Ken’s “POETIC PRELUDE” shares Bible EXAMPLES of GOD AS THE ONLY CAUSE & CREATOR of HIS PERFECT EXPRESSION, MAN.
Monday, May 30th, 2022
By Ken Cooper, poet from Great Britain
Ken Cooper’s “POETIC PRELUDE” shares Bible EXAMPLES of GOD AS THE ONLY CAUSE & CREATOR of HIS PERFECT EXPRESSION, MAN.
from the Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson on “God the Only Cause and Creator” for Sunday, June 5, 2022
- My YouTube poem tells the story of “The Man Sick of the Palsy” and Love expressed.
- My poem “ Reach Out” tells how reaching out to Christ healed a woman of a 12-yr. issue.
- In my monologue “Thou Art The Christ”, we have the personal experience of Peter, his inner most thoughts, culminating in this declaration of truth.
[Ken writes:] “Is it merely hope, faith, a gentle intuition, or a fundamental reality that GOD IS THE ONLY CAUSE AND CREATOR? The consequence of this FACT is that anything unlike God has no cause, and has not been created. It does not exist. When we wake up from a dream, when we identify an illusion, neither has any more reality in our thoughts, for our thoughts can only be witness to all that God is.
GOD ALONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING REAL,
AND MAN IS HIS CONSTANT WITNESS, PROOF, AND PERFECT EXPRESSION.
The Golden Text is simple and direct “For You are great, and Your works are wondrous and truly amazing; You are the One and Only God.” (Psalms 86:10. Combined translations) The delight of this fact is that therefore each of us is also wondrous and truly amazing, for as Mary Baker Eddy writes “Everything in God’s universe expresses Him” (citation S20 (Science & Health p 331:16).
EVERYTHING THAT EXISTS EXPRESSES LOVE, MIND, SOUL, SPIRIT, TRUTH, LIFE, THE GOVERNANCE OF PRINCIPLE.
Anything else is illusion.
The consequence of God being the only Creator is beautifully stated in Chapter 1 in Genesis: “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was so very good, and He gave it His complete approval, the royal stamp: “MADE BY ME”” (Bible citation B5, Genesis 1:31 to 1st .Combined translations). [ME – Mind Expressed] The fundamental fact we can know is that “everything” means what it says, – there is nothing else, nothing that exists that does not fully express what God is. “God fashions all things, after His own likeness.” (citation S9, 516:9)
God did not suddenly become a Creator. The “I AM THAT I AM” has always existed, expressed as Life, Truth, and Love, indeed all seven synonyms. We are the simultaneous creation of all that God is. They cause us to exist, because we are their witness. In this week’s lesson this is revealed as the nature of Christ, – the practical demonstration of man as God’s Beloved Son. Jesus came to show us the proof of perfect God and perfect man, his witness becoming our witness, effortlessly demonstrating the true nature of what we are.
Section 3 has the story of “The Man Sick of the Palsy”. The YouTube poem tells a story of Love expressed. The friends of the sick man did everything they could to bring him to Jesus, for their hope and expectation was for healing. Would any of us have had the faith to remove the tiles from a roof (very carefully, and especially as not your own!) big enough to let down a bed. When we can feel the presence of the Christ we feel the presence of God’s love for man, and we can do extraordinary things! It shone from Jesus. The sick man’s sins were forgiven. In explanation to the scribes and Pharisees Jesus asked, “Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee: or to say, Rise up and walk?” and continued “the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins” ….. “Arise, take up thy couch, and go into thine house” (Luke 5:23,24) ([the consciousness] of [Love] – see SH 578:16). The naturalness of Jesus’ healing work was the Christ-presence made manifest, the evidence of God in control, Cause and Creator.
“Arise he did as we looked on, signs of palsy all had gone.
Oh his smile shall live forever, beamed at us more bright than sun!”
Knowing that God is our Father, how can we forbear to smile! The Christ is universal. It shone from Jesus, attracting those in need of healing. A woman who had been diseased for twelve long years sought out Jesus. She had a problem that was personal, that rendered her ceremonially unclean, but she was determined: My poem “ Reach Out” , read by Sue, shares her experience. She learns of Jesus, and goes to find him:
“I know it sounds silly, but I know this much,
All that is needed is the gentlest touch!
I get nearer and nearer, just one person behind,
My heart skips a beat as I reach out my hand!”
When we reach out, we have this promise “Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need”. (SH 494:10-11). Doesn’t this link in so well with “The divinity of the Christ was made manifest in the humanity of Jesus.” (SH 25:31). Jesus’s response was “Who touched me?” When we reach out we have the certainty that Love responds, the certainty that Love only sees what it created, and this is reflected in our experience. The poem concludes
“We all can banish every doubt,
By simply this: just reaching out.”
When we reach out all we can find is God, and our relationship to His “very good”. The text box in the pdf says: “REACH OUT, GRASP THE HARVEST OF INFINITE GOOD.” It is always there.
The Christ is the evidence of God in our lives. It was best expressed by Jesus. Section 5 has the declaration by Peter “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (cit. B19, Matthew 16:16). In my monologue “Thou Art The Christ”, we have the personal experience of Peter, his inner most thoughts, culminating in this declaration of truth. After Peter’s declaration Jesus says to him “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is
in heaven.”. Flesh and blood reveal nothing, for God is infinite Spirit, infinite Mind, and thought aligned to God naturally and effortlessly dismisses anything else, as light dismisses dark. When we are still, we access the realm of the real world, in which God is the only Cause and Creator, in which the Christ reveals our true Sonship. We know that true Sonship means our rock-solid expression of God’s perfection:
“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Peter became the rock of the Christian church, but that rock itself is the Christ made manifest, fulfilling God’s will. It was momentous for Peter, the monologue sharing:
“I suddenly understood so much more of the full nature of the Christ, lifting us out of human ability into God’s purpose and provision, fully protected even against the very gates of hell! I didn’t feel alone but even more blessed.” This is the touch of the Christ in our lives.
Our work is to glorify God, to express the Christ, “beloved Son”. Poetically:
HOW MORE BLESSED IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE,
WHEN I DO KNOW THAT “GOD MADE ME”
Knowing that God is the only CAUSE reveals every activity as God-governed.
Knowing that God is the only CREATOR reveals everything that exists is PERFECT.
Copies of my poems are available in pdf format in color and B&W as DOWNLOADS at the bottom of the online version of this Poetic Prelude 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. (Links work on Metaphysical page).
I have also attached a copy of my combined translations for those who may be interested. They have been collated over several years from BibleGateway translations, taking the best from the many translations provided, and seeking further inspiration from Christian Science in their compilation. They cover over a thousand Bible verses, taken from both the BibleGateway verses for the day, and from the Weekly lessons. Reading all verses from any one book is insightful and motivating. Shared with love.
Write to Ken on kengcooper@btinternet.com.
