Ken’s “POETIC POSTLUDE” shares Bible EXAMPLES of seeing through the illusions of matter.
Sunday, March 13th, 2022
By Ken Cooper, poet from Great Britain
Ken Cooper’s “POETIC POSTLUDE” shares Bible EXAMPLES of the wisdom of seeing through the illusions of matter.
from the Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson on “MATTER” for March 20, 2022
- Ken’s question “What is matter?” is answered by the final explanation “BEHOLD THE ALLNESS OF GOD IS THE NOTHINGNESS OF MATTER”.
- The poem “The Sword of the Spirit is the SWord of God” expands Hebrews 4:12/cit. B4 “the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword..”
- In the monologue “The Withered Hand Restored” the best friend of the man healed gives his heartfelt testimony of what he saw.
[Ken writes:] “I was looking up “matter” on Google, and came across the comments “the way we define things helps determine how we think about them”, and that “Everything that exists can be classed as either a type of matter or a form of energy.” That was a good challenge to check my thinking, and it made me so grateful that we have in Science and Health, with key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, a whole chapter, Glossary, that is full of definitions / information, and made me ask whether am I using these definitions in my everyday life? How about “MATTER” which is, inter alia, … “the opposite of Truth; the opposite of Spirit; the opposite of God;” 591:12–13 the (to 2nd ;)). Linking with the idea of “a form of energy” as above, Mary Baker Eddy defines “SPIRIT. Divine substance; Mind; divine Principle; all that is good; God; that only which is perfect, everlasting, omnipresent, omnipotent, infinite” (594:19). This then becomes practical Christian Science: think about / know matter as nothing, and Spirit as everything. This also ties in with last week’s lesson on Substance, so, “When the substance of Spirit appears in Christian Science, the nothingness of matter is recognised” (SH citation 13).
“IN SIMPLE TERMS, THE “OMNI” OF GOD IS THE NOTHING OF MATTER.
“When we think about matter as above, the Golden Text for this week speaks volumes! “Is not My Word (always speaking) like fire that consumes everything impure? says the Lord, and like a hammer that shatters any rock no matter how stubborn? Nothing can stand before Me.” (Compiled translations). My question “What is matter?” gives a very telling answer. When the question is asked, the answer is given in no uncertain terms, and nothing is what it is. For how long can we hold in thought what matter is? The sixty seconds of the answer becomes a long time, and helpful to keep thinking that it’s true all that time! It lets one dwell on the implications of nothing, and then gives the final explanation “BEHOLD THE ALLNESS OF GOD IS THE NOTHINGNESS OF MATTER”. This is the challenge, – that when we think about matter do we really hold in thought the correct definition, or let the illusion lead us to wrong results? “Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man…” ( ), – he saw through the nothingness of matter because all he saw was the manifestation, the Allness, of God.
“Recognising the nothing of matter, we prove its opposite, the substance of Spirit. And we see with the substance of Spirit its unchallenged power. The poem “The Sword of the Spirit is the SWord of God” expands upon the Bible citation 4 from Hebrews (4:12) “the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword..” When we wield this sword of Spirit it is like the hammer shattering the rock, – nothing stands in its way. When we confront matter with Spirit, as did Jesus all the time, there is only one winner:
“With Spirit, you will win the fight!
Untouched by wrong, you prove ALL RIGHT!”
“To be “ALL RIGHT” is to have nothing wrong. It’s not just the common phrase “Oh, I’m alright thank you, – ie I’m OK”. ALL RIGHT IS ALL PERFECT! This is the joy of the kingdom of heaven, here at hand. This was the message that Jesus proved, and its impact was a not just on those healed. In the monologue “The Withered Hand Restored” the best friend of the man healed gives his heartfelt testimony of what he saw.
“I said I was a witness.
But how can you own up to seeing the impossible.
He obeyed Christ’s command.
Not “Stretch forth thine withered hand”, but “stretch for thine hand as God gave thee”.
His arm extended, fingers uncurling, filling out fully formed”
“The truth of man’s perfection was revealed! The illusion of matter, all its limitations, was destroyed with the Christ-understanding that man IS entire, – the forever NOW of perfection.
“Here was true authority! No longer mere words, but the consciousness of God’s kingdom here and now seen in health and completeness. Faced with full health, sickness had become impossible! Health the reality and sickness the dispellable illusion.”
“The command of Jesus was as the sword of the Spirit that shattered the material rock of resistance, the false claim of matter, and replaced it with the rock of Truth, – one temporary, the other eternal. How should we define ROCK: “ROCK. Spiritual foundation; Truth. Coldness and stubbornness.” (p. 593:18). Coldness and stubbornness is destroyed by the Love which is Spirit and Truth. Instantly!
“the way we define things helps determine how we think about them”. What are we thinking? What therefore are we experiencing and proving?
“WHAT IS GOD EXPERIENCING AND PROVING? “Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.” (RR Jeremiah 11 24 Do). God’s experience is also our experience.
“When we replace the nothingness of matter with the fullness (substance) of God, we see the kingdom of God at hand, here and now, stretching across the world, and all-inclusive. THE OMNI OF GOD IS NOW.
“There is no material history, because there is nothing material, -only the present substance of Spirit, the presence of God, the perfection and harmony of man. MAN IS A WITNESS, NOT TO MATTER, BUT TO GOD.”
Copies of the poems are available in pdf format in color and B&W as DOWNLOADS AT THE TOP RIGHT OF THE ONLINE VERSION OF THIS POETIC POSTLUDE to this week’s Bible Lesson. The full range of Ken’s videos on YouTube can be found on KenGCooperPoetry. All Ken’s poetry and other writings can be found on Ken Cooper Poetry. Write to Ken on kengcooper@btinternet.com.
