IT is with gratitude that members of The Mother Church study the various reports read at the Annual Meeting, for each succeeding year carries with it signs of progress. There is nothing selfish in their gratitude, since what gives rise to it is their appreciation of the fact that something further has been done in bringing Christian Science, with its healing truth, to the world; something additional attained, in healing the mental and physical wounds of mankind; something more accomplished, in spiritualizing the thoughts of men. The reports of the various activities of The Mother Church indicate expansion and a greater degree of accomplishment.
The Christian Science movement is progressing—it cannot fail to progress, because of the healing work it is doing. When Christian Science was discovered by Mrs. Eddy in 1866, spiritual healing as practiced by Christ Jesus and the early Christian church had fallen into disuse. Since then the method of this healing, as set forth in Christian Science, has become increasingly known and more generally applied, until today its effects are acknowledged throughout the entire world. This is certain: the Christian Science movement as it is today is the result of the saving and healing work accomplished by the adherents of this Science.
Now, no Christian Scientist is ever perfectly satisfied with what has been accomplished; and he never will be satisfied, until God is universally acknowledged as All-in-all, and material sense is seen as utterly illusory and demonstrated to be nothing. The problem which the Christian Scientist ever has before him is the overcoming of mortal belief through the understanding of eternal Truth. Mrs. Eddy says on page 72 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," "Mortal belief (the material sense of life) and immortal Truth (the spiritual sense) are the tares and the wheat, which are not united by progress, but separated." The material sense of life and the spiritual sense—the tares and the wheat —seem to exist side by side in human consciousness; and it is there the separation must take place through the understanding of the unreality of the former—the tares— and the reality of the latter—the wheat. The understanding of Truth which Christian Science gives enables the student to do what the Master entreated those who heard him to do, as he taught in the temple (John 7:24), namely, "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment."
Jesus judged righteous judgment continually; and he never asked mankind to do what he himself did not do. His long series of victories over sin and disease, during his earthly ministry, was the effect of his righteous judgment. For the great Exemplar had ever before him the allness of God, his Father, the omnipotence of Truth, and the omnipresence of Spirit. He understood, in consequence, the unreality of material sense and of all the phenomena which it seemed to suggest. True to spiritual sense, which alone informed him correctly of reality, he judged righteous judgment, overthrowing the false claims of materiality, and thus healing all manner of error among the people.
Material or corporeal sense gives mortals their every problem; and to be saved from these, this sense must be denied and overcome. Our Leader sets forth the basis of the method of overcoming material sense in "No and Yes" (p. 6). She writes, "On the theory that God's formations are spiritual, harmonious, and eternal, and that God is the only creator, Christian Science refutes the validity of the testimony of the senses, which take cognizance of their own phenomena,—sickness, disease, and death." Her words contain the secret of spiritual healing. Spiritual sense reveals the nature of God, the creator, and of His spiritual creation, showing the latter to be perfect, even as God Himself is perfect. As God's creation is seen as the only creation, and as spiritual and perfect, the material so-called creation, to which material sense testifies, is acknowledged to be unreal, with all the phenomena which appear to accompany it; and once that to which material sense testifies is acknowledged to be unreal, the power of material sense to deceive is gone. Thus, sickness, sin, and death are overcome by recognizing them as the illusory phenomena of false material sense.
Our work as Christian Scientists can never be dissociated from spiritual healing. Whatever else may occupy our attention in connection with our movement, we should ever stand ready to do the work of healing. And what glorious work it is! Nothing can possibly bring to one the happiness that healings accomplished through an understanding of spiritual truth, bring. For they are proof of God's presence with us, proof of the power of Truth to destroy mortal error. They are the sign of "Immanuel, 'God with us'" (Science and Health, p. 107), bearing testimony to the unchangeable nature of spiritual reality, and to the Christ as ever with us, revealing this reality.
To be able to do this healing work more efficiently, we must constantly strive for a greater measure of spiritual understanding, a greater degree of purity of thought and humility. "If the disciple is advancing spiritually, he is striving to enter in. He constantly turns away from material sense, and looks towards the imperishable things of Spirit" (Science and Health, p. 21). There must be this prayerful endeavor if we would attain to greater spirituality; and we can rest assured that all sincere prayer is answered. When we turn toward the truths of spiritual being and become conscious of these truths, material sense and its transitory illusions fade into nothingness.
As our spirituality increases, as we more clearly realize the nothingness of materiality, what must follow in our church work? A greater sense of unity with God and with each other. And greater unity means greater strength to refute material sense and its false testimony, thus increasingly ushering in the kingdom of heaven on earth.
Only sixty-nine years ago was Christian Science discovered by Mrs. Eddy, and its holy work begun among men. But what a great work has already been accomplished! Great as the accomplishment is, however, it is small compared with humanity's needs. Our watchword, then, must continue to be, Forward! And this we know is possible through the spiritual understanding that is ours, the understanding which assures us of God's allness, the permanency of His creation, and the utter unreality of material sense.
