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Metaphysical Application Ideas for Weekly Christian Science Bible Lesson
Subject: “Matter” for September 15-21, 2008
Prepared by Kathy Fitzer, C.S. of St. Louis, MO
Editor’s Note: The following application ideas for this week and Possible Sunday School Topics that follow are offered primarily to help CEDARS campers and staff (as well as friends) see and demonstrate the great value of daily study and application of the Christian Science Bible lessons year-round, not just at camp! You can sign up to have them emailed to you free — in English by Monday or Tuesday each week, or by each Wednesday you can get a FREE TRANSLATION in French from Pascal or in Spanish from Ana. (We no longer have a translator available for German.) JUST SIGN UP at www.cedarscamps.org/newsletters
Mary Baker Eddy’s Scientific Statement of Being reveals the essence of our relationship to God, and what really constitutes life. Read at the conclusion of every Sunday church service and Sunday School session, it may be the first thing that comes to thought in time of need. But, don’t let the familiarity of its words dilute its profound message, which is firmly grounded in Biblical truth (including I John 3: 1-3). This week’s lesson gives us a chance to explore this message in depth. Look deep and discover a world of unlimited good that can only be found in Spirit. Matter is only a misperception. Don’t buy it!
Golden Text: Life-giving, freeing, Spirit? or life-taking, tyrannical, flesh (matter)? – which is dominating your thought, and thus your experience?! Ask this question often. Be honest. The focus of your thought drives your experience. Why would we EVER choose the limitations of matter – if we’re really thinking!?
Responsive Reading: Another question to ask … Do I depend on the opinions of other people (or on pro-and-con lists) when I am searching for answers, or go directly to God (Mind, Truth, Love, Spirit) for help and direction? When you consider all that God does (creates the heaven and earth, opens blind eyes, takes off burdens) and how dependable God is – in charge forever – it seems like a “no-brainer” to choose God as the way to go! Yea God!!! Praise creative Mind by rejecting limiting mortal sense.
Section 1: “There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter.”
Mrs. Eddy connects this first line with Paul’s statement when she writes, “St. Paul said to the Athenians, ‘For in Him we live, and move, and have our being.’ This statement is in substance identical with my own: ‘There is no life, truth, substance, nor intelligence in matter.'” (Retrospection and Introspection, p. 93 [more quoted in PSST#1 below]) Although Paul acknowledged the Athenians religious nature (translated “superstitious in the KJV), he perceived the limited scope of their understanding. They didn’t KNOW God. Do we? They were trying to squeeze the infinite source of all things into the mold of material perceptions. Do we ever do that as we look to the body or the economy to judge the state of our well-being? Paul introduced God as the Life-giving Principle in which we (and all reality) live, move, and have being. That can’t be contained in a material form. (B-1) Centuries later, Mary Baker Eddy expanded on Paul’s teachings and put into words the scientific statement of being that defines God as Mind, as All-in-all, as Spirit, Truth – that which is real and eternal. [See PSSTs #1 to follow for Albert Einstein’s comment that the Scientific Statement of Being was “The most profound statement ever uttered by mankind.”] Spirit, Mind, being All-in-all (a term Webster connects with wholeness, healing, and every thing desired – see Student’s Reference Dictionary), it is clear that life, truth and substance cannot be squeezed into limited matter any more than God could be squeezed into the man-made forms of gold, silver, or stone that Paul observed. Look at the Scientific Statement of Being with fresh eyes. As you use this statement to really get to KNOW the All-in-all God as Spirit, Mind, Truth, you will recognize that all life, truth, intelligence and substance are in and of this infinite Spirit, Mind, Truth, All. Mortal experience doesn’t define God (Life); God (Mind) defines immortal man. We need to live accordingly.
Section 2: “All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all!” Look at how beautifully this second line of the Scientific Statement of Being is substantiated in the Bible. The discourse in Jeremiah was most likely written for people who were surrounded by heathens and needed to be alert to the worship of idolatry. What idols are we tempted to worship today? The mortal body, terminal illness and quick-fix drugs, the sun, time, the allure of alcohol and gambling, checkbook balances, personal ego and comparison? The forms may have changed from 2600 years ago, but the bottom line remains the same: idols are worthless; they are ridiculous lies! On the other hand, there is nothing so great and powerful as God! (B-2; NLT) Look for the words in the Bible that relate to Mind in this section: wisdom, discretion, knowledge, thoughts, understanding. (B2-5) Science and Health sums it up: “God is Mind, and God is infinite; hence all is Mind.” (S-2) Just as ancient idols were a human creation, modern idols are formed from the human supposition (opinion) that life, substance, and intelligence are in matter, or of it. (S-3) But, Mind expresses itself in ideas. (S-7) Ideas are real and tangible, and safe in the Mind that forms them. Consider the fact that no one can reach into your thought and mess with an idea that you have – can’t destroy it or change anything about it. It is YOUR idea. Now, think of yourself as an IDEA of God – Mind. Nothing can reach Mind’s idea or change what God has created. Realizing this fact enables you to maintain your freedom to be whole, well, undisturbed, cared for. The basic idolatry of the present age is the belief that there are many minds and that matter creates. It suggests that life exists independent of Mind and is at the mercy of matter. It may even suggest that life outside of matter is dull! But, exactly the opposite is true. The ONLY good that lasts and satisfies is spiritual good – the kind that can’t be destroyed, and brings blessings. (S-6 and Hymn 263) Get to know God as Mind, and the evidence that misleads thought down dead-end roads will be destroyed and infinite possibilities will be revealed!
Section 3: “Spirit is immortal Truth; matter is mortal error.“
Sometimes it seems hard to keep focused on the substance of Spirit (immortal Truth) when everything appears to be so material. But, what we call matter is simply a case of mistaken identity – something worthless appearing as viable. Tares initially look good – like wheat. But, the truth comes out when the harvest comes. (B-9) The message to the Galatians, echoing the Golden Text, is clear… what you plant, you harvest. (B-7) Be careful what thoughts you are planting. Are you investing in a limited view of a vulnerable physical body, instant gratification, and beliefs of limitation – or acknowledging the infinite nature of Spirit? The parable of the tares (weeds) and the wheat help us realize that as we patiently persist in our DESIRE to harvest only the good, it will become apparent that “Truth is made manifest by its effects upon the human mind and body, healing sickness and destroying sin.” (S-10) Truth is harmonious; error is discordant. Harmony (all things working together) is forever, indestructible. Discord (conflicting elements) must, by nature ultimate in death and destruction. (S-8) Matter is a false view of reality that says there are many elements – with the potential to conflict with one another. Error results from something out of place (a number that doesn’t belong in the equation produces an error in the solution.) Spirit is the clear view of ONE Truth, ONE Life, expressed in a multitude of expression, but always stemming from one source (Principle) and so uniting, harmonizing, and blessing the whole (like numbers that belong in an equation being applied with correct operations and arriving at an accurate solution.) Spirit and matter are opposites – as harmony and conflict are opposites. We easily recognize suggestions of war, disease, hate, etc. as things we don’t want. But, what about the suggestion that health and strength are in a mortal body, or that joy is the result of human circumstances, and can be lost? Immortal Truth CAN’T be changed or reversed. Joy, health, and abundance are of Spirit – God – and are enduring. They are never dependent on physical conditions, and are reported through spiritual sense – communicated by infinite Mind. As these qualities develop in thought, you harvest good. And, as you do, it becomes apparent that reports of health (or disease), joy (or sadness), abundance (or lack) based on reports of professional opinion or physical condition are bogus and unreliable. Take stock of your thoughts – really examine what you are relying on to draw your conclusions. Burn (totally destroy) the tares (the mortal weeds that can fluctuate or become discordant) and gather (into the barn of your consciousness) the wheat (the immortal fruit of depending ONLY on the fact that health, joy, and abundance are spiritual qualities that are eternally yours because they are part of the seed that was originally sown.) Don’t spend time examining the weeds. Focus on pulling in the wheat (the spiritual facts) and the weeds will naturally go up in smoke. (S-11)
Section 4: “Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the unreal and temporal.” Little children are so pure, so innocent. They accept something as true even if they don’t completely understand why or how. Jesus emphasized the need to be more like little children if we are ever going to recognize the eternal harmony of the kingdom of heaven. (B-14) If you have two contradictory voices speaking to you, you have to choose which one to listen to. If you know one to be true and lasting, and the other to be false and temporary, the decision becomes much easier. The choice appears to be more difficult when one option SEEMS tangible (material testimony), while the other SEEMS vague (spiritual evidence). And yet the apparently tangible (the physical universe) proves to be anything BUT eternal and trustworthy, and that which is not apparent to the physical senses (spiritual intuition, faith, God’s love) prove to be eternal. (B-12) Faced with such a contradiction, a small child may go to a parent to get help discerning the facts. We need to go to our divine parent – Father, Mother Mind – to help us. Why do we continue to rely on the unreliable physical senses to tell us what’s real? These senses are “misdirected” – affirming that “life, substance, and intelligence are material, instead of spiritual.” (S-16) In cloudy conditions, a pilot has to rely on the plane’s instruments, rather than his physical senses, to keep him flying straight. Similarly, believing the report of the physical senses (testifying to matter as the source of harmony or discord) rather than spiritual sense (testifying to the eternal nature of unlimited, harmonious Spirit) will lead to a stall or a crash in your life. Little children respond so naturally to Spirit, because they simply accept the Truth of being at face value! The little girl who responded with “there is no sensation in matter” when she hurt her finger didn’t over-analyze the situation, or focus on what her finger was reporting, or on the “what-ifs.” Consequently, the evidence quickly shifted to what spiritual sense knew to be true. The less we clutter our -or our children’s thought – with sin or disease, the more natural it is to accept Spirit as real and eternal. (S-18) We’re then free to be Spirit’s pure witness. (B-15)
Section 5: “Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness.”
Now that we’ve determined that Spirit is immortal Truth, real, and eternal, it is natural to conclude that Spirit is God – all-acting, all-knowing, all-seeing, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. The first chapter of Genesis reveals man made in God’s image. (B-16) Man, as God’s image, must be spiritual and perfect. Thus, properly understood according to Christian Science, according to a full understanding of the divine principle of Jesus’ teaching and healing, man is seen to act, know, and see with the power, presence, and knowledge of perfect Spirit. (S-21) Notice that peace is indicated as the natural state of man in three of the Bible citations. (B17, 19 & 20) Jesus was filled with the Christ – the manifestation of virtue and Truth. He understood man’s perfect spiritual nature as the image of a perfect God. (S-22) When the woman came behind him and touched the hem (or tassel) of his robe, she felt the effect of that divine authority – allowing this recognition of her spiritual nature to displace the mortal imposition of disease. (B-20 & S-23) The tassels represented the authority of Jewish law to the wearer. Whether the woman knew it or not, she was reaching out to be touched by God’s law of harmony. Man is the idea of Mind. And, just as we maintain (sustain, uphold and defend) an idea we are cherishing, so we are (but even more-so) maintained and cherished as Mind’s idea, made in “His own image and likeness.” (S-25) We know we are making progress in “sowing to the Spirit” if harmony and immortality are becoming more apparent to us. We then feel more at peace. (S-24) We don’t have to wait for the body (or human circumstances) to change before we experience this change in view and feel the peace. As a wake MUST follow the boat, the body MUST reflect what governs it. Drive straight, the wake is straight. So, you don’t focus on the wake, but on steering the boat. Looking back only takes you off course. Steer thought according to Spirit. The body (and circumstances) MUST follow.
Section 6: “Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual.”
To think of ourselves as totally spiritual can seem like a stretch in the face of the physical evidence constantly telling us that we are material – subject to injury, illness, and despair. But, the Bible teaches us how to think in order to experience the freedom that comes from realizing that we – and all that surrounds us – ARE spiritual, and thus we start with perfection and completeness, and live in peace. (B-23) Once again the contrast is made between the flesh and the Spirit. Will you be led by the flesh – the testimony of the physical senses – or the Spirit? If you will admit to being led by the Spirit, you can claim your position as the son (the child) of God. (B-21) At the end of every church service, along with the Scientific Statement of Being, the first three verses of I John 3 are read. (B-22) What do these words tell us about who we are, and how do they relate to Mrs. Eddy’s statement? Take a careful look. To me, it says that because we are the children of God, we must be like God. So, because God is Spirit, we are spiritual. Because God is Mind, we are idea. Because God is Truth, we have integrity – we’re not a mixture of good and evil. Because God is Life, we are full of life (immortal and eternal.) Because God is Love, we are full of Love, without fear, anger, or hurt. Start from that standpoint of what man IS – what you ARE. You are immortal, having existed forever as an idea of Mind. Don’t be taken in by this mortal illusion that you live in and are governed by the limited suppositions of matter. If someone lined the walls of your house with mirrors that distorted the true image – some making you look like you were covered with green spots, others that made you look like you were full of holes, or stretched or squashed into a ridiculous shape – I doubt that you would fall for the trick. You know who you are and what you look like! You would simply fix the walls of your house, and again see your true selfhood. So, don’t be fooled by the belief that there is more than one Mind – that mortal mind ALSO produces life – and death. (S-29) In proportion as you let go of the belief that you live in limited matter, the facts of your unlimited potential of life and health and ability and freedom in Spirit will be seen as reality! Follow the logic. (S-28) Acknowledge Science (Spirit) – not the physical senses (flesh) – as your master. Be free!
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Camp Director’s Note: This sharing is the latest in an ongoing, seven-year series of CedarS Bible Lesson “mets” (metaphysical application ideas) contributed weekly by a rotation of CedarS Resident Practitioners and occasionally by other metaphysicians. (To keep the flow of the practitioner’s ideas intact and to allow for more selective printing the “Possible Sunday School Topics” and Homework options come on a following page or subsequent email.) This weekly email (and website posting) is intended to encourage further study and application of ideas in the lesson and to invigorate Sunday School participation by students and by the budding teachers on our staff. Originally sent JUST to my Sunday School students and 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, application 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. The thoughts presented are the inspiration of the moment and are offered to give a bit more dimension, background and new angles on daily applicability to some of the ideas and passages being studied. The weekly Bible Lessons are copyrighted by the Christian Science Publishing Society and are printed in the Christian Science Quarterly as available at Christian Science Reading Rooms or online at eBibleLesson.com or myBibleLesson.com. The citations referenced (i.e. B1 and 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, Camp Director, director@cedarscamps.org (636) 394-6162
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Possible Sunday School Topics by Merrill Boudreaux [& a staff SS teacher]
for the Sept. 15-21, 2008 Christian Science Bible Lesson: “Matter”
Possible Sunday School Topic [P.S.S.T. – Golden Text] – Who are you? who do you mind (or obey)?
[“Whatever you think about most, or have in mind most, is your God.” This comment by Mary Kessler shocked our high-school Sunday School class to challenge the mesmeric trend of Body-worship. The 1st, 2nd and 7th Commandments were also applied.]
Possible Sunday School Topic [P.S.S.T. – Responsive Reading and Section 1] – Make a list of the actions of God found in the Responsive Reading and in the Bible portion of Section 1. Add your own list of God actions of which you are aware. [Make sure to share God actions, convincing proofs, for you and your family. “If Christian Science reiterates St. Paul’s teaching, we, as Christian Scientists, should give to the world convincing proof of the validity of this scientific statement of being. Having perceived, in advance of others, this scientific fact, we owe to ourselves and to the world a struggle for its demonstration.” (Retrospection and Introspection, p. 93:22) Dr. William Frederick Underwood and his daughter, Nancy Kiefer were Christian Scientists who struggled for the demonstration of the scientific statement of being and gave convincing proofs of it to Dr. Albert Einstein. “Fifteen engineers, chemists and physicists on Dr. Underwood’s team at the Manhattan Project were accidently exposed to nuclear radiation and all died within one to three years after exposure. Although Underwood was also exposed to radiation poison – far more than the others – he was healed through prayer, even though all his organs had begun to bleed and deteriorate, and a neurodegenerative condition had set in. Any scars from this experience also disappeared…. His daughter, Nancy Kiefer, was also healed (by prayer) of nuclear radiation exposure. … Einstein had witnessed – and acknowledged – several healings accomplished by prayer alone, including a broken arm and leg of Underwood’s daughter, Nancy. Two and one-half hours after the accident, she came walking to the dinner table … then ate with the “broken” hand! Einstein acknowledged … a broken hip sustained by Dr. Underwood, and healed by prayer alone, in three days.” No wonder Einstein studied Christian Science and commented that the Scientific Statement of Being was “The most profound statement ever uttered by mankind.” All above quotes from page 220 of Physics, Metaphysics and God, by Jack W. Geiss, 2006, www.authorhouse.com.]
Possible Sunday School Topic [P.S.S.T. – Section 2] – Make a list of the material customs found in the Bible portion of Section 2. Make a list of the spiritual facts found in Section 2.
Possible Sunday School Topic [P.S.S.T. – Section 3] – Consider this: There was wheat in the beginning at the sowing, wheat in the middle, and wheat at the end. Were there ever tares? What would be their source? Is there and opposite to God, Creator? Then consider that the tares could only appear to the immature thought, that view that believed that wheat was actually tares. Thus the Master Metaphysician would not allow the servants to pull what they thought was tares, but in reality was wheat. So what happened at the harvest? Would there have been any tares to burn? If you answer yes, then go back over the story and answer: from where did the tares come? Is there an opposite to God? Can there be another power except God? Is there an outside to God? (See S&H 13.)
Possible Sunday School Topic [P.S.S.T. – Section 4] – Make a list of child-like qualities. How many of them come from God? What does your answer tell you about God and Her relation to all Her children? What is the “little child” story in the S&H portion of this Section?
Possible Sunday School Topic [P.S.S.T. – Section 5] – What is the benediction or blessing in the Bible portion of Section 5? (See Bible Marker 19, How about Bible marker 16?) What does acquaint mean? What is the result of acquainting thyself with God? (See S&H Marker 25.)
[You may want to use a Pin Cushion to illustrate how “Honey, I shrunk the kids!”- Every summer childlike thought has demonstrated dozens of convincing, instantaneous healings of seeming major injuries by putting the body’s claims in proper perspective. Even physical scientists tell us that if all the space were taken out between the atomic particles of your body, it would fit on the head of a pin. And those particles are themselves over 99% space. So what size on that pinhead or pinpoint is the injured finger, joint, bleeding organ or other part that seems to be bothering and preoccupying you? It’s easy to affirm the conclusion that you are spiritual!
Possible Sunday School Topic [P.S.S.T. – Section 6] – What is the great spiritual fact to be brought out in this section? (See S&H Marker 26.) What is the way to learn in Christian Science? What is the outcome? (See S&H Marker 30.) Now go back to Section 1 in S&H and take a look at the scientific statement of being. What does this statement affirm? What does this statement deny? What does this statement conclude?
Set this scientific statement of being up as a syllogism. A syllogism is a form of logic that has a Major Premise, a Minor Premise, and a Conclusion. It works this way: If the Major Premise is true, and the Minor Premise is true, then the Conclusion must be true.
So place the affirmations from the scientific statement of being in the Major Premise and place the denials in the Minor Premise. What then must be the conclusion?
Major Premise: If there is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter; and if all is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation; and Spirit is immortal Truth; and Spirit is the real and eternal; and Spirit is God; and man is His image and likeness
Minor Premise: If matter is mortal error; and matter is the unreal and temporal
Conclusion: Then man is not material; he is spiritual.
