In The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, Mary Baker Eddy writes, “The church is the mouthpiece of Christian Science” (p. 247).
What does this mean? What is a mouthpiece? The answer to my question started with a conversation with a friend who was a jazz musician. He told me that he had a beautiful tenor saxophone. It was expertly handcrafted, costly, and considered one of the best models ever made. The reason it was considered such a fine instrument was the quality of sound it could produce.
Like many musical instruments, the saxophone needs a mouthpiece. Without it, the most beautifully crafted instrument won’t make a sound. I learned that some musicians literally search the world for the right mouthpiece. The right one enables the musician to express what he or she hears internally, so the proper mouthpiece is indispensable. While this analogy may begin to point to the need for, and importance of, an exceptional mouthpiece for the discovery of Christian Science, it may also be helpful to consider another meaning of the word mouthpiece: one who speaks on behalf of others, a spokesperson.
