Christian Science today
Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
12 The Lord will indeed give what is good,
and our land will yield its harvest.
13 Righteousness goes before him
and prepares the way for his steps.–Psalm 85
The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame-Isaiah
“The rain and snow fall from the sky
and do not return,
but instead water the earth
and make it produce and yield crops,
and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.” Isaiah 55:10
Photo by Sean O’Grady
From the Bible, the Gospel of John, we read about Jesus Christ, after he resurrected. Mary Magdalen spoke with Jesus and went to tell his disciples that he was alive. And “Later on that day, the disciples had gathered together, but, fearful of the Jews, had locked all the doors in the house. Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, ‘Peace to you.’”
It’s the part about, Jesus entering a locked house, that grabs my attention.
“Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, ‘Peace to you.’”
Again, Jesus enters a locked house. Sounds like sci-fi, to me. Did Jesus know his body was loosely united atoms? Did he de-materialize to walk through the locked door and re-materialize on the other side?
Or was Jesus so at one with the Christ spirit that his body and the door were immaterial? Beside the point? It seems his spiritual practice wasn’t a manipulation or controlling of matter but affirmation of Spirit’s substance and all-presence.
A thought on the Nativity Story continued from yesterday.
As I got older, the celebration of Christmas came with more stress. It felt commercialized. My efforts to correct the stress and commercialization, however, came with fewer and fewer methods and ideas.
I recalculated. The Bible and the Nativity Story don’t start with celebration, but with conception of new, promising ideas that proceed to manifest humility, wisdom, and spirituality, rather than support materiality.
God and goodness is not lost but revealed throughout shifting time and space. Spirit and spirituality reveal themselves. To everyone. Each day, we can conquer fear and act on newness. We can stop thinking humanity is helping God or others, and acknowledge God’s work helping us. A God of Love and Truth speaking to everyone in ways they understand. We can experience genuine spiritual promises fulfilled. And not just celebrate but live a life worth living. Merry Christmas.
Nativity Story continued from yesterday.
“An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’”—Matthew 2:13.
The family lived in Egypt then returned to Nazareth after King Herod died.
Promising ideas come to all of us in practical and substantial forms. Even when the world or Satan tries to take the good down with itself, because evil is self-destructive, the power of God moves us safely to fulfillment of divine revelation.
“Who will not fear you, Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”—Revelation 15:4 To be continued tomorrow.
Nativity Story continued from yesterday.
Some wise, thoughtful Maji saw a bright star and imagined a higher power, a divine intelligence, in control of humanity. They asked King Herod where this leader was.
King Herod was a man super-engaged in the world, promising things he couldn’t deliver to the people. He said things he thought other people wanted to hear, and generally they did.
He told the Maji, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”—Matthew 2:8.
But on the way to finding the baby Jesus, the Maji dreamed. They realized that King Herod was easily disturbed by arrogance and self-delusion and they outwitted the King, giving him neither attention nor reports.
To be continued tomorrow.
Nativity Story continued from yesterday.
Unrelated but related to the infant Jesus, the idea of good news being more powerful than bad news, was heard by shepherds, on watch at night. Trained to guard against enemy wolves that ate the sheep, they were afraid to trust the goodness.
“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”—Luke 2:10.
The good was not only for ordinary working shepherds, but for Jesus, and all of humanity.
“The shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’”—Luke 2:15.
To be continued tomorrow.
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