Ken Cooper’s Poetic Prelude for the “Substance” Bible Lesson for 9-12-21

Ken Cooper’s Poetic Prelude for the “Substance” Bible Lesson for 9-12-21

“Ye are the light of the World”
“Wilt thou be made whole?”

[Ken writes:] “The essence, the substance, of holiness is purity. In purity there is no darkness, no blemish, and perfect purity is the full light of understanding, – spiritual discernment. This is how Mary Baker Eddy defines “EYES. Spiritual discernment, — not material but mental.” (SH 586:3). The Responsive Reading ends with Jesus’ quote from the Sermon on the Mount “The light of the Body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single , thy whole body shall be full of light”. When we reflect the purity of thought that light represents, we live in the substance of all-good. We cannot be deflected by the false claims of matter, for they cannot touch true substance, as darkness cannot touch light.  Light does not know darkness: substance does not know matter.

“In the poem “Ye are the light of the World” we see the contrast between material and spiritual living. They are opposites. When we are lit by the Christ-presence, we see as God sees, – the substance and Allness of His perfect creation.  Matter is nothingness, and as light cannot see darkness, Spirit can only see itself. “For He spake, and it was done, He commanded and it stood fast” (Bible Cit.2)   Spirit, substance, never changes what it is. When a candle is consumed, it is worthless, nothing, gone. The temptations of the serpent may seem to offer light for a time, but they are based on a false foundation. The error destroys itself, in reality it can offer nothing because it is nothing. What power does darkness have over light? What power has matter over substance? The lesson sermon is asking us “What candle are you lighting?” Matter or Spirit? Or put another way, “Who is lighting your candle? The serpent or Christ? Isaiah gives a clear indication “Arise, shine: for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee”. (Isaiah 60:1). When we light up error stands down.

“This is the message Jesus in effect gave to the man at the pool of Bethesda. The poem “Wilt thou be made whole?” takes the full story of a man caught in the web of self-pity being asked to change the direction of his thought. Jesus could have asked “Wilt thou be holy, – focused on good, focused on God?” His immediate response was to cling to his problems, but Jesus saw his perfection, his true substance, and uttered those words that the Christ is speaking to us all “Rise, take up thy bed (stop dwelling on thy material trappings) and walk (in the light of God)”. (See Bible Cit. 13). The effect was immediate, because light shone on the darkness, and it was gone.

“The poem continues with the full story, noting the further command of Jesus to the healed man “Behold thou art made whole: sin no more, ….” – a clear requirement to be holy and maintain that holy thought that maketh whole. Perfection cannot sin. (What would be the point?!!) The SH Cit.13 states “Christ presents the indestructible man, whom Spirit creates, constitutes, and governs.”  This is the true substance of man made in God’s image and likeness, whose source and fountain is Spirit, a candle that never burns yet gives light (like the burning bush that was not consumed).  We have innate purity, our reality is in shining bright.

“I have my Father’s blessing,
He holds me in His sight:
I feel God’s radiance deep within,
And shine with Love’s pure light!

“We shine with the holiness of God’s perfect Love, expressing the spiritual substance of all that God is.”

Copies of the above poems are available in color and B&W on this week’s metaphysical article. Click on Ken Cooper Poetry for links to all his poetry.  Contact is kengcooper@btinternet.com

[Warren’s P.S. Here’s a proposed reply by Ken Cooper of the U.K. to a reader of his poem “Ye are the light of the World” objecting to the charge that the Christian (Science) concept the Christ light shining out the allness of God, good, seems to be ignoring all the evil in the world:]

[Ken Cooper’s answer:] “Thank you for your important questions. We are in agreement, in that the best way to contend with an error is to destroy it, not to ignore it. If one is suffering from a nightmare, the way to end the nightmare is to wake up from the dream, – yet our challenge is that this dream seems to be the reality, – and indeed the picture we see around us is very real. How then to respond? Our model is Jesus, who came to show us the true nature of God, – not just in his words, but in his actions. Over the three years of his ministry and mission he dealt with all kinds of evil. He prevented the Pharisees stoning a woman, – he did not turn his back and say it was not a real challenge. Without his intervention she would have been killed. He raised a young girl from her death bed, – without his intervention , she would have remained dead and her parents sorrowful.  When in a storm at sea, which threatened the lives of the fishermen, he calmly said “Winds, behave, peace be still” and the storm ceased.  Our daily prayers are for peace in this world, that we can have that mind that was in Christ Jesus to bring healing to every situation than needs it. This is proactive and step by step it brings results. The Sermon on the Mount, if followed by everyone, would bring peace on earth. It included the message “Love thy enemies, do good to them that hate you….” This requires an absolute, active Love, which has been proved to heal. This is a challenge for all of us, not a turning away. Jesus healed the problems he was faced with, so must we. The aim of Christian Science is to destroy evil, not to ignore it, and in Jesus we have our Master and Guide. Our service to God is to be obedient to Him, to express His Love. That will end the problems that we face. God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good. Seeing what God made is seeing what Jesus saw, and this led to healing. That is what we are earnestly aiming to achieve too.”