The September 1998 Christian Science Journal was a lifesaver for me. I had read and been deeply inspired by a report from the Annual Meeting of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, entitled "Witnessing the leaven of Truth in theology." There was a series of three talks, the first two by former ministers, both of whom had experienced remarkable healings and eventually became Christian Scientists. The third was from a woman who is a Christian Science chaplain stationed in Germany. She gave an Easter sermon to the troops in Bosnia on the "panoply of Love,"The phrase is from Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy(p. 571): "Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you." that really resonated deep within me. I was especially affected by her explanation of a panoply as that which protects absolutely whatever is in it—keeping all safe from harm or hate of any kind.
The very next day I received a call from my sister-in-law in Massachusetts, reporting that my brother, a clinical psychologist, had collapsed in his office and had been taken to University of Massachusetts Medical Center emergency room. A CAT scan revealed large kidney stones in both kidneys and the ureter. He was experiencing excruciating pain. She asked me for treatment through prayer as he had been sent home for the weekend—and was not on medication—until the urologist could operate on Monday.
I knew that he had recently been feeling great anger and resentment over a deep injustice at work that he felt powerless to change. My thought was flooded with compassion and tenderness for this dear one, who had worked so devotedly for troubled adolescents. I simply put him totally in that "panoply of Love" and knew that divine Love was dissolving every atom of resentment and injustice. He called late that afternoon, though still quite weak, to say the pain was gone. On Monday he returned to the urologist, who was unable to find any evidence of kidney stones. His strength returned, and he has had no recurrence of the difficulty. When he returned to work, the atmosphere had completely changed to one of harmony and appreciation for his work.
