KEN’S POETIC PRELUDE for this week Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson on:
“Life” for July 18, 2021
See KEN COOPER POEM in the Christian Science Sentinel – “The Breath of Spirit”. Plus, enjoy two YouTube video monologues — “The Transfiguration Now Shared” —and “Mary of Bethany – Revelation”, read by Ken’s wife, Sue, about the raising from the dead of her brother, Lazarus (John 11:1-44/cit. B9.
These offerings bring extra inspiration to this week’s Bible Lesson.
[Ken wrote:] “According to physical science the physical universe is finite, – all the matter therein is subject to a law of entropy, and in trillions of years it will disintegrate and some theories state will literally become nothing. The Golden Text suggests a different outcome based on a different premise. With God there is no time, for whether day or night God, Life, is always present. There is no law of entropy in divine Science. “All is infinite Mind (Life) and its infinite manifestation”. The activity of God is the everlasting I AM, the living Word which governs everything that is because the Word is speaking everywhere now. To God, Life, there is no such concept as finity, no reference to time. The perfection of Life is the timelessness of now, untainted by matter-concepts. The Allness of Life is the nothingness of matter now, not in trillions of years! The Bible references this week illustrate the presence now of perfect Life, timeless, complete, harmonious. What was proved by Daniel, Jesus, and the disciples, is true now for each one of us.
The Golden Text sets the important point that whether day or night, wherever we are, God as Life is always shining. To human sense, while day will follow night and vice versa, to spiritual sense we lift our thoughts above matter, and experience only the constancy of God’s light. Light expresses Life, for without movement, there would be no light, no reflection. While light always moves at the speed of light, in spiritual terms, our light is Life constantly moving at the instant(!) speed of I AM THAT I AM. Where there is Mind, there is Life. Our prayers lift us to the recognition of God as our life and breath right now, constantly refreshed, perfect, at one.
In my sentinel shared poem “The Breath of Spirit” the last stanza reads “Oh, let us live as Spirit guides, To follow all Thy ways, For in Thy purity we live, Oh, sing with joy and praise!”. This is the joy of Life as given in the Responsive Reading, – “Blessed are they that dwell in thy house (in Mind / Life): they will be still praising thee.” This is the natural state of man, unchanging, undying, forever at one with God. This joy and praise runs through the lesson.
In section 3 we have the story of the transfiguration, one of the most interesting experiences in the Bible. Jesus was recorded as saying “Before Abraham was I am” (John 8:58), and here we have Jesus speaking with Moses and Elias, – the unification of the Christ, Law and Prophecy. The monologue “The Transfiguration Now Shared” is a very descriptive account by Peter of his recollection of this event. To behold the glory of Jesus, to hear the words “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him” (Matt. 17:5) is to behold life in all its fullness and timelessness. Peter encourages the disciples to reach out: “We have no reason to fear, because the Christ is always with us. Let’s enjoy our togetherness and bring the light and love of the Christ further into our communities. Jesus shone. So must we.” This is our walking “in the light of the living.” (RR Psalms 56:13)
Jesus never left this light, but when faced with severe challenges the darkness we see can feel overwhelming. In the second monologue “Mary of Bethany – Revelation”, – beautifully read by Sue, we feel the death and resurrection of Mary’s brother through her own vivid experience. When Jesus learned of the death of Lazarus, a dear friend of his, he did not react. His calm words stated an eternal truth, – that everything is “for the glory of God”. Jesus reflected the glory of God (as in the transfiguration) and what he saw was what God is. He was never in shock, for his understanding was assured and deep. The command to “Loose Him and let him go” was of such importance, the giving of complete freedom, the recognition of Life itself, and God and man at one.
Copies of the two monologues are available in color and B&W at the bottom of this week’s metaphysical article. They can also be found on Ken’s poetry website.”
