"Blessed are they that mourn." said Jesus in the second beatitude, "for they shall be comforted." He proved this statement in several recorded instances in the Bible, and he left us the promise that we should do even greater works than those he performed. Why do we not fulfill this promise? It must be admitted that we, his followers, are only entering the path of understanding, and that we have much distance to travel in the realization of complete demonstration.
But is this cause for discouragement, for hesitation, for unbelief? Clearly not. Jesus himself exercised the greatest patience with his contemporary followers, counseling them to increase their faith. And the closest follower of the Master in modern times, Mary Baker Eddy, adds to his counsel that we must begin with the simpler demonstrations, and that only through increased understanding can we reach the heights of complete proving. (See Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, pp. 254, 429.) She makes it clear that greater works are in store for us, works depending upon our awakening to reality.
Meanwhile, what comfort can Christian Science offer to those who mourn, especially in these times of warfare? No person, it is evident, can ever be conscious of his own death. By definition death involves the absence of consciousness, and it is clear that one cannot be conscious of unconsciousness. This means that the so-called dead have never actually experienced death. If it can be called an experience at all, it is the objective experience only of those who stay behind.
