Our Master, Christ Jesus, has given us tender reassurance in the beatitude "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." Matt. 5:4. For one struggling with grief following the passing of a friend or loved one, words can seem inadequate to meet the heartfelt need for comfort. But Christ, Truth—the divine message to human thought revealing life in and of Spirit, God—penetrates even the deepest despondency and can awaken the suffering heart to the profound assurance and joy of eternal Life.
It is not unusual to be drawn toward the poignant remembrance of the good expressed in our relationship with a loved one who is no longer here. Sometimes, however, deep wounds of regret or fear are laid bare. Fear of the future or a painful sense of separation may surface and disturb us. The first step in correcting and healing grief-stricken thinking is to be willing to be comforted—willing to listen and respond to the tender, healing influence of the Christ.
In the Glossary of Science and Health, Mary Baker Eddy defines Christ as "the divine manifestation of God, which comes to the flesh to destroy incarnate error." Science and Health, p. 583. The influence of the healing Christ is ever present in human consciousness, and brings into clear focus the truth of God, Life eternal, and man's relation to Him. In the heart of prayer, we can feel the influence of Christ, Truth, tenderly ministering to us.
What would appear to obstruct one's progress, standing in the way of the free, full, progressive expression of joy and well-being, is the erroneous belief of life in and of the flesh. But the pure recognition of man's actual, spiritual selfhood as revealed by Christ can bring peace and healing into our experience, allowing us to feel the tender care of divine Love, which is both life-sustaining and joy-maintaining.
The healing effect of the Christ is accompanied by an adjustment, or change of base, in one's thinking. It is felt in a renewed sense of direction and the desire to bring daily life into conformity with the unfolding of spiritual truth. In fact, only to the degree that such conformity occurs does one experience the regeneration and healing that free us from the darkness of mortal existence and bring an enlightened sense of life without restrictive fears.
The Bible briefly tells how one of the patriarchs dealt with the passing of his wife. Sarah and Abraham experienced a long and fruitful relationship established on the firm spiritual basis of their mutual understanding of and fidelity to God. When Sarah passed on, Abraham mourned and wept for her. However, Abraham did not remain paralyzed with the heaviness of an unhealed grief. Referring to this fact, a Bible commentary concludes, "It is not right that grief should be allowed to become a paralyzing bondage." The Interpreter's Bible (Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1951-1957), Vol. l, p. 649. Abraham was consistent in living in accord with God, divine Principle, who had proved to be a sustaining influence in his life. He must have understood that God would continue to guide him through each step of progress.
In the heart of prayer, we can feel
the influence of Christ, Truth, tenderly
ministering to us.
After Sarah's passing, Abraham requested a very costly cave in the area for her burial. The word burial is defined in its metaphysical sense in the Glossary of the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health, and it is most helpful to consider. First, the physical conception of burial is described: "Corporeality and physical sense put out of sight and hearing; annihilation." The second part of the definition conveys a different meaning: "Submergence in Spirit; immortality brought to light." Science and Health, p. 582. This reveals the spiritual demand to let go of the concept of death, or annihilation, as an inevitable fact of life and instead seek a higher, spiritual view of man's being. In this way we gain the assurance that man's actual life is eternal, that it proceeds without interruption.
Release from the pain of grief often requires making a wise exchange—exchanging the limited sense of life in matter, with all its fluctuating conditions, for the constant, unwavering consciousness of existence in and of Spirit, God, eternally secure. We can come to feel and know that man reflects fully and eternally his creator, divine Life; that man images forth by perfect reflection all the qualities of God.
That which we love and appreciate in those near to us is such Godlike qualities as love, strength, humility, compassion, joy. No law of matter, of sin, sickness, death, can separate man from the expression of, or from companionship with, the qualities that God manifests through His offspring. Reasoning along these lines helps to eliminate the fear that our loved ones may not continue to express good. It also serves to correct the false reasoning that underlies the pain of separation.
A woman received the startling news that a beloved cousin had passed away very suddenly. The fact that he was quite young and had a promising future added to her sorrow. The beliefs that existence could terminate in sudden death and that man's life was limited to the evidence put forth by the material senses were among the fears she wrestled with. She called a Christian Science practitioner to support her through prayer and was asked to give some thoughtful consideration to the definition of burial mentioned earlier.
It was pointed out that the scientifically Christian basis for dissolving the painful effects of grief, including the fear of death, was the spiritual truth that no element of man's true being has ever been put out of the sight and hearing of divine Life, ever present Spirit, perfect Love. The genuine, spiritual man, reflecting the vitality of Life, the substance of Spirit, the infinitude of Love, can never be annihilated. In reality, man was, is, and always will be submerged in Spirit, God, awake to the fact of his immortal being as God's child. Man is incorporeal and spiritual; he has no corporeal existence.
The practitioner's treatment through prayer included the realization that man is eternally submerged in Spirit. As the reflection of God, man manifests infinite activity. Life, opportunity, and productivity cannot be annihilated. The only thing that can be destroyed is a mortal misconception of life as beginning with material birth and ending with the supposed death of matter. This spiritual unfoldment was evidence of the activity of the Christ in human consciousness.
No element of man's true being has ever been put out of the sight and hearing of ever present Spirit, perfect Love.
In a short time the woman reported that she was completely free from any sorrow or fear or pain associated with the passing of her cousin. Instead, she felt a genuine sense of inspiration. She realized with much gratitude that her cousin could never be separated from divine Life, God, and that as the complete expression of Life he was continuing to reflect the spiritual qualities that constitute his true being. The healing of grief was permanent, and the unfoldment that brought about the healing remained to bless this woman in other areas of her experience.
When the Christ destroys the error of belief in life as limited to and annihilated by matter, those who are mourning are comforted and experience the blessing of healing. The joy such healing produces, the freedom it generates, and the faith it instills become a permanent and unshakable staff upon which to lean.
