shock over the event gradually fades into the chronic ache of captivity. I think the Jewish people's reaction to their world being turned upside-down are the same emotions that follow a betrayal. Jeremiah wrote,"My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord. Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me." (Lamentations 3:18-20) Yet even while laying bare this raw and anguished mental state, the prophet also offers a ray of hope. He lights a way out of perpetual suffering when he continues, "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness... Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens." (ibid. 3:21-13,41)  "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed." I realized that I didn't have to love Judas the betrayer. That is, I didn't have to stay within the frame of reference of Judas as a betrayer. But I could love the Judas that was not consumed by betrayal and hate - the Judas that God's mercies knew and loved and renewed every morning. I could exchange my sense of Judas the betrayer for the Judas that was resurrected from envy, hate, greed, remorse, guilt, and self-destruction, to repentance and progress, through the forgiveness, grace and ever-renewing mercies of the Christ, Truth. I could love the Judas who had progressed on under the renewable mercies of divine Love, which morning after morning pours forgiveness and love on His children. I thought, "Why, the real Judas has probably ascended by now under the influence and healing power of all that compassion and mercy and love. He would no longer identify himself with the evil that claimed to possess him. Am I going to still hold him, centuries later, to his worst behavior on his most deluded day?" Jesus didn't. "Father, forgive them," included Judas, too. It seems to me that Jesus' method of forgiveness, being counter-intuitive to the human mortal response to betrayal, acted like ammonia mixed with chlorine in a closed room. It deprived evil of all air, literally snuffing it out. I felt a cool, spiritual breeze blow through my thoughts, cleaning out old memories that had clung to me like dried, dead leaves hang on a tree until the March winds shake them off.  I thought of my friends. It occurred to me that that had my boyfriend known who he was as God's good child - how good I knew him to be; had my girlfriend understood how I loved her - how much I valued our friendship; they both would have, at the very least, dealt with me directly first, before proceeding with their relationship. I felt compassion for them. They hadn't known who they were. They didn't know what they did. That was all that I needed to forgive the worst and let go of the pain of the betrayal. I don't claim to begin to the fathom the depth of the betrayal, and the great heights of the divine Love, that Jesus experienced. But I do know that every part of his story teaches us something essential about the marvelous capacity and resilience we have, as God's children, to forgive and to grow in love. Mary Baker Eddy wrote, "Christianity is not superfluous. Its redemptive power is seen in sore trials, self-denials, and crucifixions of the flesh. But these come to the rescue of mortals, to admonish them, and plant the feet steadfastly in Christ. As we rise above the seeming mists of sense, we behold more clearly that all the heart's homage belongs to God. More love is the great need of mankind. A pure affection, concentric, forgetting self, forgiving wrongs and forestalling them, should swell the lyre of human love." Miscellaneous Writings, 106 Conversation and comments are encouraged. Please jump in!
If you like what you see, share the link with your friends, fans and followers! A full-text version of this blog can be delivered to your email inbox. Please subscribe in the sidebar. You may also wish to: VISIT MY WEBSITE HOME PAGE READ MORE BLOG POSTINGS FIND A LIST OF MY OTHER PUBLISHED CONTENT  I bet you remember this little ditty: “Sticks and stones may break your bones but names will never hurt you.” My folks repeated that saying to me whenever I was called names. As catchy as it is, I didn’t find much comfort in it. Sometimes names and words can hit you like a shot in the heart. They can stick in one’s memory, too. I still remember the day my brother called me “bow-legged”, and that was in the first grade! Christ Jesus thought words were important. He firmly rejected calling people by names that, today, we might not consider so bad; but to him they were pretty offensive. One word was raca, an Aramaic term of mild contempt meaning good-for-nothing. He declared it even worse to call someone a fool.  One time years ago I was laid up in bed with back pain. I was home alone and really needed to get up. With no one to help me, there was just one thing to do. I rolled out of bed and began to crawl across the bedroom floor. As I did, I thought, This is really dumb. If Jesus were here, he’d heal me. He would say "Get up and walk!" and I would be able to. Sometime before, when I was first learning about spiritual healing, I read in an article, “There is no real healing without the Christ.” I thought, Wow. I need to look into this. So I talked to a friend - a Christian Scientist - about it, and he told me to always think of the Christ as God’s activity. That explanation led me to my next question: What is God’s activity? 2/10/2012 Show me - a guest post by Kay Olson, CSB The host welcomed his visitors by saying, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you.” Although they were glad to be invited to dine, there was a certain tension in the air. Everyone sensed it. There had been some disputing* between them on their way to the supper. They arrived on time, but there was something amiss – something still lingering in the air. It was a customary kindness to wash the road dust off the feet of one another upon arrival. But this time no one made a move to do it. So the host stepped forward, taking over the duty himself. He poured water in a basin and, one by one, washed the feet of each guest, wiping them dry with a towel. (See Luke 22, NIV)  There is a great New Testament story that I think beautifully illustrates the importance of a spiritual perspective in healing. People refer to it as the Pig story or Swine story – which in a way makes the very point that the crazy pig part is what they remember most. You will find it in Mark, Chapter 5. And, oh my, it is a doozy. There was this guy who had a legion of mental problems. Legion is a term indicating about 2000. Bound in chains to keep him under control, he lived in the tombs outside of town. He had quite a problem, but it wasn’t what you might think. His problem involved a group of swine-herders working nearby. In this story swine-herder is simply another name for symptom-watcher, and they were good at their job! They watched this man rage and cry and cut himself while they herded swine in the neighborhood. They had seen all his 2000 symptoms over the years. They were convinced this man was a mess - a complicated case. They were afraid of both him and his problems. It made sense that such a complicated case would require a complicated solution, right?  Coined from three Greek words meaning "beauty", "visible form", and "to examine", Sir David Brewster came up with the word kaleidoscope to describe his new light-reflecting invention in 1817. Initially intended as a science tool, the kaleidoscope was later copied as a toy. It proved to be a massive success. When first manufactured, over two hundred thousand were sold in Paris and London in the first three months. Today kaleidoscopes are still mass produced as inexpensive toys for children, but as works of art, kaleidoscopes also can be found in craft galleries and specialty shops around the world. What I love about a kaleidoscope is that no matter how often you look into one, the view is never the same. There is always some new combination of color and light exposed with just the slightest adjustment of the reflective mirrors' angle. I can't resist picking mine up and taking another look. Yesterday's post talked about the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount as being like a kaleidoscope. It's true that, every time we take them up for consideration in a fresh light, there are infinite views of blessedness to be discovered in Jesus' insights into God's goodness as it is reflected in us. 10/26/2011 How much longer will this healing take? A blog reader asked why some healings through prayer take longer than others. I will respond from the heart and from my own experience, which is the only way I can see to answer such a sensitive, and often angst-filled, question. A few months back someone asked if I thought healing through prayer is going on as readily and rapidly as it did in Christ Jesus' day or even a hundred years ago. This prompted me to list for myself, on paper, every major healing I have had. In the end I had quite a number - from walking pneumonia to broken bones to a growth in one breast. In all, there were 53 major healing events listed. I left off the small stuff - the bouts of flu, or colds, or family arguments - that evaporated quickly after prayer. Although I suppose a healing of a bad cold in five minutes, for example, could rank as a fairly influential healing... 10/4/2011 Very Big Fish How does a child experience himself and the world? Christ Jesus once set a young child in front of his disciples and said, “Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:4, KJV.) I used to think that Jesus was saying there are spiritual benefits to seeing oneself as a small, insignificant fish in a big pond. But is that really how a child sees the world? Rather, doesn’t a child's perspective start with what he knows of himself as he looks outward? ... 9/29/2011 The Sermon on the Mount and Divorce As a Christian Scientist, I am sometimes asked questions like, "What did Jesus really mean when he said..." Those who love the Bible know that there can be as many different interpretations of Biblical meaning as there can be readers of scripture! And I wouldn't presume to know Jesus thoughts or the full depth and breadth of his meaning. But I can - and often do - share what his words mean to me according to my current inspiration. One question that has come up, and not infrequently, is "What did Jesus mean in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 5, verse 32, when he said :"But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery"? And I understand the concern. It could sound accusatory and condemning to women. But read in its historical context - I think this verse speaks to an important issue that deserves a deeper look - the subject of women's rights... |
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I have practiced Christian Science professionally in some form since 1979. But my journey with Christian Science started in a Sunday school where as a young child I was taught the Scriptures and some simple basics of Jesus' method of scientific Christian healing. A significant experience at the age of twelve opened my eyes to the great potential of this practice. After impaling my foot on a nail, I prayed the way I had learned in Sunday school. Within moments the pain stopped and healing began. By the next morning the wound had disappeared completely. Having experienced the great potential of Christian Science, there would be no turning back. |
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© 2011-2025 Michelle Boccanfuso Nanouche, CSB. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy. Site updated May 16, 2025.
© 2011-2025 Michelle Boccanfuso Nanouche, CSB. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy. Site updated May 16, 2025.