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Lesson Application Ideas on “Truth,” July 17-23, 2006
Lesson Application Ideas on “Truth,” July 17-23, 2006
By Gary Duke, C.S., Saint Louis, Missouri
Editor’s Note:
The following background information and application ideas for the Christian Science Bible Lesson for this week are offered primarily to help CedarS campers and staff (as well as friends) see and demonstrate the great value of daily study of the Christian Science Bible lessons year-round, not just at camp.
Golden Text: Kindness and Truth from God.
How often do we bless our potential adversaries (games, sports, grades, romance, job, housing, politics, war, etc.)? “And now the Lord shew kindness and truth unto you” is what King David responded to soldiers who risked their lives retrieving the remains of King Saul from the Philistines for proper burial (R3 = Resource #3 below).
Was David’s response typical? Not at all. Normally, new kings want to purge the court of loyalists to the former king or at least shun them, but David went up higher and instead blessed his potential adversaries. What did this do for David? He was included in the same blessing he gave! “Truth is demonstrable when understood, and that good is not understood until demonstrated” (S&H 323:15).
Responsive Reading: Delight, Rejoice, Be Glad in Thee.
Fill in the blanks:
_____ is what makes a dry sponge usable;
_____ is what makes Rice Krispies snap, crackle, pop;
_____ is what makes bread rise.
If you answered water, milk and yeast you got 100%! These are all catalysts or agents of significant change.
Similarly, the heartfelt statements “I delight to do thy will, O my God” and “rejoice and be glad in thee” are catalysts for compassion, graciousness, longsuffering, mercy, truth, law, righteousness, faithfulness, lovingkindness and salvation. The statements of gratitude enable these significant qualities of God to become evident in our lives, leavening our experience whereby we think AS the child of God, rather than just thinking ABOUT the child of God.
Section 1: Obedience to the Commandments.
My wife and I went to see a movie recommended to us and came out of the theater shaking our heads saying, “If they had just obeyed the Ten Commandments they would avoided that mess and we would not have wasted our time watching them flounder!” Perhaps that’s why Mrs. Eddy stated, “The first lessons of the children should be the Ten Commandments” (Manual, Article XX, Sunday School—S4) and “Obedience to Truth gives man power and strength” (S5). The Bible says, “all thy commandments are truth” (B2). Last week’s Bible-Lesson mentioned the Commandments. Let us further explore what they mean (B3):
1. One God keeps things simple and we don’t get tricked into making a god out of another person, place or thing. Adorable One also reminds us there is no other belief to adore (i.e. sin, sickness and death). Therefore, all that is true and real is an expression of the one and only God.
2. Graven means to carve, chisel, sculpt, engrave, deeply impress or fix in thought (R2). Are we willfully carving a niche for ourselves in life? Are we chiseling anybody out of anything? Are we sculpting body? Are we engraving a dollar sign into every decision we make? Are we deeply impressing or fixing in thought sensual images? Whatever we have graven, we bow down and serve.
3. Taking the name of God in vain means perjury (telling a lie under oath), the breaking of a promise (sealed by reference to God) or the careless and profane use of the divine name and titles (R7). We permanently reside in the Court of Spirit (trial in S&H pp. 430-442) so aren’t we always under oath to be truthful; shouldn’t every promise be honestly attempted and all our speech elevated?
4. Sabbath is Hebrew meaning to cease, to rest (the heathen nations of Northern Europe dedicated this day to worship of the sun hence “Sunday”—R1). If we are to keep the Sabbath holy and cease from temporal work, couldn’t we ascribe the Sabbath to each moment by finding the spiritual essence of all activity, thereby acknowledging God as our true employer no matter what we are doing—e.g. whether we are washing dishes, cars or feet? Then each moment will be holy as we declare we are about our Father’s business in service of God and loving our neighbor as ourselves.
5. Honor thy father and thy mother, not for the carrot of long life which is promised (“thy days may be long upon the land”) but for the sake of honoring God and our “neighbor.” Don’t we love God to the degree we love those whom we love least? Or as the Bible states, “he that loveth not his brother [or father and mother] whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen” (I John 4:20)? So let us honor those folks right at home and then “enlarge the place of thy tent” (Isa. 54:2).
6. No murder of another’s life or even of their joy or true identity.
7. No adulterating of the marriage covenant or the debasing of anything—e.g. childlikeness or the environment.
8. No stealing of property, time, opportunity.
9. No lies about your neighbor including claiming sickness, sin or death for them.
10. No lusting after anything that is your neighbor’s. Instead you can say as is often heard at CedarS, “TMT—That’s Mine Too.” If God is All-in-all, God is all things to a person and everything desired, so by reflection we have it all.
We also find in Deuteronomy (B4) what Jesus referred to as the first and great commandment, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” By doing this effectively, won’t we be obeying the Ten Commandment as well? By etching into one’s heart these great truths, one goes up higher from the merely intellectual and theoretical, to the spiritual and practical. “Religion will then be of the heart and not of the head (S3).” Can children understand these concepts? Yes, and often more easily than adults (S4)! Is just a smattering of these truths enough, like Sunday School, or should this training be integrated into every aspect of one’s life? According to the Bible, “teach them diligently unto thy children” at all times (B4)! Because Christian Science is shared and lived so fully at camp, many find their greatest leaps in spiritual growth occurring there.
Section 2: Childlike Humility Reveals Understanding.
When the disciples were arguing amongst themselves who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus placed a little child in the midst and instructed them, “Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matt.18:4).
Over 900 years before Jesus, King Solomon realized that if he humbled himself as a little child, he would be receptive to truth which would help him govern his newly inherited kingdom (B7; S8). Through this humble approach, Solomon was not only granted “a wise and an understanding heart,” but as he continued to “walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments,” he was also rewarded with a long, abundant life.
Good for Solomon, but what about us? Just like Solomon, we too have inherited a kingdom. As sons and daughters of God we are in the kingdom of heaven right now and heirs to the blessings which come by having “chosen the way of truth” (B5). By childlike, humble yielding—not by intellectualism, we are truly free from the painful results of choosing the wrong way. And yet, every time we succumb to the temptation of “mortal, erring, and finite” human beliefs we are sorely disappointed to find we have assigned to those beliefs, “a task impossible for them, that of distinguishing between the false and the true (S10).”
Section 3: Sword of Truth—Guarding and Guiding.
Almost daily we face situations where there seems to be no clear path and we are forced to make unclear decisions. What is the best way to be dealing with: a camper, job, family, other relationships, finances, school, sports, etc.? “Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part [the still, small voice within] thou shalt make me to know wisdom” (B8).
Solomon left Gibeon where he was “baptized” with great wisdom and returned to Jerusalem. What happened after David’s anointing and the baptism of Jesus? The test! With David, his test was Goliath (I Sam.17); with Jesus, it was the devil in the wilderness for 40 days (Matt.4); and with Solomon, it was judging between two prostitutes to whom a baby belonged when there was insufficient evidence (B9). How easy it would have been to dismiss the case as they were “insignificant” people being harlots, and he probably had many more important duties to which he could justifiably attend. Remember Jesus, who many centuries later, was on his way to the “important” task of raising the daughter of Jairus from the dead (Mark 5)? Along the way, Jesus healed the “insignificant” woman, who was doing the wrong thing by even mingling with the crowd, as she had an issue of blood for 12 years. Just look at the ripple effect of that healing and the effect of Solomon’s wise discernment of motherhood by use of the sword. His wisdom and understanding came with “largeness of heart” (B10) which is a powerful lesson for us as we assume positions of responsibility i.e. no person is insignificant/common or unclean (Acts 10).
How do we know if our “wisdom is wise,” if our “truth is true,” “love is lovely,” “life is Life?” Go to the source! “no good is, but the good God bestows” (S11). We can discern thought like Solomon “in proportion to our spirituality” (S12). The sword Solomon used was a symbol of Truth—”Truth is a two-edged sword, guarding and guiding” (S13).
Section 4: Be-Attitudes.
Don’t we all yearn to be happy? How is that achieved? What must our attitude be or stated differently be-attitude? Moses gave us the Ten Commandments which is the basis of law; “grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (B12). Jesus began his most famous teachings, called the Sermon on the Mount, with what he also referred to as commandments (B13 verse 19), the Beatitudes, meaning “To make happy; to bless with the completion of celestial enjoyment” (R1). Mrs. Eddy also included these as among the first Sunday School lessons (Church Manual, Article XX).
The Message (R5) interprets the Beatitudes as follows, which you may enjoy comparing with the original (B13).
Poor in spirit: “You’re blessed when you‘re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.”
Mourn: “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.”
Meek: “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.”
Hunger and Thirst: “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.”
Merciful: “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.”
Pure: “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.”
Peacemakers: “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.”
Persecuted: “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you deeper into God’s kingdom.”
(S17) highlights the Sixth Beatitude, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God [Truth].” Does “pure in heart” mean just the absence of lust and doing and thinking bad things—sins of commission; or might it encompass the sins of omission, like not being a good Samaritan (Luke 10)? For example, what if Solomon felt it beneath himself to judge the case of the harlots, or if Jesus failed to stop and heal the woman with the issue of blood because she didn’t follow the rules about not touching another when she was “unclean?” Then we’re playing the role of the priest or Levite, following the letter of the law but passing by “on the other side,” omitting the grace and deeper truth revealed by “largeness of heart”—showing compassionate love. One must be “radical” in our love for God and man in which “you take no risks in the policy of error” aka “conservatism” where “we soil our garments (S18).” Following this “radical” path of Christian Science means yielding, not merely moving—creation is already complete in the eternal now and we are to witness health, beauty and holiness illustrating “unlabored motion of the divine energy” (S19). Contrast this with the labored motion of “rushing around smartly” and accomplishing little (Mis. 230:12).
Section 5: Preach Truth.
“Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (B14). Great promise! But what if you don’t believe in the Lord, or haven’t heard of the Lord because no one bothered to preach, teach and heal (B14, S21)? What if Jesus, Paul and Mrs. Eddy kept to themselves so as to be personally comfortable, maintain the status quo and didn’t share their revelations via preaching, teaching and healing? (B16) tells the story of Paul preaching and how falling asleep in church had serious consequences in his day! A young man named Eutychus dosed off during the sermon and fell from the third loft. But Truth destroyed the belief of death and Eutychus was revived (S21, S22).
“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (B17). Even a creature? A women military chaplain recalled this passage when surrounded by wild dogs ready to attack her in a remote area of a developing country. She was inspired to sit on her haunches in a squatting position and the dogs followed suit. She proceeded to preach the gospel of truth to them. The chaplain wrapped up her sermon by encouraging them to go about their Father’s business and she would do the same. The lead dog got up and trotted off with the rest of the pack orderly following. So you see, truth is potent handling creatures of all types whether we call them wild dogs, tumors, pain, etc. (S23). Who should be “preaching,” just orators like Paul or chaplain types? “Truth should emanate from the pulpit, but never be strangled there.” All of us with any understanding of this precious Science must share what we know, “Sacredly, in the interests of humanity, not of sect” (S25).
Section 6: Promises Fulfilled.
What happens when the stoplights go out at a busy intersection? The traffic backs up much more than usual. So rather than the stoplights being resented because we consider them restrictive, perhaps they should be appreciated and correctly identified as “go-lights” as they allow us to progress faster, easier and with greater certainty. In fact when the lights are broken, it reminds us of how much happier we are when they are working! Let us now consider the Commandments and the Beatitudes as those traffic lights. When these covenants are working (obeyed) in our lives, we progress faster, easier, with greater certainty and the promise of happiness is fulfilled. So instead of being resented, looked at as restrictive and old-fashioned, perhaps we should regard what Moses and Jesus gave us as our timeless Declaration of Independence and Constitution, thereby maintaining our freedom!
When man recognizes the “thunder of Sinai [Ten Commandments] and the Sermon on the Mount [Beatitudes]—proclaiming the kingdom of heaven on earth—Truth is revealed” (S28) and the following promises will be fulfilled (S30):
(B18) grace, mercy, peace, love;
(B19) all know God;
(B20) mercy and truth, righteousness and peace; Lord gives good;
(B21) strength; peace;
(S27) unifies men and nations; brotherhood of man; ends wars; love neighbor; annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry; equalizes the sexes;
(S28) rebukes all error; Truth revealed;
(S29) no end of Christ-rule via divine Science;
(S30) Science of Christ recognized; love neighbor as himself; recognize God’s omnipotence and healing power.
Section Summary Benediction:
When we realize (with real-eyes) kindness and truth are solely from God and not from person, place or thing; and realize we live in the state of continual rejoicing knowing that good is not variable, we will not only obey the Commandments with our head, but also with our heart. Childlike humility is the path to understanding allowing the sword of Truth to guard and guide. Our be-attitude of happiness is constant as we live the Beatitudes, preach the truth, and proclaim the kingdom of heaven on earth, finding and declaring the promises fulfilled.
Resources:
1. American Dictionary of the English Language, By Noah Webster 1828,
800-352-3223, website www.face.net
2. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition 1993
3. Researched Bible Guide, 561-776-5711, e-mail DayBreakPlease@cs.com
4. The Interpreter’s One-Volume Commentary on the Bible,
Edited by Charles Laymon
5. The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language,
By Eugene H. Peterson, NavPress 800-366-7788,
Website www.MessageBible.com
6. The New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible, By Henry Gehman
7. The One Volume Bible Commentary, By J.R. Dummelow
Camp Director’s Note: The above sharing is the latest in a long series of CedarS Bible Lesson “mets” (metaphysical application ideas) contributed weekly by a rotation of CedarS Resident Practitioners and occasionally by other metaphysicians. This document is intended to initiate further study as well as to encourage the application of ideas found in the Weekly Bible Lessons as printed in the Christian Science Quarterly and as available at Christian Science Reading Rooms. * Originally sent JUST to campers, staff and CedarS families who wanted to continue at home and in their home Sunday Schools the same type of focused Lesson study and inspiration they had felt at camp, CedarS lesson “mets” are in no way meant to be definitive or conclusive or in any way a substitute for daily study of the lesson in the books. The thoughts presented are the inspiration of the moment and are offered to give a bit more dimension, background and daily applicability to some of the ideas and passages being studied. The citations referenced (i.e. B1and S28) from this week’s Bible Lesson in the “met” (metaphysical application ideas) are taken from the King James Version of the Bible (B1-24) and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. (S1-30) The Bible and Science and Health are the ordained pastor of the Churches of Christ, Scientist. The Bible Lesson is the sermon read in Christian Science church services throughout the world. The Lesson-Sermon speaks individually through the Christ to everyone, providing unique insights and tailor-made applications for each one. We are glad you requested this metaphysical sharing and hope that you find some of these ideas helpful in your daily spiritual journey, in your deeper digging in the books and in closer bonding with your Comforter and Pastor.)
Enjoy!
Warren Huff, Director director@cedarscamps.org
CedarS Camps Office
1314 Parkview Valley
Manchester, MO 63011
(636) 394-6162
Met Posted : 7/2/2006
www.cedarscamps.org/Metaphysical
www.cedarscamps.org/Metaphysical
Met Posted : 7/2/2006
www.cedarscamps.org/Metaphysical
www.cedarscamps.org/Metaphysical
