Why is it that individuals attending services in a branch Church of Christ, Scientist, studying in Christian Science Reading Rooms, reading Christian Science literature, and attending Christian Science lectures find healing? Because the Church of Christ, Scientist, as established by Mrs. Eddy, is a healing Church. She makes its purpose abundantly clear in the "Historical Sketch" contained in the Manual of The Mother Church, which declares, "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass., is designed to be built on the Rock, Christ; even the understanding and demonstration of divine Truth, Life, and Love, healing and saving the world from sin and death; thus to reflect in some degree the Church Universal and Triumphant." Man., p. 19.
The Church of Christ, Scientist, was born of revelation. Its Founder and Leader, Mrs. Eddy, perceived the substance, purpose, and integrity of that Church of which Christ Jesus said, "The gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matt. 16:18. The Church of Truth's and Love's creating is the divine idea, against which the supposititious evil forces of the carnal mind will not prevail.
God, divine Truth and Love, is forever unfolding—divinely revealing—to human consciousness His supremacy, omnipresence, and omnipotence. This self-revealing activity of Truth and Love is the Christ, which Mrs. Eddy defines in the Glossary of Science and Health as "the divine manifestation of God, which comes to the flesh to destroy incarnate error." Science and Health, p. 583. It was Christ active in her consciousness that led Mrs. Eddy to establish The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist. This Church achieves its healing and saving mission to the extent that the lives of its members bear witness to the activity of the Christ.
The Christ is ever present, ever active, ever available; but for the Christ to fulfill its redeeming purpose it must be welcomed in—it must be joyously and reverently entertained in human consciousness. It must be understood, loved, and demonstrated.
The church activities established by Mrs. Eddy are commissioned to reveal Christ, Truth, to universal human consciousness. Sunday School, the practice of Christian Science healing, Reading Rooms, literature publication and distribution—to name but a few—all exist to share with mankind the truths of Christian Science. They succeed in the measure that those participating in them are themselves bearing witness to the Christ and demonstrating the truth of man's unity with divine Truth and Love.
Christ Jesus' commendation of his disciple Simon followed Simon's recognition of the Christ, his realization that the spiritual truth to which the Master bore witness and through which he cast out evil and healed the sick, was the fact of man's divine sonship. Giving Simon a new name, taken from the Greek word for "rock," the Master declared, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church." Matt. 16:18. On this rock, this understanding of the Christ, Jesus established his healing ministry—built his church. This is the rock upon which the healing ministry of The Mother Church and its branches is established.
Each activity provided by the Church Manual serves a divine purpose. It exists to bear witness to the spiritual truth of being—not a truth that will one day become true, but the truth that now is. The impulsion behind these activities is divine, is Truth, Love, itself. The immediate and impelling necessity for these works is humanity's right to be freed from limitation and heartache, depravity and disease. These have been imposed upon mankind by an erroneous, material misconception of being, from which only Christ, Truth, can set it free.
Through his unmatched demonstration of the Christ, Jesus proved the dominion that the understanding and demonstration of Truth and Love give one over lack, fear, disease, sin, and death. He proved this for himself and for his fellowman. The divine Principle manifested in Jesus' saving and healing ministry has today revealed its presence and power in the impersonal Christ Science discovered by Mrs. Eddy. As we understand this Science and adhere to the spiritual laws of its divine Principle, we can begin to follow the master Christian in the demonstration of God's healing power. Science reveals man's unity with God as his Father-Mother, Principle, and enables us to prove that spiritual manhood is the true identity of us all. Science progressively casts out of our experience as totally unreal all that is not good, all that is not of God.
Unity, peace, harmony, health, dominion, and security are equally available to all people everywhere. They are our birthright as in truth the sons and daughters of God. They are inherent in our spiritual unity with our Father-Mother, Love. This divine heritage is revealed to us in our age through Christ's divine Science. The lasting import of this Science is clearly indicated in the following words from Science and Health: "Christianity will never be based on a divine Principle and so found to be unerring, until its absolute Science is reached. When this is accomplished, neither pride, prejudice, bigotry, nor envy can wash away its foundation, for it is built upon the rock, Christ." Science and Health, pp. 483-484.
How can the members of this Church nurture and promote its Christly mission? Through humble and loving participation in the activities established by the Church Manual. Sunday Schools need teachers to teach. Reading Rooms need attendants to serve. Nurses are needed to nurse. But what is the underlying purpose of this teaching, serving, and nursing? To what are they bearing witness? To the healing presence of the Christ. And where does this witnessing take place? In the understanding and hearts of those who teach, serve, and nurse.
It was, and always is, the spirit of Truth, Life, and Love that heals and saves. When the spirit of Truth, Life, and Love permeates our thought as we usher in church, participate in business meetings, read the Christian Science periodicals, sing a hymn, or take part unselfishly in any other church activity, this spirit radiates forth. It embraces mankind in God's healing power. It is not so much what we are doing humanly but what we are knowing spiritually that determines the effectiveness of our church work.
Because church is of the heart and understanding, it cannot be confined within bricks and concrete, or limited to religious exercises. And church is wherever we are, whenever we are bearing witness to Truth and Love. It is the Christ, the conscious presence of Immanuel, "God with us, "that glorifies church throughout our entire experience. This consciousness of Christ is our Father's gift to us, and it emanates from the one, infinite, ever-present divine Mind. Our consciousness of God's all-presence, omnipotence, and omniaction enables us to discern the inability of evil as sin, sickness, disease, or death to claim presence, power, or activity. Christ frees human thought from its fear of and belief in evil. It liberates us from limiting beliefs in an existence un-derived from Deity. It reveals to us our actual, God-given ability to live as the sons and daughters of God, glorifying Him in the joyous expression of His divine nature.
Each one of us has much to give our Church, much that he or she has gained through deep study, prayer, and self-immolation, much learned from experience. What our Church needs most of all is our ever-increasing expression of spirituality, for Christian healing flows out of our consecrated demonstration of Spirit's allness. Our Leader once said, "The church created, founded and erected on the Rock against which the winds and waves prevail not, is the Church triumphant, the indwelling temple of God; it is the mind that has consecrated its affections, its aims, ambitions, hopes, joys and fruition in Spirit, whose methods and means, plans and successes are secure; they cannot be separated from success." Robert Peel, Mary Baker Eddy: The Years of Authority (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1977), pp. 15-16 .
The carnal mind's attacks on the church institution are directed at individual human consciousness. This is where they must be met and conquered. Knowing nothing of what Church really is, the carnal mind makes its attacks upon its own material misconception of Church. This supposititious mind would make us lethargic, critical, dispirited in our church work. But these attacks could succeed only if we were to accept as true the mortal view of Church as ailing, failing, and impotent. Hence the need for us to keep our individual concept of Church clear and sharp, to see Church as it is spiritually—Mind's forever perfect, continuously unfolding, complete idea, permanently established in Truth, forever expressive of Life, illumined by Love. Then we must vigorously demonstrate this truth of Church in the activities of the institution.
The practical value of Church is tangibly felt by our neighbors as we live the truth we learn in church. The healing Christ, Truth, reaches mankind as we bear convincing witness to its utility in our homes, offices, schools, community affairs, and recreation. The Christ enables us to love our neighbor as ourselves—that is, to see the real man in God's likeness, instead of a material man, separate from and unlike God. When we love our neighbor in this manner, we are participating in the divine service that brings daily blessings to mankind.
How grateful we can be to God for the opportunities we each have to bear witness in the healing activities of the Church of Christ, Scientist, to the presence and power of His divine idea, Church. Through our demonstration of the Christ Science in our churches and in our daily lives, we can give convincing proof that God's Church is "Universal and Triumphant."
