“Find the whole in your Soul” – a Lesson Sermon Met on “Soul” for February 10-16, 2003
By Kathy Fitzer, CS
Golden Text: “Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.” (Ps. 86: 4) Said another way: “Bring gladness into the life of Your servant, for I dedicate myself to You, Lord.” (translation by R.K Harrison) God loves to make man happy! The ultimate “high” – that nothing-can-bring-me-down kind of happiness – comes from knowing that as you “draw nigh to God, … he will draw nigh to you.” The closer you get to God, the clearer you see God’s goodness that is always being poured out to bless you. You then recognize the law of Good which is always operating in your life, and things fall into place. And you see yourself (and everything) as God sees it – good!
Resp. Rdg: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Ps. 103: 2) Do we thank God often enough for all that He does for us? God is the Principle – the law of Love – that saves us from whatever would destroy our joy, our confidence, our well-being. We shouldn’t take God for granted. He crowns us (brings all that we do “to completion or successful conclusion”) with His lovingkindness. It is God’s mercy (Love’s compassionate forgiveness) that redeems (saves) our life from destruction – allows us to get back on track when we mess up. We are given another chance over and over again until healing comes, and we reach our noble goals. He “satisfieth thy mouth with good things” so you are freed from false appetites. God is continually thrilled with us – we need to be equally thrilled with God, by consistently responding to what goes right – no matter how small it seems – with a heart-felt, “Thank you, Father.” “The real Christian Scientist is constantly accentuating harmony in word and deed, mentally and orally, perpetually repeating this diapason of heaven: “Good is my God, and my God is good. Love is my God, and my God is Love.” (Misc. 206: 19)
Section 1: “Science reveals Soul as God, untouched by sin and earth, — as the central Life and intelligence around which circle harmoniously all things in the systems of Mind.” (S&H 310: 15) Let’s rejoice that there is one Soul (or center of Life) – not lots of little souls trapped in mortal bodies, subject to conflict within and without. All things respond to and perfectly reflect the one Soul – the control center of Life. Overcome self-centeredness with God-centeredness. Consciously keep God as your center. And if things seem like they are going wrong – personally or with the world – let’s know that the Truth of being corrects impurity with purity, inharmony with harmony, and reports of death with evidence of life and vitality. We rejoice in God because He is worthy of the trust we have placed in Him to bless all mankind with the law that: “In the scientific relation of God to man, … whatever blesses one blesses all,” (S&H 206: 15)
Section 2: “Harmony is produced by its Principle, is controlled by it and abides with it. Divine Principle is the Life of man. Truth is not contaminated by error.” (S&H 304: 16-18, 19-20) Elisha’ first “miracle” was purifying the water that the region was so dependent upon. Elisha went to the spring (the source) of the water, and threw in salt (nature’s perpetual foe of decay.) The result was healing. When our lives seem to be contaminated by evil of any kind – whether it appears to be of physical, academic, emotional, or social nature – we need to pour into thought the Truth (God’s perpetual foe to error) that man is governed by God alone and that only harmony can spring from Principle – our source and the source of all life. Take thought into the Kingdom of Heaven, and find the expression of Soul pure and free – as it always is.
Section 3: “Only by losing the false sense of Soul can we gain the eternal unfolding of Life as immortality brought to light.” (S&H 335: 22) The Shunemite woman was willing to turn her child over to God, turn her back on the material evidence, and seek the spiritual view that Elisha had to offer. She held to the fact that “It is well,” in spite of what the physical senses reported. In this way she lost the false sense of Soul being in body – and immortal Life was brought to light. Elisha shut the door on the material testimony and communed with God, truly seeing Soul as governing all things in uninterruptible harmony. To be dead is to be “destitute of life or vitality; empty.” So, if you ever feel you are at a dead-end or just feeling unmotivated – that’s a time to practice overcoming death by losing a false sense of your governing influence being something inside you that can get run down. Soul is infinite vitality and you express it!
Section 4: “Undisturbed amid the jarring testimony of the material senses, Science, still enthroned, is unfolding to mortals the immutable, harmonious, divine Principle, — is unfolding Life and the universe, ever present and eternal.” (S&H 306: 25) Elisha was undisturbed by the multitude of the enemy surrounding him, because his spiritual senses (his understanding of Truth) showed him clearly that “they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” As he prayed that his servant be able to see this truth, too, the “Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw.” As we work, first for ourselves, to feel the presence of Soul governing and learn to rejoice in the ever-presence of good, we will be able to help others see it, too. Never re-act to what seems to be – trust what is in Science (in Truth) and trust the Science of Truth to reveal it to all!
Section 5: “When a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.” (Prov. 16: 7) Elisha prayed as his enemy was attacking, and his enemy was made blind. Elisha was able then to lead them peacefully to Samaria and was then instructed by God that he did not need to hurt them, but treat them with kindness – as he would if he had captured them some other way. God’s way is so complete that this particular enemy didn’t invade Israel any more. Are we demonstrating this kind of love when someone does something threatening to us? Are we obedient to the demands of “the Science of Soul?” Do we have only one God (one authority – one good) and do we love our neighbor as ourselves? That means we have to love God first, ourselves next, and then our neighbor – all three ingredients have to be there – in order to demonstrate harmonious man governed by Soul.
Section 6: “For true happiness, man must harmonize with his Principle, divine Love;” (S&H 337: 7-8) “Soul has infinite resources with which to bless mankind, and happiness would be more readily attained and would be more secure in our keeping, if sought in Soul.” The man in the parable thought that the accumulation of material riches would make him happy. But, he didn’t get to stay around to use all that he had put away. How much better to use what we have to bless others – and thus be blessed ourselves, as well. We’re not working from the standpoint of limitation. We have infinite strength, infinite intelligence, infinite supply. As you rejoice in using what you have with the understanding that it comes from an infinite, pure, source (remember the spring at the beginning of the lesson?) you’ll find that you will have more to use.
