In Matthew, we read, “And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick” (14:14). Many of us yearn to heal as Jesus did, and are grateful for every large or small healing we experience in our own lives, or in others’. And being “moved with compassion” has so much to do with healing as Christ Jesus demonstrated, as I experienced recently.
While reading the weekly Bible Lesson from the Christian Science Quarterly with a small group of people in the Christian Science nursing facility where I work, I tripped over the microphone cord while passing the microphone from one person to another. As I tried to regain my balance, I came down on my foot wrong, severely twisting it as I landed on it with force. There was great pain when I tried to put any weight on the foot, but I was able to return to my chair, where I remained until we finished our study of the Lesson.
At that point I excused myself, and a colleague assisted me to my office, where I was able to call a Christian Science practitioner. Fear tried to rush in and intimidate me into thinking that this injury was going to take a long time to heal. I shared this fear with the practitioner, who shared some truths about time not being a factor in my spiritual perfection, which is eternal. This comforted me, and the fear left.
The practitioner suggested that I pray for the Christian Science movement, which surprised me because it didn’t seem relevant. But what a joyful time of learning and growing! Part of what I learned was that the ever-operative, ever-present activity of divine Truth and Love that’s behind this movement includes all of us in harmony, love, and sweet accord. Being receptive to Truth and Love moves us to be compassionate—to understand that man is forever governed by God. Whether we’re praying for ourselves or for others, this understanding helps us to stand up mentally to whatever might try to convince us that we could be vulnerable. It helps us feel God’s love more fully.
At one pivotal point the phrase “knit together” came to me, and I looked it up in both the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. The first citation that really resonated with me was from a testimony in Science and Health, in the chapter on Fruitage. The testifier had been healed of a broken arm; but, the testifier says, “My friends claimed that the arm had not been broken, as it would have been impossible for me to continue my work without having it set, and carrying it in a sling until the bone knit together” (p. 606). The testimony goes on to say that the arm was later X-rayed, and a physician confirmed that the bone had been broken but had come together perfectly. That confirmed to me that God is able to meet our needs, and I knew this was exactly what would happen in my experience now, as it had so many times in the past.
The second reference that particularly struck me was from the Bible: “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love” (Colossians 2:2). This reaffirmed for me that we are all included in the activity of the Christ, Truth, which inspires in each of us Christly compassion. I felt that Christly compassion being shown by those who were supporting me. The loving support of my colleagues at the Christian Science nursing facility was palpable.
During this time, which was about two days, the foot was wrapped by a Christian Science nurse. It was not necessary for me to miss even one day of work, and when I was able to walk without using crutches after only those two days, my colleagues and I definitely rejoiced. In less than two weeks, I was able to resume my two-and-a-half-mile daily walks.
The full healing took place within a month, for which I am so grateful. But as is often the case with Christian Science healing, the spiritual growth that has come from this healing is cause for even greater rejoicing.
Recently, when I was reading the weekly Bible Lesson and came to the previously shared statement from Matthew about Jesus being moved with compassion toward those he healed, fresh inspiration and joy came rushing in when I recognized that this same movement in thought, or action of the Christ that Jesus represented, is today inspiring us with compassion for our fellow man, healing and saving just as it did when Jesus walked the globe. As we read in Science and Health, “That which is real, is sustained by Spirit” (p. 556). The Christ has never stopped, and never died to have to be resurrected, but is forever alive and active!
How grateful we can be to Mrs. Eddy for her discovery of this Science of Christianity that continues to heal the sick and the sinning, and to God, whose love inspires compassion in us as we are receptive to that love.
Jan Dillingham
Lakewood, Colorado, US
