When Peter, filled with the sudden recognition of Jesus' true identity and his unparalleled, God-given mission, exclaimed (Matt. 16:16), "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," Jesus answered: "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." It is interesting to note that here the word "church" is used in the Bible for the first time, and that it is coincident with Peter's recognition of the Christ.
It is this recognition of the Christ, Truth, which penetrates the darkness of human ignorance, leads men out of darkness, and reveals to them man's heritage of health, joy, freedom, and dominion. It was on this enlightened, spiritual understanding that Jesus built his church. Throughout his entire three years' ministry he was building this church, not with bricks and mortar, but with the truth about God and man which he understood and established in the hearts of his disciples. He knew that when they understood his mission and their responsibility in perpetuating his words and works, the steps necessary to that end would unfold to them. First, however, it was imperative that they recognize and become conscious of the tremendous import of his teachings.
Nineteen centuries later Mary Baker Eddy became so conscious of the ever-present light of Truth that she was immediately healed of a physical disability which the physician in charge expected to prove fatal. She then consecrated her life to the work which she knew God had called her to do, and in the year 1879 she and some of her students organized the Church of Christ, Scientist, to reinstate the Master's teaching and re-establish Christian healing.
Knowing, as they do, that Christian Science is the final revelation of the Christ, Truth, on which Jesus founded his church, what a joyous, sacred privilege it is for students of Christian Science to take part in the building of a Christian Science church edifice! The divinely inspired impulse to build comes from their recognition of the Christ, Truth, even as Peter recognized it, and from their gratitude for and appreciation of the great blessings which Christian Science has brought into their lives. But before a church building can fulfill its purpose as an aid in bringing to mankind the Christian Science message of healing and salvation, there are certain requirements that must be fulfilled. Just as Jesus' teachings had first to be established in the hearts of his disciples, so does the true concept of Church first have to be established in the hearts of its members. A Christian Science church is the outcome of the consecrated prayers of its members. In Psalms we read (127:1), "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it." Mere human planning or outlining will not suffice to bring to completion a Christian Science church; the necessary human footsteps will unfold in perfect order only through the demonstration of the true idea of Church.
Just as the first step necessary in building is to clear the building site of everything that would interfere with the work of construction, so it is also necessary to clear away mental rubbish before the true concept of Church can be established in our consciousness, because this rubbish, or error, would hide the spiritual and delay the appearing of the outward church building. Personal sense, egotism, rivalry, envy, jealousy, destructive criticism, faultfinding, self-importance, self-righteousness, apathy, lethargy, indifference, and procrastination are not qualities which promote progressive construction, but on the contrary they are obstructive and destructive. They should be classified under the heading of error, which Mrs. Eddy designates as animal magnetism, and it is important that those who would build uncover them properly at the outset and cast them out.
Hear what Mrs. Eddy says (Miscellaneous Writings, pp. 280, 281): "The doors of animal magnetism open wide for the entrance of error, sometimes just at the moment when you are ready to enter on the fruition of your labors, and with laudable ambition are about to chant hymns of victory for triumphs." She then clearly points out the most obvious pitfalls which, when aware of them, Christian Scientists can avoid. She adds: "The doors that this animal element flings open are those of rivalry, jealousy, envy, revenge. It is the self-asserting mortal will-power that you must guard against."
It will be recalled that when Nehemiah started rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem he met the full gamut of mortal mind's opposing, lying suggestions. But Nehemiah wisely and vigorously repudiated every one of them, and when finally the suggestion came that he should meet with Geshem and Sanballat, who were his chief opponents, his terse reply was (Neh. 6:3), "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?" Indeed, why should the work cease—the work of spiritual building—while one temporizes with error? In these days when the world seems stirred to its depths with conflicting ideologies and with both national and international misunderstandings, Christian Scientists should be more than ever on guard against accepting as their own thoughts or inclinations the suggestions of the one enemy, mortal mind.
Because the building of a Christian Science church is a progressive step, it will bring from under cover the different phases of error that would oppose the progress, or unfoldment, of Truth. For the members to recognize that church building is primarily a mentally purifying process is most essential. To discard and eliminate what is unlike the Christ, Truth, and let the divine Mind govern human thought and action, is true church building.
On page 583 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" our Leader gives the definition of "Church," the first part of which reads, "The structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle." Divine Principle, then, is the foundation on which the church must be built. Among the qualities which reflect Principle and assure a firm foundation are loyalty, honesty, justice, steadfastness, undeviating and unceasing consecration, obedience, and love.
When the members have succeeded in clearing away mental hindrances and are ready to lay this spiritual foundation in unity and brotherly love, they will see the outward structure take form, expressing the beauty of their own purified thinking. In Malachi we find this pertinent advice (3:10): "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." In the measure that thought is brought into obedience to God, the abundance of God, good, is made manifest.
This was proved in the experience of a small group of Christian Scientists who undertook to build their church during the seemingly darkest days of an economic depression. Their plans seemed well conceived and practical, but after the contract for the building was let and the construction work started, every material support failed them. To human sense it seemed a most hopeless situation. Faced with this grave threat to the progress of their church, the members met and in humility worked together to bring "all the tithes into the storehouse," to erase all doubts and fears, to correct all misunderstandings and disagreements, and to let the one Mind govern them. The Bible narrative of Joshua and his band compassing the walls of Jericho, and correlative passages from page 279 of "Miscellaneous Writings," were read, and the lesson to be gleaned from these passages of the importance of unified thinking and acting based on divine Principle was pondered.
To one member came the clear conviction that the responsibility of the members, individually and collectively, was not to get but to give, not to try to raise money with which to pay for building materials but to give of their heart's overflow of gratitude and gladness for the blessings of Christian Science, and by their unselfed love to heal those who came to the church services seeking God. Everyone left the meeting feeling a great sense of unity, security, and positive assurance that divine Love would indeed meet their every need. The next morning it was truly as if the windows of heaven had opened and the blessing poured forth. It was almost with awe that this little group watched the completion of the building. The work unfolded without any further human effort on their part to raise funds, and the edifice was paid for when completed.
The building of this church blessed not only its members but everyone connected therewith. The mill owners who did the mill work for the building had previously closed their plant for lack of orders, but decided to reopen it to do this work. While they were doing this, enough orders came in to enable them to keep the mill operating. The architect, who had had to dismiss all his office help, found while engaged in building this church an increased demand for his services which necessitated his employing four men.
True church building is the activity of unselfed love, and against such building the "gates of hell" can never prevail. Following the leadings of divine Love, students of Christian Science experience great joy and spiritual progress. Thus is demonstrated the second paragraph of Mrs. Eddy's definition of "Church" in Science and Health: "The Church is that institution, which affords proof of its utility and is found elevating the race, rousing the dormant understanding from material beliefs to the apprehension of spiritual ideas and the demonstration of divine Science, thereby casting out devils, or error, and healing the sick." The foundation of this Church is divine Principle; the demonstration of Church is accomplished only through mental purification and spiritual healing—the goal of every Christian Scientist.
