Teaching in the Christian Science Sunday School is a sacred trust. The Sunday School teacher is a modern apostle, devotedly and joyously engaged in equipping his pupils with the truth of God and of man so that they may go out into the world to meet successfully the intricate problems of the day and carry forth the gospel of healing as revealed in Christian Science.
It is the teacher's duty and happy privilege to impart to his pupils the spiritual meanings of the Bible, together with a clear and exact unfoldment of Christian Science as given in Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy. His pathway is pointed out to him by Mrs. Eddy in Article XX of the Manual of The Mother Church. In accordance with this Article, the teacher draws from and depends solely upon the Bible and our Leader's writings for his inspiration and authority in teaching the Sunday School lessons.
The teacher's work must, of necessity, be serious, consecrated, and dedicated; but never dull, somber, or burdensome. The unction of true inspiration gives his teachings verve and freshness. In this holy work, the teacher knows his own personal views cannot be substituted for the pure Word, as set forth in the Bible and Science and Health. Nor does he need to rely on spectacular examples or tricks of any kind to hold the attention of his pupils. The truth itself is sufficient. This imparting of the undeviating, correct Word through divine Science involves much prayerful thought, much humility, much love.
The Sunday School teacher is reverently aware of the limitless possibilities and far-reaching effects of the Word of Truth, as it is presented to his class. The influence of his teaching may never be fully known. Each word spoken in the class may be carried into the pupil's home, to his friends, neighbors, or classmates. Ofttimes in later years thoughts given him by his teacher and the other pupils may be taken out into the world, where they may meet a critical need either for physical healing or for guidance and protection. The teacher thus realizes the vital importance of giving forth only the pure, undefiled explication of Christian Science.
It is the teacher's sacred trust not only to present correctly to his class the truths contained in the Bible and Science and Health, but also to show each pupil how to use these truths in his daily life, how to study for himself, how to make the teachings of his religion practical, how to make his own demonstrations of Christian Science. To this end, the preparation of the teacher's Sunday School lesson should be given much prayerful thought throughout the week, whether it be the preparation for the first lessons or the last.
Research work with Bible dictionaries and concordances is invaluable. Christian Science is in accord with the inspired Word of the Bible, and the teacher should be familiar with this Book of books and its untold treasures. Research may take the teacher into deep and perhaps involved realms, and it may not be wise to volunteer these findings to the class; but this study is all part of the preparatory work and gives the teacher a richer unfoldment and background of the lesson he is teaching.
The Manual states (Art. XX, Sect. 2), "The Sabbath School children shall be taught the Scriptures, and they shall be instructed according to their understanding or ability to grasp the simpler meanings of the divine Principle that they are taught." But if the teacher is well prepared, he will be equipped to answer authoritatively every question that comes up. This research can be a joyous and uplifting experience.
Through the week, it is also helpful to gain a unified picture or central theme of the lesson to be taught. This clarifies the subject in the thought of the teacher and of the pupil and strengthens the discussion in the Sunday School. A plan of some sort helps to hold the pupils' attention and interest. Sometimes other questions may arise in the class which make it impossible to carry out the teacher's original plan, but nothing is lost and Love always directs the teaching into its proper channels in order to bless and answer the needs of everyone.
In the preparatory work, the writer has found it beneficial to study and to keep before her thought the chapter in Science and Health entitled "Teaching Christian Science." Although this is not written for the Sunday School teacher, many of its statements are applicable and helpful. Also she endeavors to keep fresh in her thought certain other references to "teach" and its derivatives found in all the writings of Mrs. Eddy.
By doing prayerful metaphysical work each day and making use of all the books at his disposal to enlighten his teaching, one need never feel that he has gone stale. He cannot help seeing that in the infinitude of Truth there are always new fields to explore, new inspiration to be gained, new and diversified ideas to give to his class. No matter how many times he may go over the same Bible stories or the same citations in Science and Health, there is always some new application or new phase of Truth to be brought out.
After sufficient preparation on the specific lesson has been done, time may be spent in deep, reverent communion with God, praying to know that each truth given in the class will come direct from the Father and therefore be convincing and understandable. Through this prayerful work, the teacher will be led to say and do exactly the right thing at the right time. As he puts self aside and lets Love stand at the helm, the truth cannot but come forth clearly and comprehensibly. This kind of teaching must always be inspiring and effective.
Aware of his sacred trust, the teacher knows his work is not fully done until he has prayed to know that the ideas of God, Spirit, are always in their right place. Many references in the Bible have been helpful to the writer in this regard. In John are found these words of Jesus (12:32): "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." Thought that is uplifted to the Christ, filled with the impersonal spirit of Truth and Love, is the force that attracts. And Jesus' words (John 10:5), "A stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers," show that no suggestion of mortal mind, no strange, tempting, or alluring lie, can act as a counterattraction to Truth.
The seed of Truth, however small, is still greater than any so-called pull of the carnal mind. The teacher can know that God, good, is the only Mind; therefore no one's thinking can be contaminated, mystified, or confused by any spurious teachings of the world, whether they stem from schools, family, friends, newspapers, radio, or TV. Mrs. Eddy says in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 19), "He who has named the name of Christ, who has virtually accepted the divine claims of Truth and Love in divine Science, is daily departing from evil; and all the wicked endeavors of suppositional demons can never change the current of that life from steadfastly flowing on to God, its divine source."
Knowing that each idea is in its right place and cannot be deprived of the blessings of Truth applies to the teacher as well as to the pupils. Twice the writer on Saturdays has experienced a physical difficulty which threatened to keep her in bed for several days. It seemed, according to human sense, completely impossible for her to arise. But while she was working out this problem in Science, the thought of herself as an idea of God, always in her right place, was uppermost. She knew that no lie of material sense could prevent her from demonstrating her perfection as a child of God and so keep her from any right activity.
Each time she was able to rise on Sunday morning and be in her place. However, the suggestion of going home right after Sunday School and not staying for the church service presented itself. But because of the wonderful sense of love, inspiration, and unfoldment that came during the class, she felt so uplifted and refreshed that she attended church joyously and freely.
The teacher knows that the preparation of the lesson to be taught is in vain, if not accompanied by the spirit of Truth and Love. Mrs. Eddy writes in "Retrospection and Introspection" (p. 85), "Of this also rest assured, that books and teaching are but a ladder let down from the heaven of Truth and Love, upon which angelic thoughts ascend and descend, bearing on their pinions of light the Christ-spirit."
Over all the teaching, a great outpouring of love must be present in the heart of the teacher. A deep sincerity must shine through, a great conviction that Christian Science is the final revelation of Truth, a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation for Mrs. Eddy, a childlike sweetness and humility, a losing of self in God. These Godlike qualities are detected very quickly by the pupil and impress him more than many learned words or a brilliant display of knowledge. In the words of a quotation used by our Leader on page 98 of "Miscellaneous Writings,"
Thou must be true thyself, if thou the truth
would'st teach;
Thy heart must overflow, if thou another's heart
would'st reach.
And so the teacher will find that the sacred trust of teaching in the Sunday School becomes a blessed privilege, strengthening his own foundation in the truth as well as that of his pupils, enlarging his understanding of God, purifying his life, impersonalizing his love, increasing his opportunity for and joy in the dissemination of the greatest revelation that has come to our age —the revelation of Christian Science.
