Have you ever thought about Joseph of Arimathea? If you have, you probably didn't see him as playing a great role in history or as being an outstanding disciple of Christ Jesus. Yet the qualities Joseph manifested, the spirit that impelled him to a brave, unselfish deed, linked him to our Master's triumph over death—an event of stupendous import in human history.
Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of Jesus;See Matt. 27:57-60. not one of the twelve apostles, but nevertheless receptive to the Christ. His devotion, moral courage, and unselfishness inspired him, after the crucifixion, to beg fearlessly for the body of Jesus and to put it in his own tomb. In this way he provided his Master with a needed sanctuary. Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health: "The lonely precincts of the tomb gave Jesus a refuge from his foes, a place in which to solve the great problem of being. . . . He proved Life to be deathless and Love to be the master of hate."Science and Health, p. 44.
We today can be like Joseph of Arimathea. The same unselfishness, the same yearning to serve the healing and uplifting Christ, and the same moral courage that impels radical reliance on God in thought and deed are here to animate our giving. We may have no knowledge of the dark threats to health and happiness that loom in the consciousness of others. But each time we help provide a Christian Science lecture for the community, each time we support a Wednesday testimony meeting or Sunday service of a branch Church of Christ, Scientist, and each minute our church's Reading Room is open to the public, we are providing a sanctuary, a haven for rest and healing, for anyone struggling with the false beliefs of material sense.
