There is not one of us who does not love the thought of resurrection. The glory and wonder of Christ Jesus' demonstration over death never fail to inspire every Christian, especially the student of Christian Science. But while the Christian world views this tremendous event as the individual triumph of a personal Saviour, Christian Science alone gives the deep spiritual significance and scientific explanation of it. Not only has Jesus' resurrection abolished death—the belief that death is the end—and comforted the sorrowing with the certainty of life everlasting, but it has given us the supreme example of what each one of us must eventually accomplish, namely, the proof that matter cannot destroy Life; that man exists here and now in the realm of Spirit, the realm of undying reality; that death and matter must flee from our presence, even as darkness flees before light. The only passing is the passing away of the shadow of materiality, leaving undying spiritual existence in its place. Then there will be
"No grave for an out-worn thought
No tomb for forsaken dark."
Jesus went through the crucifixion with the resurrection in his thought and in his heart. Then let us, in the midst of a trial that appears to our clouded thought like a cross, hold steadfastly to the thought of the resurrection, the thought that enabled our great Master to say before his crucifixion (John 16:33), "Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
Before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead he was convinced that Lazarus would be summoned from the tomb, for he said (John 11:4), "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." The demonstration was made before he said, "Lazarus, come forth." So our demonstrations are made when we are convinced of the truth which we are holding to; then outward evidence of the truth we have seen must follow. On page 44 of our textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mary Baker Eddy tells us that "the lonely precincts of the tomb gave Jesus a refuge from his foes, a place in which to solve the great problem of being." Jesus was alone in the tomb. The malpractice had ceased, for all believed him to be dead. He no longer had to strive to maintain his consciousness of Love. He was alone with God. The dream of the agony in the garden, the mockery, betrayal, and persecution, was over. He knew that man was not entombed, and so his demonstration of the Christ rolled away the stone.
Jesus' great love for his disciples was shown in his coming back to them after the resurrection. What must have been the bliss, the freedom, the glory, when through divine Mind he broke the power of death! How easy it would have been to go on soaring in the heights of being, leaving behind forever the world of sense! But there was yet another stone that had to be rolled away, the stone of the world's unbelief that such a demonstration could be made. Is not that why his disciples failed to recognize him? They could not believe, in spite of all he had taught them, that death was not the end.
Let us roll away this stone of unbelief that would hinder our demonstrations in Christian Science. Every demonstration that we make of the power of Truth over error is a rolling away of a stone from some despairing heart. Such a one will exclaim, "He made the demonstration; so can I!" Herein lies much of the value of our Wednesday testimony meetings in Christian Science churches and of the testimonies published in our periodicals. Every conquest over disease in Christian Science is lessening the claim to the power of disease for the whole world.
Christian Science teaches that no disease is incurable. Increasingly this truth is being admitted. Neither sin nor disease is an eternal fact. Then why should we expect that they must endure for a long period of time? We may need to adhere faithfully to the facts of being over a considerable period in order to bring the healing to light; but it is simply a case of being more persistent than error. We can always resolve to go on five minutes longer, rather than give up five minutes too soon.
What is the significance of the earthquake that occurred, as recorded in the twenty-seventh chapter of Matthew's Gospel? Must it not have been that "the great Way-shower illustrated Life unconfined, uncontaminated, untrammelled, by matter" (Miscellaneous Writings by Mrs. Eddy, p.30); that this tremendous thought force so shook the foundations of mortality that it rent the veil of the temple from top to bottom, the veil of the flesh, figuratively revealing man as wholly independent of corporeality?
If one studies the Acts of the Apostles, particularly the first few chapters, he will see that it was the fact of the resurrection that gave Jesus' disciples the mighty conviction which swept on the tide of spiritual power. That death is not the end, that Life is everlasting, had been demonstrated. It is a tradition that the early Christians met each other with this greeting: "The Lord is risen!" And the reply was, "He is risen indeed!"
Today there are many witnesses to the fact that death is an illusion. Our Leader raised a member of her household from the dead. I personally met a man last year who had been raised from the dead through Christian Science, and whose testimony subsequently appeared in one of the periodicals. A practitioner was working for a patient who seemed about to pass on. She stopped her silent treatment, and very forcibly said to the patient, "You are wanted!" There was an instant response. Some patients are tempted to believe that they will have a better time somewhere else, or that they are not needed. Man is necessary to God, and there is no other place to be in than the eternal here and now.
The progressive student of Christian Science is taking part in a continual resurrection. He is constantly rising from the grave of materiality, gaining new and higher ideas of spiritual existence, and slowly or quickly his material beliefs are yielding to spiritual understanding.
The definition of resurrection in our textbook is as follows (p. 593): "Spiritualization of thought; a new and higher idea of immortality, or spiritual existence; material belief yielding to spiritual understanding." Spiritualization of thought is a constant discipline, which the human mind is reluctant to undertake. But our difficulties, our encounters with error, force us to undertake this discipline for our own well-being, and as practitioners we undertake it for the sake of others.
The material senses are always denying the presence of God, Spirit, the kingdom of heaven, for matter claims to shut out the presence of Spirit; so the warfare with sense-testimony must continue until this testimony yields to the spiritual facts of being. This fact was demonstrated in the resurrection of Jesus. It was an accomplishment, or demonstration, on behalf of the whole human race. It must be proved sooner or later by all of us that matter cannot kill man, cannot deprive him of Life, which is God.
Without the Science of Christianity we would not know how to follow the Master in his demonstration. Spiritual healing before the advent of Christian Science was largely based on faith rather than a knowledge of the divine rule. In Christian Science we have the Principle and scientific rule upon which we can rely, perfect God and the exact understanding of the nature of God and man.
The allness of the one infinite Mind and its manifestation and the consequent unreality of evil should be the basis of our thinking and demonstration. While orthodox Christianity undeniably bases its concept of man on the second chapter of Genesis, the story of man made from the dust, Christian Science bases its concept on the account in the first chapter of Genesis, which reveals man made in God's image and likeness, and in this respect Christian Science radically differs from many other forms of Christian faith.
To accomplish the resurrection and ascension we need both the first and the second coming of the Christ, and through this twofold appearing of the Messiah, Christ and Christian Science, we ascend to the recognition of man's spiritual, perfect estate in God's own image and likeness, or, in other words, awake to the reality of our being in God, the infinite I AM.
We need to remember that while our thoughts must be resurrected from the belief of life in matter, our true, spiritual identity has never left the realm of reality. Divine Love has never been deprived of our individual expression and consciousness of perfection. Not one of us, as God's idea, has ever been born into the dream of life in matter, and not one of us, as divine idea, will ever go through the experience of death. Man has never entered this dream, and so of course will never pass out of a condition he has never been in.
The Psalmist wrote (Ps. 139:18), "When I awake, I am still with thee," even as a child asleep in its mother's arms perhaps dreams that it has been separated from its mother and awakes to find it is still safe. Christian Science has come to waken us from the dream of life in matter to our real spiritual estate. This awakening is resurrection.
