Would you like to have the unfailing support of a spiritual staff, as well as a rod of defense against evil? It is encouraging to know, through the teachings of Christian Science, that God has given us a staff and a rod and also makes it possible for them to become a scepter.
In Biblical times shepherds carried a staff and a rod in their work of tending the flocks. The alert shepherd leaned on his staff to watch and rest. At times he needed the short, heavy rod to defend the sheep from beasts of prey, to guide the timid sheep over difficult places, and to keep the wayward ones from sharp rocks.
David, the shepherd, who became king of Israel, realized how symbolic of spiritual support and defense were the shepherd's rod and staff. He declared in the twenty-third Psalm, "Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."
In Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy writes (pp. 577, 578), "In the following Psalm one word shows, though faintly, the light which Christian Science throws on the Scriptures by substituting for the corporeal sense, the incorporeal or spiritual sense of Deity." Then she gives the spiritual sense of Psalm 23, one line of which reads, "[Love's] rod and [Love's] staff they comfort me."
Our study of the Bible and of the writings of Mrs. Eddy unfolds God as Love; as the one Mind; as Life eternal; as the only Truth; as Principle, the source of all right control, government, and law; as Spirit, indestructible, unlimited substance; as Soul, the real dwelling place of beauty and harmony. Perfect God has created man in His own image, as the embodiment of all His qualities, who reflects Him and nothing else. We must be willing to let our trust in God and His perfect creation be our staff and rod.
When endeavoring to solve a problem of discord, we find a vital need to defend our realization of God and His creation from preying suggestions of evil coming from a supposititious opposite of God, Mind, called mortal mind. We must use our rod of defense by quick detection and rejection of the lie. Unless we unmask the lie, it appears to have life, presence, power —even to be a person. However, it is only an impersonal evil belief, which is annihilated with the indispensable staff and rod of universal Love.
In Scriptural texts staff and rod are used interchangeably when referring to a scepter as a token of supreme power. As shepherd-tribal leaders became judges, priests, and kings, the staff became the scepter. The rod too emerged as a symbol of authority with the right to enforce correction.
Through the centuries this merging also came to signify the possessor's right to the scepter through his own spiritual and official growth into leadership and authority. Harper's Bible Dictionary states: "The shepherd's rod of Moses in Midian developed into his rod of authority when he became the leader of his people.... Moses' rod was his scepter during the Wilderness wanderings of Israel. Uplifted in his hand during battle, it symbolized God's presence."
Growth in spiritual understanding develops Love's rod and staff into our scepter of visible proof of what we know to be spiritually true. This proof establishes a right sense of poise and authority. As the Psalmist put it (Ps. 45:6), "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre."
Christ Jesus used Love's rod and staff with confidence and authority. His healing works were proof of his absolute reliance on his Father's infinite power and of his quick repudiation of evil in every guise. He promised not only his disciples but also those in every century who followed his teaching (Luke 10:19), "I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
In her Message to The Mother Church for 1902, Mrs. Eddy explains how to express this power individually (pp. 8,9), "Spiritual love makes man conscious that God is his Father, and the consciousness of God as Love gives man power with untold furtherance." To be conscious of the power of His presence enables us to exterminate the "serpents and scorpions" of aggressive suggestions.
When the writer first learned in Christian Science that she possessed Love's rod and staff, acknowledgment of God's allness brought a sense of support and joy; but she made timid use of her spiritual defense. Not realizing that vigorous denial was needed to rout aggressive suggestions, she was not entirely freed. A Christian Science practitioner awakened her by telling her that she needed to give a firm No to false suggestion, to be more emphatic in rejecting error. She was quickly healed of both resentment and a long illness when she obeyed this admonition.
On page 390 of Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy gives encouraging instruction to the student striving for a firmer grasp of his spiritual authority to heal. She writes: "Suffer no claim of sin or of sickness to grow upon the thought. Dismiss it with an abiding conviction that it is illegitimate, because you know that God is no more the author of sickness than He is of sin. You have no law of His to support the necessity either of sin or sickness, but you have divine authority for denying that necessity and healing the sick."
With Love's unfailing, supporting staff we take our stand, but always with a sure grasp of our rod of defense. Divine law makes of them God's "right sceptre."
