When the Hebrew nation was organized at Sinai, a national sanctuary and services for the people were planned. Under God's guidance, Moses chose Aaron and his sons to serve as priests of the tabernacle. The priests were consecrated for this service by special ceremonies. The high priest was to be an especially holy man, with a spiritual charge to keep the children of Israel alert to their obligations to God.
According to the account in the Book of Numbers in the Bible, certain of the Israelites rebelled against the selection of Aaron and his house, and Moses was told by God how the choice might be confirmed. The direction which he received was that the chief of each of the twelve tribes should bring a rod with his name written upon it; Aaron's name was to be inscribed on the rod for the tribe of Levi. These rods, or boughs, were to be placed in the tabernacle, and God would send a sign which would indicate His approval of whoever was to hold the priestly office.
On the following morning, Moses went to gather up the rods. Whereas the others were still lifeless, we read that "the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds" (17:8). Here was a sign from heaven! From that day there was no doubt that Aaron was the high priest chosen of God and that his sons were set apart for the priesthood.
The blooming of Aaron's rod might be taken as symbolizing the supremacy of the Christ, the divine manifestation of God, forever ready to give evidence of its presence and ever ready to bestow upon men, from the least to the greatest, its beauty, vitality, and power. The tender bud, the radiant blossom, the fruit, all on the same stem, intimated the completeness of the presence of the Christ. The blossom did not appear without the bud, the fruit did not show itself without the flower, and the bud was not alone, deprived of flower and fruitage. A sign of the possible complete unfoldment of the Christ-power was this rod of Aaron's.
The Hebrew priests and certain Levites were set apart for the service of God, and the remainder of the people constituted the laity, or laymen. In the course of history the priests sometimes abused their office, and the prophets spoke out against them. At the time of Christ Jesus, the priesthood was more concerned with politics and ritualism than with spiritual life. The chief concern of the Sadducees or priestly party was to perpetuate their own organization as a special, protected group and to keep things as they were.
Christ Jesus did not indicate that one group of men ought to interpret God's will or that one man should act as an intermediary between another individual and God. The Master emphasized the need of his followers to pray directly to God. By following Jesus' sinless example and demonstrating our unity with God, we are made "kings and priests unto God" (Rev. 1:6).
In the Church of Christ, Scientist, there is no personal priesthood and therefore no separating of the members into ministers and laymen. Each Christian Scientist has an equal responsibility and opportunity with his fellows to commune with God. Referring to the need of every individual to recognize his relationship to God, divine Principle, Mary Baker Eddy writes in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 141): "For this Principle there is no dynasty, no ecclesiastical monopoly. Its only crowned head is immortal sovereignty. Its only priest is the spiritualized man."
Each one through his own prayer and demonstration puts on the robe of holiness and ministers to God in love and obedience. He is not separated from others, but separates himself from worldly ambitions and desires. He seeks to cultivate within himself the qualities of meekness, teachableness, and unselfed devotion to Truth. The budding, blossoming, and fruitage of the Christlike qualities within the heart and mind will place within the grasp of everyone the living rod of holiness—dominion.
The Church of Christ, Scientist, comprised of The Mother Church and its branches, will come into fuller expression of its possibilities when all members gain a deeper concept of their role as church members. To be strong and progressive, a church needs members who understand that the establishment of personal comfort, desirable and right as this is, is not the ultimate of demonstration. To depend wholly upon the healing work of another without rousing oneself from contentment with the mere human sense of things tends to divide the church into two groups, workers and nonworkers, similar to those of priests and laymen. The vital, energizing forces of which the Christian Science churches are capable depend upon every member's being awake to the fact that Christian Scientists cannot be divided into workers and nonworkers.
The attainment of health and holiness through the understanding of Truth and Life exemplifies the manifestation of the Christ in the flesh. Mrs. Eddy writes in her beautiful poem "Christ and Christmas" (Poems, p. 27),
"For Sharon's rose must bud and bloom
In human heart."
Serving the church does not necessarily imply holding office. Serving the church means dedication to the spiritual ideal of Church, the perfect structure of Love and Truth, on the part of the individual church member. It means seeking to know the simplicity of the teachings of Christ Jesus and to live according to them. The humility of the Master, his sense of oneness with God and his surrender to the will of God, gave him might, majesty, and holiness. His selfless devotion to the Christ, perfect manhood, and his healing works made him a king and priest unto God without compare.
As each church member makes the Master's life and works companions for his daily thoughts, the atmosphere of our branch churches becomes imbued with that unselfish dedication to Truth and Love in which the orderly unfoldment of the democratic process flourishes at its best. When each one penetrates beyond the confines of personal sense and reaches out for the good of all, then great growth is manifest in a church.
He within whose heart the Christly life buds and blossoms and bears the fruit of works is he who ministers best to the Cause of Christian Science. He who accepts only pure, unadulterated Christian Science, discovered and set down by Mrs. Eddy, wields the only possible rod of power in the growth of the Christian Science movement. Not patchwork ideas, but thoughts that conform in all points to the statements given in Science and Health should form the utterance of the mind and of the lips of those who consecrate their lives to God at the altar of divine Science.
To keep our thoughts pure and modest, our sense of Science clear and straight, our energies alive and fruitful, is the way our Leader marks out, for she writes in "Retrospection and Introspection" (pp. 94,95): "I am persuaded that only by the modesty and distinguishing affection illustrated in Jesus' career, can Christian Scientists aid the establishment of Christ's kingdom on the earth. In the first century of the Christian era Jesus' teachings bore much fruit, and the Father was glorified therein. In this period and the forthcoming centuries, watered by dews of divine Science, this 'tree of life' will blossom into greater freedom, and its leaves will be 'for the healing of the nations.'"
