"GOODNESS TRANSPARENT"

A sunday school teacher had found the marginal headings in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, very helpful in studying the various sections of the weekly Lesson-Sermon. One week when the subject for the Lesson was "Truth," a reference on page 295 of the textbook stood out particularly. It read, "The mortal mind through which Truth appears most vividly is that one which has lost much materiality— much error—in order to become a better transparency for Truth." The marginal heading for the paragraph is, "Goodness transparent." Observing for the first time the two words in combination produced such a startling effect on the teacher's thought that she asked her class the following Sunday to consider the heading and to give the meaning of transparent.

After one girl had pointed out that the glass in the door was transparent because she could see through it, the teacher gave some of the dictionary definitions, as follows: "Having the property of transmitting rays of light. Readily understood; clear."

To further elucidate the subject, the class was asked for a word representing the exact opposite of transparent. The word "opaque" was agreed upon and the following definition cited: "Not reflecting or giving out light. Impervious to the rays of light; not transparent."

As they pondered the metaphysical interpretation of the subject, the fact was brought out that Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health (p.242), "Self-love is more opaque than a solid body." The girls could easily see that selfishness or self-love was hard, devoid of any understanding of Truth, and not giving out light or joy; and they could understand if it had no quality of goodness it must necessarily be opaque—of the nature of matter. As a result of this analysis it was plainly seen why matter and selfishness, products of mortal mind, were labeled opaque and unreal, whereas goodness, a product and quality of divine Mind, was seen to be a transparency in the realm of the real.

Following this lesson, the teacher spent several weeks in supplementary study of the subject, using the Concordances to the Bible and Mrs. Eddy's writings. It finally became very clear to her that when one sufficiently understands the nature of materiality he can see right through its illusiveness to the spiritual reality that is always present where the material symbol seems to be; that all manner of materiality vanishes before spiritually enlightened thought like clouds before the sun. Mrs. Eddy hints of this vanishment in another marginal heading on page 472 of Science and Health, in the words "Evanescent materiality," evanescent meaning "tending to vanish or pass away like vapor."

Finally it was seen that a false claim reversed—the consciousness of Truth replacing the lie—holds not an atom of visionary obstruction. The false claim, the lie, the selfishness, the confusion, the opacity of vision are reasoned right out of existence. This method of treatment in Christian Science practice completely obliterates the false concept of anything that purposes to darken one's outlook, leaving one's vision radiantly transparent.

The more transparent anything becomes to the human eye, the more powerful it is likely to be. Steam or water vapor under pressure is more powerful than water; a transparent glass is more powerful to transmit the sun's rays because it permits all the rays to pass through, while stained glass filters them. In fact some magnifying lenses, when held to the sun and focused on an inflammable object, are so powerful that they very quickly start a blaze. While such illustrations are all in the line of material phenomena, nevertheless they are valuable object lessons pointing to the scientific method of reformation and the perception of the divine idea. On page 1 of "The People's Idea of God" Mrs. Eddy says, "The great element of reform is not born of human wisdom; it draws not its life from human organizations; rather is it the crumbling away of material elements from reason, the translation of law back to its original language."

The process of "crumbling away" is sometimes spoken of as disintegration, and indicates a decaying condition. An impressive statement of phenomena quite conspicuous today in the world, troubled with labor problems, regimented war workers, and mechanized armies, is found in the following quotation from a Buenos Aires publication, The Standard: "Never, perhaps, have human values been so perishable— nothing human is fixed today—the daily scene shifts and shivers, breaks into fragments, comes together again, and then disintegrates once more."

One may well ask, "What is this element causing the widespread disintegration of untoward conditions today?" From the east and from the west and from every battle front is echoed this question. Only in Christian Science is found a satisfactory answer. It reveals that the very nature of Truth is to "overturn, overturn, overturn," until Truth is established throughout the earth.

Thus as higher individual concepts of the ever-presence of the omnipotent God and His legions of angels clarify the world consciousness, the smoke of battlefields and the destruction of war will grow beautifully less. Earth's atmosphere, purified of the decaying elements of mortal mind, will glow with all the beauty of "transparent goodness," truly inherent in the atmosphere of Love.

Jesus walked untrammeled after his resurrection, sometimes appearing suddenly along the wayside or behind closed doors to talk with his disciples. When at last he had finished his work upon earth, it is recorded that he led them out to Bethany, where he blessed them. Then, in a state of complete exaltation, he opened their understanding and accomplished the ascension—his full realization of his oneness with Spirit, Mind, and his consequent separateness from matter. The garment of materiality dropped from him, and clad with the transparency of his Godlike goodness, he disappeared from their sight.

Mrs. Eddy must have seen her own vision of immortality depicted in the words of Thomas Moore. On page 51 of "Miscellaneous Writings," closing a brief discussion as to the proper training of children, that Mind governs man rather than matter, she quotes the immortal poet as follows: