Original subtitles

chapter 2

atonement and eucharist

and they that are christ's have

crucified the flesh with the affections

and lusts

saint

paul for christ sent me not to baptize

but to preach the gospel

saint paul

for i say unto you

i will not drink of the fruit of the

vine until the kingdom of god shall come

jesus

atonement is the exemplification of

man's unity with god

whereby man reflects divine truth

life and love

jesus of nazareth taught and

demonstrated man's oneness with the

father

and for this we owe him endless homage

his mission was both individual and

collective

he did life's work a right not only in

justice to himself

but in mercy to mortals

to show them how to do theirs

but not to do it for them

nor to relieve them of a single

responsibility

jesus acted boldly

against the accredited evidence of the

senses

against pharisaical creeds and practices

and he refuted all opponents with his

healing power

the atonement of christ

reconciles man to god

not god to man

for the divine principle of christ is

god

and how can god propitiate himself

christ is truth

which reaches no higher than itself

the fountain can rise no higher than its

source

christ's truth

could conciliate no nature above his own

derived from the eternal love

it was therefore christ's purpose

to reconcile man to god

not god to man

love and truth are not at war with god's

image and likeness

man cannot exceed divine love

and so atone for himself

even christ cannot reconcile truth to

error

for truth and error are irreconcilable

jesus aided in reconciling man to god

by giving man a truer sense of love

the divine principle of jesus teachings

and this truer sense of love redeems man

from the law of matter

sin

and death by the law of spirit

the law of divine love

the master forborn not to speak the

whole truth

declaring precisely what would destroy

sickness sin and death

although his teachings set households at

variance

and brought to material beliefs not

peace but a sword

every pang of repentance and suffering

every effort for reform

every good thought and deed

will help us to understand jesus

atonement for sin

and aid its efficacy

but if the sinner continues to pray and

repent

sin and be sorry

he has little part in the atonement

in the at one mint with god

for he lacks the practical repentance

which reforms the heart

and enables man to do the will of wisdom

those who cannot demonstrate at least in

part

the divine principle of the teachings

and practice of our master

have no part in god

if living in disobedience to him

we ought to feel no security

although god is good

jesus urged the commandment

thou shalt have no other gods before me

which may be rendered

thou shalt have no belief of life as

mortal

thou shalt not know evil

for there is one life

even god good

he rendered unto caesar the things which

are caesar's

and unto god

the things that are god's

he at last paid no homage to forms of

doctrine

or to theories of man

but acted and spake as he was moved

not by spirits

but by spirit

to the ritualistic priest and

hypocritical pharisee jesus said

the publicans and the harlots go into

the kingdom of god before you

jesus history made a new calendar

which we call the christian era

but he established no ritualistic

worship

he knew that men can be baptized partake

of the eucharist

support the clergy

observe the sabbath

make long prayers

and yet be sensual and sinful

jesus bore our infirmities

he knew the error of mortal belief

and with his stripes

the rejection of error

we are healed

despised and rejected of men

returning blessing for cursing

he taught mortals the opposite of

themselves

even the nature of god

and when error felt the power of truth

the scourge and the cross awaited the

great teacher

yet he swerved not

well knowing

that to obey the divine order

and trust god

saves retracing and traversing anew the

path from sin

to holiness

material belief is slow to acknowledge

what the spiritual fact implies

the truth

is the center of all religion

it commands sure entrance into the realm

of love

saint paul wrote

let us lay aside every weight

and the sin which doth so easily beset

us

and let us run with patience the race

that is set before us

that is

let us put aside material self and sense

and seek the divine principle and

science of all healing

if truth is overcoming error in your

daily walk in conversation

you can finally say

i have fought a good fight

i have kept the faith

because you are a better man

this is having our part

in the at one minute with truth and love

christians do not continue to labor and

pray

expecting because of another's goodness

suffering and triumph

that they shall reach his harmony and

reward

if the disciple is advancing spiritually

he is striving to enter in

he constantly turns away from material

sense

and looks towards the imperishable

things of spirit

if honest

he will be in earnest from the start

and gain a little each day in the right

direction

till at last he finishes his course with

joy

if my friends are going to europe

while i am enroute for california

we are not journeying together

we have separate timetables to consult

different routes to pursue

our paths have diverged at the very

outset

and we have little opportunity to help

each other

on the contrary

if my friends pursue my course

we have the same railroad guides

and our mutual interests are identical

or if i take up their line of travel

they help me on

and our companionship may continue

being in sympathy with matter

the worldly man is at the beck and call

of error

and will be attracted thitherward

he is like a traveler going westward for

a pleasure trip

the company is alluring

and the pleasure's exciting

after following the sun for six days

he turns east on the seventh

satisfied

if he can only imagine himself drifting

in the right direction

[Music]

by and by

ashamed of his zigzag course

he would borrow the passport of some

wiser pilgrim

thinking with the aid of this

to find and follow the right road

vibrating like a pendulum between sin

and the hope of forgiveness

selfishness and sensuality causing

constant retrogression

our moral progress will be slow

waking to christ's demand

mortals experience suffering

this causes them

even as drowning men

to make vigorous efforts to save

themselves

and through christ's precious love

these efforts are crowned with success

work out your own salvation is the

demand of life and love

for to this end

god worketh with you

occupy till i come

wait for your reward

and be not weary in well-doing

if your endeavors are beset by fearful

odds

and you receive no present reward

go not back to error

nor become a sluggard in the race

when the smoke of battle clears away

you will discern the good you have done

and receive according to your deserving

love is not hasty to deliver us from

temptation

for love means that we shall be tried

and purified

final deliverance from error

whereby we rejoice in immortality

boundless freedom

and sinless sense

is not reached through paths of flowers

nor by pinning one's faith without works

to another's vicarious

effort whosoever believeth that wrath is

righteous

or that divinity is appeased by human

suffering

does not understand god

justice requires reformation of the

sinner

mercy cancels the debt only when justice

approves

revenge is inadmissible

wrath which is only appeased is not

destroyed

but partially indulged

wisdom and love may require many

sacrifices of self to save us from sin

one sacrifice however great

is insufficient to pay the debt of sin

the atonement requires constant

self-immolation on the sinner's part

that god's wrath should be vented upon

his beloved son

is divinely unnatural

such a theory is man-made

the atonement is a hard problem in

theology

but its scientific explanation is that

suffering is an error of sinful sense

which truth destroys

and that eventually

both sin and suffering

will fall at the feet of everlasting

love

rabbinical lore said

he that taketh one doctrine firm in

faith

has the holy ghost dwelling in him

this preaching receives a strong rebuke

in the scripture

faith without works is dead

faith

if it be mere belief

is as a pendulum swinging between

nothing and something

having no fixity

faith

advanced to spiritual understanding

is the evidence gained from spirit

which rebukes sin of every kind

and establishes the claims of god

in hebrew greek latin and english

faith and the words corresponding

thereto

have these two definitions

trustfulness

and trustworthiness

one kind of faith trusts one's welfare

to others

another kind of faith understands divine

love

and how to work out one's own salvation

with fear and trembling

lord i believe

help thou mine unbelief

expresses the helplessness of a blind

faith

whereas the injunction

believe

and thou shalt be saved

demands self-reliant trustworthiness

which includes spiritual understanding

and confides all to god

the hebrew verb to believe

means also to be firm

or to be constant

this certainly applies to truth and love

understood and practiced

firmness in error will never save from

sin disease and death

acquaintance with the original texts

and willingness to give up human beliefs

established by hierarchies and

instigated sometimes by the worst

passions of men

open the way for christian science to be

understood

and make the bible the chart of life

where the buoys and healing currents of

truth are pointed out

he to whom the arm of the lord is

revealed

will believe our report

and rise into newness of life with

regeneration

this is having part in the atonement

this is the understanding in which jesus

suffered and triumphed

the time is not distant when the

ordinary theological views of atonement

will undergo a great change

a change as radical as that which has

come over popular opinions

in regard to predestination

and future punishment

does erudite theology regard the

crucifixion of jesus

chiefly as providing a ready pardon for

all sinners who ask for it

and are willing to be forgiven

does spiritualism find jesus death

necessary only for the presentation

after death

of the material jesus

as a proof that spirits can return to

earth

then we must differ from them both

the efficacy of the crucifixion

lay in the practical affection and

goodness it demonstrated for mankind

the truth had been lived among men

but until they saw that it enabled their

master to triumph over the grave

his own disciples could not admit such

an event to be possible

after the resurrection

even the unbelieving thomas was forced

to acknowledge how complete was the

great proof

of truth and love

the spiritual essence of blood

is sacrifice

the efficacy of jesus spiritual offering

is infinitely greater than can be

expressed by our sense of human blood

the material blood of jesus

was no more efficacious to cleanse from

sin when it was shed upon the accursed

tree

than when it was flowing in his veins

as he went daily about his father's

business

his true flesh and blood

were his life

and they truly eat his flesh and drink

his blood who partake of that divine

life

jesus taught the way of life by

demonstration

that we may understand how this divine

principle heals the sick

casts out error

and triumphs over death

jesus presented the ideal of god

better than could any man whose origin

was less spiritual

by his obedience to god

he demonstrated more spiritually than

all others the principle of being

hence the force of his admonition

if ye love me

keep my commandments

though demonstrating his control over

sin and disease

the great teacher by no means relieved

others from giving the requisite proofs

of their own piety

he worked for their guidance

that they might demonstrate this power

as he did

and understand its divine principle

implicit faith in the teacher

and all the emotional love we can bestow

on him

will never alone make us imitators of

him

we must go and do likewise

else we are not improving the great

blessings which our master worked and

suffered to bestow upon us

the divinity of the christ was made

manifest in the humanity of jesus

while we adore jesus

and the heart overflows with gratitude

for what he did for mortals

treading alone his loving pathway

up to the throne of glory

in speechless agony exploring the way

for us

yet jesus spares us not one individual

experience

if we follow his commands

faithfully and all have the cup of

sorrowful effort to drink

in proportion to their demonstration of

his love

till all are redeemed through divine

love

the christ was the spirit which jesus

implied in his own statements

i am the way

the truth and the life

i and my father are one

this christ

or divinity of the man jesus

was his divine nature

the godliness which animated him

divine truth

life

and love

gave jesus authority over sin

sickness and death

his mission was to reveal the science of

celestial being

to prove what god is

and what he does for man

a musician demonstrates the beauty of

the music he teaches

in order to show the learner the way by

practice

as well as precept

jesus teaching and practice of truth

involved such a sacrifice

as makes us admit its principle to be

love

this was the precious import of our

master's sinless career

and of his demonstration of power over

death

he proved by his deeds

that christian science destroys sickness

sin

and death

our master taught no mere theory

doctrine or belief

it was the divine principle

of all real being which he taught and

practiced

his proof of christianity

was no form or system of religion and

worship but christian science

working out the harmony of life and love

jesus sent a message to john the baptist

which was intended to prove beyond a

question

that the christ had come

go your way and tell john what things ye

have seen and heard

how that the blind see the lame walk

the lepers are cleansed

the deaf hear

the dead are raised

to the poor the gospel is preached

in other words

tell john what the demonstration of

divine power is

and he will at once perceive that god is

the power

in the messianic work

that life is god

jesus proved by his reappearance after

the crucifixion

in strict accordance with his scientific

statement

destroy this temple

body

and in three days i

spirit

will raise it up

it is as if he had said

the i

the life substance and intelligence of

the universe

is not in matter to be destroyed

jesus parables explain life

as never mingling with sin and death

he laid the acts of science at the root

of material knowledge

that it might be ready to cut down the

false doctrine of pantheism

that god or life

is in or of matter

jesus sent forth 70 students at one time

but only 11 left a desirable historic

record

tradition credits him with two or three

hundred other disciples

who have left no name

many are called but few are chosen

they fell away from grace

because they never truly understood

their master's instruction

[Music]

why do those who profess to follow

christ

reject the essential religion he came to

establish

jesus persecutors made their strongest

attack upon this very point

they endeavored to hold him at the mercy

of matter

and to kill him

according to certain assumed material

laws

the pharisees claimed to know and to

teach the divine will but they only

hindered the success of jesus mission

even many of his students stood in his

way

if the master had not taken a student

and taught the unseen verities of god

he would not have been crucified

the determination to hold spirit in the

grasp of matter

is the persecutor of truth and love

while respecting all that is good in the

church or out of it

one's consecration to christ is more on

the ground of demonstration

than of profession

in conscience we cannot hold to beliefs

outgrown

and by understanding more of the divine

principle of the deathless christ

we are enabled to heal the sick

and to triumph over sin

[Music]

neither the origin the character nor the

work of jesus was generally understood

not a single component part of his

nature did the material world measure a

right

even his righteousness and purity

did not hinder men from saying

he is a glutton

and a friend of the impure

and beelzebub is his patron

remember thou christian martyr

it is enough if thou art found worthy to

unloose the sandals of thy master's feet

to suppose that persecution for

righteousness sake belongs to the past

and that christianity today is at peace

with the world

because it is honored by sects and

societies is to mistake the very nature

of religion

error repeats itself

the trials encountered by prophet

disciple and apostle

of whom the world was not worthy

await in some form

every pioneer of truth

there is too much animal courage in

society

and not sufficient moral courage

christians must take up arms against

error at home and abroad

they must grapple with sin in themselves

and in others

and continue this warfare

until they have finished their course

if they keep the faith

they will have the crown of rejoicing

christian experience teaches faith in

the right

and disbelief in the wrong

it bids us work the more earnestly in

times of persecution

because then our labor is more needed

great is the reward of self-sacrifice

though we may never receive it in this

world

there is a tradition that publius

lentilus wrote to the authorities at

rome

quote

the disciples of jesus believe him the

son of god end quote

those instructed in christian science

have reached the glorious perception

that god is the only author of man

the virgin mother conceived this idea of

god

and gave to her ideal the name of jesus

that is

joshua or savior

the illumination of mary's spiritual

sense

put to silence material law

and its order of generation

and brought forth her child by the

revelation of truth

demonstrating god as the father of men

the holy ghost

or divine spirit

overshadowed the pure sense of the

virgin mother

with the full recognition

that being is spirit

the christ dwelt forever an idea in the

bosom of god the divine principle of the

man jesus

and woman perceived this spiritual idea

though at first faintly developed

man as the offspring of god

as the idea of spirit

is the immortal evidence that spirit is

harmonious

and man eternal

jesus was the offspring of mary's

self-conscious communion with god

hence he could give a more spiritual

idea of life than other

men and could demonstrate the science of

love

his father

or divine principle

born of a woman

jesus advent in the flesh partook partly

of mary's earthly condition

although

he was endowed with the christ

the divine spirit

without measure

this accounts for his struggles in

gethsemane and on calvary

and this enabled him to be the mediator

or wayshower

between god and men

had his origin and birth been holy apart

from mortal usage

jesus would not have been appreciable to

mortal mind

as the

way

rabbi and priest taught the mosaic law

which said

an eye for an eye

and whoso sheddeth man's blood

by man shall his blood be shed

not so did jesus

the new executor for god

present the divine law of love

which blesses even those that curse it

as the individual ideal of truth

christ jesus came to rebuke rabbinical

error and all sin

sickness and death

to point out the way of truth and life

this ideal was demonstrated throughout

the whole earthly career of jesus

showing the difference between the

offspring of soul

and of material sense

of truth

and of error

if we have triumphed sufficiently over

the errors of material since

to allow soul to hold the control

we shall loathe sin and rebuke it under

every

mask only in this way

can we bless our enemies

though they may not so construe our

words

we cannot choose for ourselves

but must work out our salvation

in the way jesus taught

in meekness

and might

he was found preaching the gospel to the

poor pride and fear

are unfit to bear the standard of truth

and god will never place it in such

hands

jesus acknowledged no ties of the flesh

he said

call no man your father upon the earth

for one is your father

which is in heaven

again he asked who is my mother

and who are my brethren

implying

that it is they who do the will of his

father

we have no record of his calling any man

by the name of father

he recognized spirit

god

as the only creator

and therefore as the father of all

first in the list of christian duties

he taught his followers the healing

power of truth and love

he attached no importance to dead

ceremonies

it is the living christ

the practical truth

which makes jesus the resurrection and

the life

to all who follow him indeed

obeying his precious precepts

following his demonstration so far as we

apprehend it

we drink of his cup

partake of his bread

are baptized with his purity

and at last we shall rest

sit down with him

in a full understanding

of the divine principle

which triumphs over death

for what says paul

as often as ye eat this bread and drink

this cup

ye to show the lord's death till he come

end quote

referring to the materiality of the age

jesus said the hour cometh and now is

when the true worshipers shall worship

the father in spirit

and in truth

again

for seeing the persecution

which would attend the science of spirit

jesus said

they shall put you out of the synagogues

yea

the time cometh

that whosoever killeth you

will think that he do with god's service

and these things will they do unto you

because they have not known the father

nor me

in ancient rome a soldier was required

to swear allegiance to his general

the latin word for this oath

was sacramentum

and our english word sacrament is

derived from it

among the jews it was an ancient custom

for the master of a feast

to pass each guest a cup of wine

but the eucharist does not commemorate a

roman soldier's oath

nor was the wine used on convivial

occasions and in jewish rites

the cup of our lord

the cup shows forth his bitter

experience

the cup which he prayed might pass from

him

though he bowed in holy submission to

the divine decree

quote

as they were eating

jesus took bread

and blessed it and break it

and gave it to the disciples and said

take

eat

this is my body

and he took the cup and gave thanks

and gave it to them saying

drink ye all of it

end quote

the true sense is spiritually lost if

the sacrament is confined to the use of

bread and wine

the disciples had eaten

yet jesus prayed and gave them bread

this would have been foolish in a

literal sense

but in its spiritual signification

it was natural and beautiful

jesus prayed

he withdrew from the material senses to

refresh his heart with brighter

with spiritual views

[Music]

the passover

which jesus ate with his disciples in

the month nissan

on the night before his crucifixion

was a mournful occasion

[Music]

a sad supper taken at the close of day

in the twilight of a glorious career

with shadows fast falling around

and this supper

closed forever

jesus ritualism

or concessions to matter

his followers

sorrowful and silent

anticipating the hour of their master's

betrayal

partook of the heavenly manna

which of old had fed in the wilderness

the persecuted followers of truth

their bread indeed came down from heaven

it was the great truth of spiritual

being

healing the sick and casting out error

their master had explained it all before

and now this bread was feeding and

sustaining them

they had borne this bread from house to

house

breaking

explaining

it to others

and now it comforted themselves

for this truth of spiritual being

their master was about to suffer

violence

and drain to the dregs his cup of sorrow

he must leave them

with the great glory of an everlasting

victory overshadowing him

he gave thanks and said

drink ye all of it

when the human element in him struggled

with the divine

our great teacher said

not my will

but thine be done

that is

let not the flesh

but the spirit be represented in me

this is the new understanding

of spiritual love

it gives all for christ or truth

it blesses its enemies

heals the sick

casts out error

raises the dead from trespasses and sins

and preaches the gospel to the poor

the meek in heart

christians

are you drinking his cup

have you shared the blood of the new

covenant

the persecutions which attend a new and

higher understanding of god

if not

can you then say that you have

commemorated jesus in his cup

are all who eat bread and drink wine in

memory of jesus

willing truly to drink his cup

take his cross

and leave all for the christ principle

then why ascribe this inspiration to a

dead right

instead of showing by casting out error

and making the body holy acceptable unto

god

that truth has come to the understanding

if christ's truth has come to us in

demonstration

no other commemoration is requisite

for demonstration is emmanuel

or god with us

and if a friend be with us

why need we memorials of that friend

if all whoever partook of the sacrament

had really commemorated the sufferings

of jesus

and drunk of his cup

they would have revolutionized the world

if all who seek his commemoration

through material symbols

will take up the cross

heal the sick

cast out evils

and preach christ or truth to the poor

the receptive thought

they will bring in the millennium

through all the disciples experienced

they became more spiritual and

understood better

what the master had taught

his resurrection was also their

resurrection

it helped them to raise themselves and

others from spiritual dullness and blind

belief in god

into the perception of infinite

possibilities

they needed this quickening

for soon their dear master would rise

again in the spiritual realm of reality

and ascend far above their apprehension

as the reward for his faithfulness

he would disappear to material sense

in that change which has since been

called the ascension

what a contrast between our lord's last

supper

and his last spiritual breakfast with

his disciples

in the bright morning hours at the

joyful meeting on the shore of the

galilean sea

his gloom had passed into glory

and his disciples grief into repentance

hearts chastened and pried rebuked

convinced of the fruitlessness of their

toil in the dark

and awakened by their master's voice

they changed their methods

turned away from material things

and cast their net on the right side

discerning christ's truth anew on the

shore of time

they were enabled to rise somewhat from

mortal sensuousness

or the burial of mind in matter

into newness of life

as spirit

this spiritual meeting with our lord

in the dawn of a new light

is the morning meal which christian

scientists commemorate

they bow before christ

truth

to receive more of his reappearing

and silently to commune with the divine

principle

love

they celebrate their lord's victory over

death

his probation in the flesh after death

its exemplification of human probation

and his spiritual and final ascension

above matter

or the flesh

when he rose out of material sight

our baptism

is a purification from all

error

our church is built on the divine

principle love

we can unite with this church only as we

are newborn of spirit

as we reach the life which is truth

and the truth which is life

by bringing forth the fruits of love

casting out error

and healing the sick

our eucharist is spiritual communion

with the one god

our bread

which cometh down from heaven

is truth

our cup is the cross

our wine the inspiration of love

the draft our master drank

and commended to his followers

the design of love

is to reform the sinner

if the sinner's punishment here has been

insufficient to reform him

the good man's heaven would be a hell to

the sinner

they who know not purity and affection

by experience

can never find bliss in the blessed

company of truth and love

simply through translation into another

sphere

divine science reveals the necessity of

sufficient suffering

either before or after death

to quench the love of sin

to remit the penalty due for sin

would be for truth to pardon error

escape from punishment is not in

accordance with god's government

since justice

is the handmaid of mercy

jesus endured the shame

that he might pour his dearbot bounty

into barren lives

what was his earthly reward

he was forsaken by all saved john

the beloved disciple

and a few women who bowed in silent woe

beneath the shadow of his cross

the earthly price of spirituality

in a material age

and the great moral distance between

christianity and sensualism

preclude christian science from finding

favor with the worldly minded

a selfish and limited mind may be unjust

but the unlimited and divine mind is the

immortal law of justice as well as of

mercy

it is quite as impossible for sinners to

receive their full punishment

this side of the grave

as for this world to bestow on the

righteous their full reward

it is useless to suppose that the wicked

can gloat over their offenses to the

last moment

and then be suddenly pardoned and pushed

into heaven

or that the hand of love is satisfied

with giving us only toil

sacrifice

cross bearing

multiplied trials

and mockery of our motives

in return for our efforts at well-doing

religious history repeats itself

in the suffering of the just for the

unjust

can god therefore overlook the law of

righteousness which destroys the belief

called sin

does not science show that sin brings

suffering as much today as yesterday

they who sin

must suffer

with what measure ye meet it shall be

measured to you again

end quote

history is full of records of suffering

the blood of the martyrs is the seed of

the church

mortals try in vain to slay truth with

the steel or the stake

but error falls only before the sword of

spirit

martyrs are the human links which

connect one stage with another

in the history of religion

they are earth's luminaries

which serve to cleanse and rarify the

atmosphere

of material sense

and to permeate humanity with purer

ideals

consciousness of right doing brings its

own reward

but not amid the smoke of battle is

merit seen and appreciated

by lookers on

when will jesus professed followers

learn to emulate him in all his ways

and to imitate his mighty works

those who procured the martyrdom of that

righteous man

would gladly have turned his sacred

career

into a mutilated doctrinal platform

may the christians of today

take up the more practical import of

that career

it is possible

yay

it is the duty and privilege of every

child man and woman

to follow in some degree the example of

the master

by the demonstration of truth and life

of health

and holiness

christians claim to be his

followers but do they follow him in the

way that he commanded

hear these imperative commands

be ye therefore perfect

even as your father which is in heaven

is perfect

go ye into all the world and preach the

gospel to every creature

heal the sick

end quote

why has this christian demand so little

inspiration to stir mankind to christian

effort

because men are assured that this

command was intended only for a

particular period

and for a select number of followers

this teaching

is even more pernicious than the old

doctrine of for ordination

the election of a few to be saved

while the rest are damned

and so it will be considered

when the lethargy of mortals produced by

man-made doctrines

is broken by the demands of divine

science

jesus said

these signs shall follow them that

believe

they shall lay hands on the sick

and they shall recover

who believes him

he was addressing his disciples

yet he did not say

these signs shall follow you

but them

them that believe

in all time to come

here the word hands is used

metaphorically

as in the text

the right hand of the lord is exalted

it expresses spiritual power

otherwise the healing could not have

been done spiritually

at another time jesus prayed

not for the twelve only

but for as many as should believe

through their word

jesus experienced few of the pleasures

of the physical senses

but his sufferings were the fruits of

other people's sins

not of his own

the eternal christ

his spiritual selfhood

never suffered

jesus mapped out the path for others

he unveiled the christ

the spiritual idea of divine love

to those buried in the belief of sin and

self

living only for pleasure

or the gratification of the senses

he said in substance

having eyes ye see not

and having ears ye hear not

lest ye should understand and be

converted and i might heal you

he taught that the material senses shut

out truth

and its healing power

meekly our master met the mockery of his

unrecognized grandeur

such indignities as he received

his followers will endure

until christianity's

last triumph

he won eternal honors

he overcame the world

the flesh

and all error

thus proving their nothingness

he wrought a full salvation from sin

sickness and death

we need christ and him crucified

we must have trials

and self-denials

as well as joys and victories

until all error is destroyed

the educated belief that soul is in the

body

causes mortals to regard death as a

friend

as a stepping stone out of mortality

into immortality and bliss

the bible calls death an enemy

and jesus overcame death and the grave

instead of yielding to them

he was the way

to him therefore death was not the

threshold over which he must pass

into living glory

now cried the apostle

is the accepted time

behold

now is the day of salvation

meaning not that now men must prepare

for a future world salvation or safety

but that now is the time in which to

experience that salvation

in spirit

and in life

now is the time for so-called material

pains and material pleasures to pass

away

for both are unreal

because impossible in science

to break this earthly spell

mortals must get the true idea

and divine principle of all that really

exists

and governs the universe harmoniously

this thought is apprehended slowly

and the interval before its attainment

is attended with doubts and defeats

as well as triumphs

who will stop the practice of sin

so long as he believes in the pleasures

of sin

when mortals once admit that evil

confers no pleasure

they turn from it

remove error from thought

and it will not appear in effect

the advanced thinker and devout

christian

perceiving the scope and tendency of

christian healing and its science

will support them

another will say

go thy way for this time

when i have a convenient season

i will call for thee

divine science adjusts the balance as

jesus adjusted it

science removes the penalty only by

first removing the sin which incurs the

penalty

this is my sense of divine pardon

which i understand to mean

god's method of destroying sin

if the saying is true

while there's life there's hope

it's opposite is also true

while there's sin

there's doom

another's suffering cannot lessen our

own liability

did the martyrdom

of savannah rolla

make the crimes of his implacable

enemies less criminal

was it just for jesus to suffer

no

but it was inevitable

for not otherwise could he show us the

way and the power of truth

if a career so great and good as that of

jesus could not avert a felon's fate

lesser apostles of truth may endure

human brutality without murmuring

rejoicing to enter into fellowship with

him

through the triumphal ark of truth and

love

our heavenly father

divine love

demands that all men should follow the

example of our master and his apostles

and not merely worship his personality

it is sad that the phrase divine service

has come so generally to mean public

worship

instead of daily deeds

the nature of christianity is peaceful

and blessed

but in order to enter into the kingdom

the anchor of hope must be cast beyond

the veil of matter

into the shekinah into which jesus has

passed before us

and this advance beyond matter

must come through the joys and triumphs

of the righteous

as well as through their sorrows and

afflictions

like our master

we must depart from material sense

into the spiritual sense of being

the god inspired walk calmly on

though it be with bleeding footprints

and in the hereafter

they will reap what they now sow

the pampered hypocrite

may have a flowery pathway here

but he cannot forever break the golden

rule

and escape the penalty do

the proofs of truth

life and love

which jesus gave by casting out error

and healing the sick

completed his earthly mission

but in the christian church

this demonstration of healing was early

lost

three centuries after the crucifixion

no ancient school of philosophy

materia medica

or scholastic theology

ever taught or demonstrated

the divine healing

of absolute science

jesus foresaw the reception christian

science would have before it was

understood but this foreknowledge

hindered him not

he fulfilled his god mission

and then sat down at the right hand of

the father

persecuted from city to city

his apostles still went about doing good

deeds

for which they were maligned and stoned

the truth taught by jesus

the elders scoffed at

why

because it demanded more than they were

willing to practice

it was enough for them to believe in a

national deity

but that belief

from their time to hours

has never made a disciple who could cast

out evils and heal the

sick

jesus life proved divinely and

scientifically

that god is love

whereas

priest and rabbi affirmed god to be a

mighty potentate

who loves and hates

the jewish theology gave no hint

of the unchanging love of god

universal belief in death

is of no advantage

it cannot make life or truth apparent

death will be found at length to be a

mortal dream

which comes in darkness

and disappears with the light

the man of sorrows

was in no peril from salary or

popularity

though entitled to the homage of the

world

and endorsed preeminently by the

approval of god

his brief triumphal entry into jerusalem

was followed by the desertion of all

save a few friends

who sadly followed him to the foot of

the cross

the resurrection of the great

demonstrator of god's power

was the proof of his final triumph over

body and matter

and gave full evidence of divine science

evidence so important to mortals

the belief that man has existence or

mind separate from god

is a dying error

this error jesus met with divine science

and proved its nothingness

because of the wondrous glory which god

bestowed on his anointed

temptation

sin

sickness and death

had no terror for jesus

let men think they had killed the body

afterwards

he would show it to them unchanged

this demonstrates

that in christian science

the true man is governed by god

by good not evil

and is therefore not immortal

but an immortal

jesus had taught his disciples the

science of this proof

he was here to enable them to test his

still uncomprehended saying

he that believeth on me

the works that i do shall he do also

they must understand more fully his life

principle

by casting out error

healing the sick

and raising the dead

even as they did understand it after his

bodily departure

the magnitude of jesus work

his material disappearance before their

eyes

and his reappearance

all enabled the disciples to understand

what jesus had said

heretofore

they had only believed

now they understood

the advent of this understanding is what

is meant by the descent of the holy

ghost

that influx of divine science

which so illuminated the pentecostal day

and is now repeating its ancient history

jesus last proof was the highest

the most convincing

the most profitable to his students

the malignity of brutal persecutors

the treason and suicide of his betrayer

were overruled by divine love

to the glorification of the man

and of the true idea of god

which jesus persecutors had mocked

and tried to slay

the final demonstration of the truth

which jesus taught

and for which he was crucified

opened a new era for the world

those who slew him to stay his influence

perpetuated and extended it

jesus rose higher in demonstration

because of the cup of bitterness he

drank

human law had condemned him

but he was demonstrating divine science

out of reach of the barbarity of his

enemies

he was acting under spiritual law

in defiance of matter and mortality

and that spiritual law sustained him

the divine must overcome the human at

every point

the science jesus taught and lived

must triumph over all material beliefs

about life substance and intelligence

and the multitudinous errors growing

from such beliefs

love

must triumph over hate

truth and life

must seal the victory over error and

death

before the thorns can be laid aside for

a crown

the benediction

follow well done

good and faithful servant

and the supremacy of spirit be

demonstrated

the lonely precincts of the tomb gave

jesus of refuge from his foes

a place in which to solve the great

problem of being

his three days work in the sepulcher

set the seal of eternity on time

he proved life to be deathless

and love to be the master of hate

he met and mastered on the basis of

christian science

the power of mind over matter

all the claims of medicine

surgery

and hygiene

he took no drugs to allay inflammation

he did not depend upon food or pure air

to resuscitate wasted energies

he did not require the skill of a

surgeon

to heal the torn palms

and bind up the wounded side and

lacerated feet

that he might use those hands to remove

the napkin and winding sheet

and that he might employ his feet as

before

could it be called supernatural

for the god of nature to sustain jesus

in his proof

of man's truly derived power

it was a method of surgery

beyond material art

but it was not a supernatural act

on the contrary

it was a divinely natural act

whereby

divinity brought to humanity

the understanding of the christ's

healing

and revealed a method infinitely above

that of human invention

his disciples believed jesus to be dead

while he was hidden in the sepulchre

whereas

he was alive

demonstrating within the narrow tomb

the power of spirit

to overrule mortal material sense

there were rock-ribbed walls in the way

and a great stone must be rolled from

the cave's mouth

but jesus vanquished every material

obstacle

overcame every law of matter

and stepped forth from his gloomy

resting place

crowned with the glory of a sublime

success

an everlasting victory

our master fully and finally

demonstrated divine science

in his victory over death and the grave

jesus deed was for the enlightenment of

men

and for the salvation of the whole world

from sin

sickness

and death

paul writes

for if when we were enemies

we were reconciled to god

by the seeming death of his son

much more being reconciled

we shall be saved by his life

end quote

three days after his bodily burial

he talked with his disciples

the persecutors had failed to hide

immortal truth and love in a sepulcher

glory be to god

and peace to the struggling hearts

christ hath rolled away the stone from

the door of human hope and faith

and through the revelation and

demonstration of life in god

hath elevated them

to possible at one moment with the

spiritual idea of man

and his divine principle

love

they who earliest saw jesus after the

resurrection

and beheld the final proof of all that

he had taught

misconstrued that event

even his disciples at first called him a

spirit

ghost

or spectre

for they believed his body to be dead

his reply was

spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye

see me have

the reappearing of jesus was not the

return of a spirit

he presented the same body that he had

before his crucifixion

and so glorified the supremacy of mind

over matter

jesus students

not sufficiently advanced fully to

understand their master's triumph

did not perform many wonderful works

until they saw him after his crucifixion

and learned that he had not died

this convinced them of the truthfulness

of all that he had taught

in the walk to emmaus

jesus was known to his friends by the

words which made their heart burn within

them

and by the breaking of bread

the divine spirit which identified jesus

thus centuries ago

has spoken through the inspired word

and will speak through it in every age

and climb

it is revealed to the receptive heart

and is again seen casting out evil

and healing the sick

the master said plainly

that physique was not spirit

and after his resurrection

he proved to the physical senses

that his body was not changed until he

himself ascended

or in other words

rose even higher in the understanding of

spirit

god

to convince thomas of this

jesus caused him to examine the nail

prints

and the spear wound

jesus unchanged physical condition

after what seemed to be death

was followed by his exaltation above all

material conditions

and this exaltation explained his

ascension

and revealed unmistakably

a probationary and progressive state

beyond the grave

jesus was the way

that is

he marked the way for all men

in his final demonstration called the

ascension

which closed the earthly record of jesus

he rose above the physical knowledge of

his disciples

and the material senses saw him

no more

his students then received the holy

ghost

by this is meant

that by all they had witnessed and

suffered

they were roused to an enlarged

understanding of divine science

even to the spiritual interpretation and

discernment

of jesus teachings and demonstrations

which gave them a faint conception of

the life which is god

they no longer measured man by material

sense

after gaining the true idea of their

glorified master

they became better healers

leaning no longer on matter

but on the divine principle of their

work

the influx of light was sudden

it was sometimes an overwhelming power

as on the day of pentecost

judas conspired against jesus

the world's ingratitude and hatred

towards that just man

affected his betrayal

the traitor's price was 30 pieces of

silver

and the smiles of the pharisees

he chose his time

when the people were in doubt concerning

jesus teachings

a period was approaching

which would reveal the infinite distance

between judas and his master

judas iscariot knew this

he knew

that the great goodness of that master

placed a gulf between jesus and his

betrayer

and this spiritual distance inflamed

judas's envy

the greed for gold strengthened his

ingratitude

and for a time quieted his remorse

he knew that the world generally loves a

lie better than truth

and so he plotted the betrayal of jesus

in order to raise himself in popular

estimation his dark plot fell to the

ground

and the traitor fell with it

the disciples desertion of their master

in his last earthly struggle was

punished

each one came to a violent death

except saint john

of whose death we have no record

during his night of gloom and glory in

the garden

jesus realized the utter error of a

belief in any possible material

intelligence

the pangs of neglect and the staves of

bigoted ignorance smote him sorely

his students slept

he said unto them

could ye not watch with me one hour

could they not watch with him

who

waiting and struggling in voiceless

agony

held uncomplaining guard over a world

there was no response to that human

yearning

and so

jesus turned forever away from earth to

heaven

from sense to soul

remembering the sweat of agony which

fell in holy benediction

on the grass of gethsemane

shall the humblest or mightiest disciple

murmur when he drinks from the same cup

and think

or even wish to escape the exalting

ordeal of sins revenge on its destroyer

truth and love

bestow few palms until the consummation

of a life work

judas had the world's weapons

jesus had not one of them

and chose not the world's means of

defense

he opened not his mouth

the great demonstrator of truth and love

was silent before envy and hate

peter would have smitten the enemies of

his master

but jesus forbad him

thus rebuking resentment or animal

courage

he said

put up thy sword

pale in the presence of his own

momentous question

what is truth

pilate was drawn into acquiescence with

the demands of jesus enemies

pilate was ignorant of the consequences

of his awful decision against human

rights and divine love

knowing not that he was hastening the

final demonstration

of what life is

and of what the true knowledge of god

can do for man

the women at the cross could have

answered pilate's question

they knew what had inspired their

devotion

winged their faith

opened the eyes of their understanding

healed the sick

cast out evil

and caused the disciples to say to their

master

even the devils are subject unto us

through thy name

where were the seventy whom jesus sent

forth

were all conspirators

save eleven

had they forgotten the great exponent of

god

had they so soon lost sight of his

mighty works

his toils probations

sacrifices

his divine patience

sublime courage

and unrequited affection

oh

why did they not gratify his last human

yearning

with one sign of fidelity

the meek demonstrator of good

the highest instructor and friend of man

met his earthly fate alone

with god

no human eye was there to pity

no arm to

save forsaken by all whom he had blessed

this faithful sentinel of god

at the highest post of power

charged with the grandest trust of

heaven

was ready to be transformed by the

renewing of the infinite spirit

he was to prove that the christ is not

subject to material conditions

but is above the reach of human wrath

and is able through truth

life and love

to triumph over sin

sickness

death and the grave

the priests and rabbis

before whom he had meekly walked

and those to whom he had given the

highest proofs of divine power

mocked him on the cross saying

derisively

he saved others

himself he cannot save

these scoffers

who turned aside the right of a man

before the face of the most high

esteemed jesus as stricken

smitten of

god he is brought as a lamb to the

slaughter

and as a sheep before her shearers is

dumb

so he openeth not his mouth

who shall declare his generation

who shall decide what truth and love are

the last supreme moment of mockery

desertion

torture

added to an overwhelming sense of the

magnitude of his work

run from jesus lips the awful cry

my god

why hast thou forsaken me

this despairing appeal

if made to a human parent

would impugn the justice and love of a

father who could withhold a clear token

of his presence

to sustain and bless so faithful a son

the appeal of jesus

was made both to his divine principle

the god who is love

and to himself

loves pure idea

had life truth and love forsaken him in

his highest demonstration

this was a startling question

no

they must abide in him and he in them

or that hour would be shorn of its

mighty blessing for the human race

if his full recognition of eternal life

had for a moment given way before the

evidence of the bodily senses

what would his accusers have said

even what they did say

that jesus teachings were false and that

all evidence of their correctness was

destroyed by his death

but this saying could not make it so

the burden of that hour was terrible

beyond human conception

the distrust of mortal minds

disbelieving the purpose of his mission

was a million times sharper than the

thorns which pierced his flesh

the real cross which jesus bore up the

hill of grief

was the world's hatred of truth and love

not the spear nor the material cross

rung from his faithful lips the

plaintive cry

eloe eloi

it was the possible loss of something

more important than human life which

moved him

the possible misapprehension

of the sublimest influence of his career

this dread

added the drop of gaul to his cup

jesus could have withdrawn himself from

his enemies

he had power to lay down a human sense

of life

for his spiritual identity

in the likeness of the divine

but he allowed men to attempt the

destruction of the mortal body

in order that he might furnish the proof

of immortal life

nothing could kill this life of man

jesus could give his temporal life into

his enemies hands

but when his earth mission was

accomplished

his spiritual life

indestructible and eternal

was found forever the same

he knew

that matter had no life

and that real life is god

therefore he could no more be separated

from his spiritual life

than god could be extinguished

his consummate example was for the

salvation of us all

but only through doing the works which

he did

and taught others to do

his purpose in healing

was not alone to restore health

but to demonstrate his divine principle

he was inspired by god

by truth and love

in all that he said and did

the motives of his persecutors were

pride

envy

cruelty and vengeance

inflicted on the physical jesus

but aimed at the divine principle love

which rebuked their sensuality

jesus was unselfish

his spirituality separated him from

sensuousness

and caused the selfish materialist to

hate him

but it was this

spirituality which enabled jesus to heal

the sick

cast out evil

and raised the dead

from early boyhood he was about his

father's business

his pursuits lay far apart from theirs

his master was spirit

their master was matter

he served god

they served mammon

his affections were pure

theirs were carnal

his senses drank in the spiritual

evidence of health holiness and life

their senses testified oppositely

and absorbed the material evidence of

sin

sickness

and death

their imperfections and impurity

felt the ever-present rebuke of his

perfection

and purity

hence the world's hatred of the just and

perfect jesus

and the prophet's foresight of the

reception error would give him

despised and rejected of men was

isaiah's graphic word concerning the

coming prince of peace

herod and pilate

laid aside old feuds in order to unite

in putting to shame and death

the best man that ever trod the globe

today

as of old

error and evil again make common cause

against the exponents of truth

the man of sorrows best understood the

nothingness of material life and

intelligence

and the mighty actuality

of all-inclusive god

good

these were the two cardinal points of

mind healing

or christian science

which armed him with love

the highest earthly representative of

god

speaking of human ability to reflect

divine power

prophetically said to his disciples

speaking not for their day only but for

all time

he that believeth on me

the works that i do shall he do also and

these signs shall follow them that

believe

the accusations of the pharisees

were as

self-contradictory as their religion

the bigot

the debauchee

the hypocrite

called jesus a glutton

and a wine bibber

they said

he cast out devils through beelzebub

and is the friend of publicans and

sinners

the latter accusation was true

but not in their meaning

jesus was no ascetic

he did not fast as did the baptist's

disciples

yet there never lived a man so far

removed from appetites and passions

as the nazarene

he rebuked sinners pointedly and

unflinchingly

because he was their friend

hence the cup he drank

the reputation of jesus was the very

opposite of his character

why

because the divine principle and

practice of jesus were misunderstood

he was at work in divine science

his words and works were unknown to the

world

because above and contrary to the

world's religious sense

mortals believed in god as humanly

mighty

rather than as divine

infinite love

the world could not interpret or write

the discomfort which jesus inspired

and the spiritual blessings which might

flow from such discomfort

science shows the cause of the shock so

often produced by the truth

namely

that this shock arises from the great

distance between the individual and

truth

like peter

we should weep over the warning instead

of denying the truth

or mocking the lifelong sacrifice which

goodness makes for the destruction of

evil

jesus bore our sins in his body

he knew the mortal errors which

constitute the material body

and could destroy those errors

but at the time when jesus felt our

infirmities

he had not conquered all the beliefs of

the flesh

or his sense of material life

nor had he risen to his final

demonstration of spiritual power

had he shared the sinful beliefs of

others

he would have been less sensitive to

those beliefs

through the magnitude of his human life

he demonstrated the divine life

out of the amplitude of his pure

affection

he defined love

with the affluence of truth

he vanquished error

the world acknowledged not his

righteousness

seeing it not

but earth received the harmony his

glorified example introduced

who is ready to follow his teaching and

example

all must sooner or later plant

themselves in christ

the true idea of god

that he might liberally pour his dearbot

treasures into empty or sin-filled human

storehouses

was the inspiration of jesus intense

human sacrifice

in witness of his divine commission

he presented the proof

that life

truth and love heal the sick and the

sinning

and triumph over death through mind not

matter

this was the highest proof he could have

offered of divine love

his hearers understood neither his words

nor his works

they would not accept his meek

interpretation of life

nor follow his example

his earthly cup of bitterness was

drained to the dregs

there adhered to him only a few

unpretentious friends

whose religion was something more than a

name

it was so vital

that it enabled them to understand the

nazarene

and to share the glory of eternal life

he said that those who followed him

should drink of his cup

and history has confirmed the prediction

if that god-like and glorified man were

physically on earth today

would not some

who now profess to love him

reject him

would they not deny him even the rights

of humanity

if he entertained any other sense of

being and religion than theirs

the advancing century

from a deadened sense of the invisible

god today subjects to unchristian

comment and usage

the idea of christian healing enjoined

by jesus

but this does not affect the invincible

facts

perhaps the early christian era did

jesus no more injustice

than the later centuries have bestowed

upon the healing christ and spiritual

idea of being

now that the gospel of healing is again

preached by the wayside

does not the pulpit sometimes scorn it

but that curative mission

which presents the savior in a clearer

light than mere words can possibly do

cannot be left out of christianity

although it is again ruled out of the

synagogue

truth's immortal idea is sweeping down

the centuries

gathering beneath its wings the sick and

sinning

my weary hope tries to realize that

happy day

when man shall recognize the science of

christ

and love his neighbor as himself

when he shall realize god's omnipotence

and the healing power of the divine love

in what it has done

and is doing for mankind

the promises will be fulfilled

the time for the reappearing of the

divine healing

is throughout all time

and whosoever layeth his earthly all on

the altar of divine science

drinketh of christ's cup now

and is endued with the spirit and power

of christian healing

in the words of saint john

[Music]

he shall give you another comforter

that he may abide with you forever

this comforter

i understand to be divine science

you