[PYCL: Magnify and Share the Spiritual Sense of the Christ light of Soul!]
CedarS PYCLs–Possible Younger Class Lessons for:
"Soul"
The Christian Science Bible Lesson for February 17, 2013
by Kerry Jenkins, CS, House Springs, MO (314) 406-0041 [Bracketed inserts by Warren Huff]
[G.T. PYCL: Use the magnifying glass in your teaching toolbox! Make Soul more visible!]
So a magnifying glass might once again be a useful tool for working with the littler kids this week. You can show how it makes things bigger and talk about what that symbolizes when we are talking about “magnifying” God as in the Golden Text (G.T.) Give pupils some small but interesting things to look at under a magnifying glass and talk about how we are able to appreciate these things more when we make them bigger/more visible. This is what we should do each day in our lives; make every little Godlike thing “bigger”, more visible and praiseworthy. We can see detail under a magnifying glass and when we notice detail it brings individuality and vibrancy to that thing. My 8-year-old and I were on a field trip the other day for schooling in an old St. Louis neighborhood; and it was such fun to look for architectural detail as we walked around and sketched the buildings. It made them come to “life” in a way that just taking in the big picture might not do. Just so, if we bring out the vibrant detail in God's creation, as we notice the beauty and uniqueness of each one, we see how they are connected to God/Soul.
[R.R. PYCL: Go from “Toy Story” to Your Story of spiritual sense focusing Christ light!]
See the vibrant details connected to Soul is how God “opens the blind eyes”…mentioned in the Responsive Reading (R.R.) and in citation B7. This is using our spiritual senses! Maybe you can also illustrate or at least explain how a magnifying glass can be used to focus the sun's rays and make a tiny and powerful point of light that is capable of actually starting a fire if there is fuel of some sort to burn. (I am not recommending a full demonstration here, maybe just an explanation or brief illustration without actually getting to the fire part 🙂 Some of the kids may be familiar with this use from watching Toy Story, the original one, when the neighbor kid, Sid, burns a spot in Woody's forehead with a magnifying glass… a bit gruesome, but perhaps accessible; and later in the movie the same technique is used to light the fuse on the rocket that puts them back in the car with Andy. (Yes, I know I've seen too many kid's movies, sorry!) The point here being that the magnifying glass can symbolize the way that God's power and goodness (like the sun) can be focused into a practical and powerful source of energy and light, or in this case, into healing. Maybe you have a good illustration of how something in your life was healed through the process of focusing Christ light ideas and bringing this kind of inspiration to bear on a challenge. Likewise you could talk about healing that has come though the simple process of “magnifying” God and everything that you see as reflecting God.
[Spiritual sense PYCL: Give examples of how to notice the light & detail of those around us!]
The flip side of this analogy is that you really can't see anything under a magnifying glass if you don't have any light. You can't magnify, praise or find anything praiseworthy if you are not looking with the right senses. This lesson makes some salient points about spiritual sense and the fact that it is the only sense with which we can really see, appreciate and recognize Soul's goodness in our lives. If we were to look at a building without real interest, desire or [loving attention to detail], we might never notice the detailed cornices, the shape of the slate tiles on the roof, the interesting brick molding in the gable, and so on. We might not see the tie rods that are anchored with steel star shapes, curly cues, or diamonds, the arched windows with interesting keystones set into vertical brickwork. In like manner, we will miss the important and Godlike details of our friends, or of the stranger in the line in front of us, when using only the material senses instead of of spiritual sense with which we can see someone's uniqueness and spiritual beauty. I'm talking here about noticing that someone is really very creative when they come up with a particular game to play on a playground, instead of focusing on the suggestion that they “sure are bossy”. Maybe you could talk about how we can notice the light and detail of those around us. Give examples like the above. Explain how it is that the material senses might tell us things about people that are inaccurate. We know they are inaccurate because they are not Godlike. Sometimes it takes a bit of effort to see with our spiritual sense. In citation S15 Mrs. Eddy states that “Evil is destroyed by the sense of good.” If you combine this with her statement that “Spiritual sense is the discernment of spiritual good” on p.505 of S&H, then you can see that not only is our ability to discern spiritual goodness powerful and important, but it is also available to everyone, everywhere. I don't think it is possible to be unable to find some bit of spiritual goodness in any given circumstance when you are looking for it! I don't mean that we should find this goodness in a bad activity, but rather magnify it in others and in ourselves. What a more complete view of mankind we get when we do this!
[PYCL Treasure: Go on a “treasure hunt” for qualities to “magnify” in each other!]
If your class is “game” you could then try going on a “treasure hunt” for qualities to “magnify” in each other. Whoever is holding the magnifying glass has to think of something specific about himself or others that is a spiritual quality that they think can be brought to light in some way. This will probably work in younger classes; older ones would likely be too self-conscious and embarrassed for this. You could also make it a moveable exercise and put some of the qualities that you think are unique or special to each of your students and hide them around the church or Sunday School and search for them. You could write or draw them on colorful pieces of paper and make pictures or words small so that they can use the magnifying glass to see the words or drawings. Talk about how Soul is like the magnifying glass, making beauty and goodness visible and tangible/"feel-able" by each of us!
[PYCL Wrap-up: Tie in Bible stories & your own of “the control of Soul over sense.” (S10)]
These ideas are based on the contents of this week's lesson so feel free to bring in the citations and stories such as Jesus' healing of the deaf-mute in section 4 as an example of our true senses being rooted in Spirit and not matter. See how you can explain word by word citation B7 and understand how an understanding of God as Soul makes us see the reality of God's goodness, the blind seeing, the wilderness (in this case a desert one) being filled with streams, and so on. An example here from your life would be helpful to bring it into the present. Our goal is to help ourselves change our “standpoints of life… from a material to a spiritual basis… [and witness]… the control of Soul over sense…” (S10)
Have a great Sunday!
