Articles

It would be difficult to read the following compilation of short articles on Easter by Christian Science teachers from around the world without being struck by how many galvanizing R words convey the meaning of this holiday. Among them: rebirth, rededication, redemption, rising, resurrection.

Mary Baker Eddy’s poem “Satisfied” records the true nature of God’s idea, man, the spiritual identity of each one of us. Its last verse reads:   The centuries break, the earth-bound wake,      God’s glorified!  Who doth His will—His likeness still—Is satisfied.

A high school English teacher of mine earnestly loved and appreciated everything Shakespeare. She had a wonderful talent for instilling that enthusiasm in her students, including me.

As a child attending the Christian Science Sunday School, it wasn’t hard for me to figure out that the real meaning of Easter had nothing to do with bunnies or chocolates. It also wasn’t just an event that many in the world commemorated once a year at a certain date.

Jesus’ victory over the grave is, of course, the central event of the Easter story. But there are many other inspiring aspects of this narrative as well.

Growing up in an era where the stories were about the beautiful princess meeting her handsome prince and living happily ever after, that’s what I expected—and desperately wanted. Starting in early high school, I would “fall in love,” only to find that there were qualities about the person I had fallen for that I didn’t like at all.

It is with deep gratitude to God and for learning to pray the way it is taught in Christian Science that I offer this testimony. A number of years ago, our brother left home to go and learn a trade from our uncle in a foreign country.

One early spring evening when my children were young, my eight-year-old son Philip was at his little league baseball game, and my five-year-old son Timmy was playing with a friend on our front porch while I finished washing the dinner dishes. We would soon go to the game as spectators and applauders.

A year or so ago, during the Easter school holidays, I received visitors at our family residence. The plan was for them to stay for two weeks.

We all have experienced times of poor health, financial worries, or disruptions in our ability to think and act normally, at one time or another. Responding to these challenges with prayer as practiced in Christian Science begins with identifying what is really going on.