Ken Cooper’s “POETIC POSTLUDE” shares Bible EXAMPLES of how comforting it is to live in the NOW…
Thursday, June 23rd, 2022
By Ken Cooper, poet from Great Britain
Ken Cooper’s “POETIC POSTLUDE” shares Bible EXAMPLES of how comforting it is to live in the NOW of Love’s everpresence.
inspired by The Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson on
“Christian Science”
for June 26, 2022
- In Ken’s Sentinel-shared poem, “I AM THAT I AM” , God the Great “I AM” embraces, is always, NOW.
- In Ken’s YouTube poem “Comfort is Thine” Life, Truth and Love each gives complete comfort.
- In the monologue, “Love: A Parent’s Revelation”, we hear of the healing of Peter’s wife’s mother.
[Ken writes:] “The Golden Text is one which reaches out to all those that feel the need for Love: “ “Be encouraged dear people! Feel the fullness of My comfort surrounding and blessing you”, says your God.” (Isaiah 40:1 Combined translations). It is a simple but profound message, which the Responsive Reading takes fully on board:
“A voice calls out in the wilderness of thought, – take away all the obstacles to progress, prepare the way for God, that it may be a straight and clear highway that leads directly to Him.
Fill in the valleys and treacherous slopes, level off the mountains and hills that stand in the way, take away anything that would form a barrier or restrict access, smooth out the path that the way is direct and clear.
See! The glory of the Lord is now fully revealed, and everyone can see it together. Be in no doubt, for the Lord Himself has so commanded .
He will care for you as a shepherd tends his flock, looking after all their needs, gathering the lambs and hugging them in his arms, so close to his heart, while gently leading those that have young to green and fresh pasture. (Isaiah 40:3-5, 11 Combined translations)
As the Bible Lens for this week indicates these words of Isaiah were written at a time similar to that being experienced right now in Ukraine, indeed anyone experiencing any kind of devastation: “. . . society in Judah had utterly disintegrated following the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. The deaths caused by the Babylonian invasion, the exile of the aristocracy, and the destruction of the temple gutted Judah of all institutions that had held the society together. . . . What the exiles needed—hope, comfort, tender words, a future—could be found only in the faithfulness of Yahweh, their God.” – (Bible Lens on “Christian Science.”) When we turn to the Bible we find reason for our hope, the presence NOW of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.
NO MATTER WHAT MAY SEEM THE CIRCUMSTANCES, GOD IS HERE, COMFORTING US EVERY STEP OF OUR WAY, FOR LOVE IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL.
While Christian Science was discovered in 1866, its existence has always been. Mary Baker Eddy was the unique Discoverer, as Jesus was the unique portrayer of the Christ. The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, of God has always been, for it is of God. When we clear our thinking, what exists can always be found, for there is one Mind. This is the message God gave to Moses: GOD IS “I AM THAT I AM” (My Sentinel-shared poem). “I AM” embraces, is always, NOW. The poem includes the lines:
“No shadow, no doubt, no argument:
Light, the warmth of Love,
the only presence.”
What greater comfort can we have than the warmth of Love, and the complete rebuttal of anything negative. This is the message of Christian Science, that GOD IS LOVE, and we are the reflection of that Love, inseparable, forever in Love’s thought and compass. As Science& Health citation 6 states: “The vital part, the heart and soul of Christian Science, is Love”, the present activity of I AM.
This is how the poem concludes:
“I AM THAT I AM.
The Word of God to All.”
No one is left out. Comfort is universal, and we can know this for each other, for we are all the people of God.
WE DO NOT NEED TO WAIT FOR “THE ACCEPTED TIME”. IT IS THE GLORIOUS NOW, THE LIGHT OF UNDERSTANDING. WE ARE THE PROOF OF “I AM”.
“For the Lord comforts Zion, His comfort reaches everywhere. With renewed spiritual foundation and strength, Zion now rises above the wasted ruins of the past. God has made her wilderness a flowering Eden, her desert full of beautiful blossoms; Joy and gladness is now found in her, Thanksgiving is a constant song of rejoicing!” (Bible Citation B5, Isaiah 51:3)
And we have further in Section 2 “But the Comforter, your Constant Resource, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in my name, to represent me and act on my behalf, he will teach you all things. And he will remind you of everything I have told you.
I am leaving my pure peace with you. This perfect peace is not as the world gives. It is permanent. Let this perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge, and you will never be troubled or afraid anymore.” (citation B8, John 14:26,27 All Combined translations)
The clear message of the Bible and Christian Science is the NOW of God’s Love. Where is true comfort if it is far off, both in distance or time? But LOVE is the present embrace of God’s everlasting arms. His comfort is forever at hand, with us now.
The poem “Comfort is Thine” takes three of the synonyms of God shared by Mary Baker Eddy, those of Life, Truth and Love. Each gives complete comfort. We are never separate from them, for we are never separate from all that God is.
Love is comfort ever strong,
In Love’s embrace we all belong.
Sheltered from each icy blast,
Untouched by future or by past.
Oh feel the warmth of Love Divine:
Love’s word of comfort: “Thou art Mine.”
“Untouched by future or by past”, embraced in the I AM of God’s being. How comforting to know that time is not a factor or a cause. “Thou art mine” is the only present fact, wrapping everything in Love.
God without man is impossible, and we are now the image and likeness of all that God is. There is nothing else. Christian Science is the understanding, sharing and proof of what we are, the now of being, the embrace of Love being what Love is, to each and every one, to each and everything.
The promise of the Comforter is the recognition that the nature and entirety of Love is revealed, not just in awareness but in understanding and natural demonstration. This is true comfort, for it cannot be shaken. It is what we express, our very nature. It is what Jesus understood and shared.
In the monologue, “Love: A Parent’s Revelation”, read by Sue, we hear of the healing of Peter’s wife’s mother. She had been expecting to provide for Jesus and his disciples, but was struck down by a fever, and was lying helpless in bed. But she was never helpless for the moment Jesus saw her there he went to her, bringing her immediate comfort. He touched her hand, healing her instantly. This is such a lesson of practical Christian Science. “She arose and ministered unto them” (citation B10, Matthew 8:15) Love reflected on love, letting her light shine undiminished: “How can I describe the Love that radiates from this man? I am healed! And I can’t now remember that anything was ever wrong! I just go and help, and with such joy!”
When we help others, we bring God’s comfort, we fulfill why we are here. The comfort that is of God becomes the comfort that we necessarily share: “I can feel the everlasting kindness of God right now. I behold for the first time God’s true family. His Love embraces and includes us all. And it is my family too”. One Shepherd, one fold.
Webster’s 1828 dictionary makes the comment “The science of God must be perfect”. Love is perfect, practical, immediate, Christian Science in action. The last section, citation S29, sets the present scene: “A Christian Scientist occupies the place at this period of which Jesus spoke to his disciples, when he said: “Ye are the salt of the earth.” “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” Let us watch, work, and pray that this salt lose not its saltness, and that this light be not hid, but radiate and glow into noontide glory.”
We radiate and glow with the light and love of God right now. What greater comfort can we have.
[Ken:] 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 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.
A copy of my combined translations is available 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. For this week’s lesson, reading Isaiah is especially comforting! Shared with love.
Write to Ken on kengcooper@btinternet.com.
