When instructing the seventy as to the nature of the service required of them during that epochmaking tour which he bade them undertake to the glory of God,—that is, for the purpose of demonstrating the power of the Word by healing the sick and the sinning,—our Master enjoined them, "Into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you." Now it may very well be that Jesus intended them to obey this injunction literally. Remembering, however, his frequent employment of metaphor, and notably in connection with the verb "to eat," it is justifiable to believe that he also meant his words to be taken in a double sense, particularly because when used figuratively they would have a direct and practical bearing upon the problems likely to confront his students during the course of their mission. We know from the continuation of the narrative that those students of the great Teacher took to heart and obeyed his precepts so lovingly and faithfully that they returned to him in a state of spiritual exaltation and gratitude, reporting joyfully, "Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name."
* Science and Health, p. 222.
That being so, it is scarcely to be questioned that at a very early stage of their pilgrimage the fame of their wondrous achievements as healers of the sick would spread far and wide through all the towns and villages of Palestine in the rapid way news is always disseminated in Oriental lands. The result would be that the simple people would at once begin to regard these disciples of our Lord as men endowed with supernatural powers and to flock to them, not merely to obtain physical healing but in order, after the manner of the East, to seek guidance and advice with regard to their many and various worldly troubles and perplexities.
Under these circumstances, the seventy would find themselves called upon to solve all manner of problems in connection with the daily life of the people. Having regard to the nature of their mission, they might well have been inclined to refrain from dealing with these matters in their desire to devote themselves more completely to the work of healing physical troubles. In that case, however, there would assuredly recur to them the Master's injunction, "Eat such things as are set before you." This might well be taken to mean, Face and resolve, in the light of the increased spiritual understanding which my teaching has conferred upon you, every problem, of whatever kind, as it is presented to you. There could be no place for fastidiousness in carrying out this behest. Mrs. Eddy has declared, in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 373), that "it is easier to cure the most malignant disease than it is to cure sin;" and since mankind is prone to follow the line of least resistance, it might well have happened that even the Way-shower's immediate and personally instructed followers would almost unconsciously yield to the subtle suggestion of error to place the healing of mere physical claims in the forefront, under the false belief that in consequence of the large numbers of the halt, the maimed, and the blind who came to them for relief, they had no time available in which to deal with other than bodily troubles.
We know from those sublime, comfort-bringing words contained in the sixty-first chapter of Isaiah, and recalled to his hearers in such emphatic fashion by the Master himself in the synagogue at Nazareth, that he proclaimed it as his earthly mission not only to banish bodily ills, but to heal the broken-hearted, whose mental sufferings often transcend those of the body. Since he unreservedly commanded his followers to do the works that he did, there seems to be no room for doubt that he expected those who acted in his name to offer that deliverance from ills of every kind which he himself always effected.
Herein lies a practical lesson for Christian Scientists, who, as the professing emulators of the Saviour, in accordance with the rules enunciated by their Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, as the outcome of her diligent and divinely directed study of the holy Scriptures, are to-day once more endeavoring to raise aloft the banner of Truth and asking their fellow-men to judge of the genuineness of their faith by their works, rather than by their mere professions. It is for them to make manifest to a suffering world that, in the words of one of our beautiful hymns, "earth has no sorrow but Love can remove."
The honest, thinking skeptic,—and there are many such,—viewing the conditions prevailing to-day among the communities which call themselves Christian, points to them as proof of the inefficacy of Christianity to banish the woes and right the wrongs of mankind. To those uninstructed in the teachings of Christian Science this contention may appear lamentably true. But those who know that eternal Truth is now, as it always has been and always will be, all-powerful in overcoming every ill, and that Christianity pure and undefiled cannot fail to help in trouble of every kind, can readily supply the explanation of the ordinary failure of religion to meet the world's needs. It has practiced our Lord's teachings only in part, employing material means for effecting cures. This method of cure has not concerned itself with the moral and spiritual betterment, but has looked largely to the alleviation of merely physical ills.
It is generally conceded that the great majority of the testimonies given at our Wednesday evening meetings or published in our periodicals make it abundantly clear that, grateful as Christian Scientists are for the overcoming o their bodily ailments, it is the better understanding of God, Truth, and man's relationship to Him, for which those who testify are chiefly thankful. It is also true that an even increasing number of people who are not in need of release from disease are turning to Christian Science, because they observe how it improves men morally, purifies and uplifts character, replaces fear with a cheery, confident expectation of good, and turns mourning into joy. This putting off of the old man is what differentiates spiritual healing and regeneration from the cures said to be effected by material methods, by frequent repetitions of a formula or other appeals to the credulity of mortal mind. It must be remembered that in the case of some of the healings which our Master effected he conveyed the assurance of emancipation from their physical ills to the sufferers in some such words as, "Thy sins are forgiven thee." That, after all, is the most essential thing.
Students of Christian Science whose privilege it is to minister to the needs of others should avoid conveying the idea that the chief aim of Christian Science treatment is to provide a substitute for a medical attendant and his drugs. It seems necessary to emphasize this point because some of those who are claiming to emulate the healing works of Christian Science by means of autosuggestion, faith healing, and other counterfeits of the spiritual method, convey the impression that this is the belief not only of these professing healers but also of large sections of the general public as well. In our textbook (pp. 418, 419) Mrs. Eddy writes: "Include moral as well as physical belief in your efforts to destroy error. Cast out all manner of evil;" and she goes on to declare: "A moral question may hinder the recovery of the sick. Lurking error, lust, envy, revenge, malice, or hate will perpetuate or even create the belief in disease. Errors of all sorts tend in this direction." It is important, then, that it should be known that the remedy for a "mortal disorder" consists, as Mrs. Eddy tells us (Science and Health, p. 184) in "probing the trouble to the bottom, in finding and casting out by denial the error of belief which produces a mortal disorder."
Christian Scientists are as ready to deal with all other moral ailments as they are with mere bodily suffering. Indeed, they know that when such ailments are present their eradication is absolutely necessary for physical healing through divine Love. Those, therefore, who are the slaves of sin, even where they may not be in need of physical healing at the moment, should understand that they can turn to Christian Science for emancipation. Likewise, it needs to be more generally emphasized that sorrow, misfortune, a sense of loss, and every other form of mental affliction can be as completely overcome by the aid of Christian Science as can bodily suffering, and that students of Christian Science, when appealed to for help in such cases, are as prompt and able to give it as they are in cases of sickness and disease. They are, metaphorically speaking, always prepared to eat what is set before them.
A man might in truth live like an unskilled laborer, and do the work of one, and yet count as one of the noblest of God's creatures.—
