It is certain beyond a doubt that the wisest man who ever lived was Christ Jesus. It is likewise undeniable that his prayer and his practice constitute a model for all men, in all lands, throughout all time. So perfect was the character and conduct of Jesus of Nazareth, that it may be truly said that his daily living was unceasing prayer. The thoughtful student will recall that in the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in Matthew's gospel, the master Metaphysician presents a clear and concise, yet comprehensive statement of the essentials pertaining to all true prayer and practice. In this marvelous digest of true thinking and right living are unfolded the rules and by-laws of his church, obedience to which insures to every faithful member of it health, peace, joy, and spiritual growth.
If Jesus' followers do not heal themselves and others, if they do not have abiding peace, if they lack real joy, and fail to grow in spiritual understanding and in their ability to heal quickly themselves and others, it is through ignorance of or disobedience to the teachings contained in this sublime sermon. "Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine," said Jesus in the concluding words of this discourse, "and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock."
Faithful adherents of Mrs. Eddy know in what profound regard she held the words of Christ Jesus. She ordained that the Beatitudes, and the Lord's Prayer with its spiritual interpretation as given on page 16 of Science and Health, together with the Ten Commandments, should form the basis of teaching in every Christian Science Sunday school, and that the Lord's Prayer should be a part of every religious service. She writes in Science and Health, (p. 271), "The Sermon on the Mount is the essence of this Science."
