One Wednesday evening the writer drove home from the testimony meeting, held in a Church of Christ, Scientist, praying for guidance which would enable her to prove her dominion over error. For several weeks a painful knee had distressed her. Being a teacher of music in the public schools, she had to climb up and down stairs for classes, and this activity was daily becoming more difficult. This particular evening when she arrived home she was unable to open the lock on the garage door. After much turning and twisting of the key, she finally decided there was nothing to do but to leave the car outside for the night.
During the night she awoke suddenly, with the thought of "oil" strong in her mind. She obediently got up and applied oil to the stubborn lock. It then opened easily. She thought, "If only this other problem could be solved as easily!" Taking up the Bible, she opened it at random and read (Isa. 10:27), "It shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing."
Knowing that the word "anoint" means to pour on oil as a sign of consecration, she realized that because man is the exact image and likeness of his holy Father-Mother God, he is already consecrated, and his holiness sets him apart from every discord and infirmity. Being the reflection of Spirit, man is the evidence of divine substance, which never deteriorates but remains forever pure, strong, complete.
Earnestly affirming these truths and living in accord with our highest understanding of them, we consecrate existence to the glory of one infinite God. Mary Baker Eddy writes in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 367), "The infinite Truth of the Christ-cure has come to this age through a 'still, small voice,' through silent utterances and divine anointing which quicken and increase the beneficial effects of Christianity."
The writer realized that it is never too late to begin utilizing this Christ-cure. Listening prayerfully for the still small voice, she saw that she had accepted the general belief that there was a conflict between the athletic program and the music in the schools. She had allowed the error to appear aggressively as a person who was obstructing musical progress. Now it occurred to her that since all so-called physical disease is mental, her anxious concern over the belief of obstruction, limited progress, and discord might have some relationship to a stiff, painful knee joint.
Using the Concordances, she studied the words "anoint" and "oil" in their context as found in the Bible and in Mrs. Eddy's writings. The truths which unfolded were applied with gratitude, humility, and conviction. She awakened to the fact that there is no conflict between right activity and harmony. When the false concept of an obstructing person was replaced with the understanding that man is God's perfect expression, always acting under divine control, she could see that all God's ideas work together harmoniously and constructively.
With a heart filled with love for God and His creation, she awoke to the fact that the discordant knee condition had vanished completely. This healing occurred more than four years ago and has been permanent.
All mankind needs to be anointed with "oil," defined by Mrs. Eddy as "consecration; charity; gentleness; prayer; heavenly inspiration" (Science and Health, p. 592). This oil is truly the "oil of gladness," with which Christ Jesus was anointed because he "loved righteousness, and hated iniquity" (Hebr. 1:9). It is not wisdom to sit back, fold the hands, and allow the false beliefs of mortal existence to deceive us by making us believe in friction and deterioration.
We cannot scold stubbornness into harmonious action, nor can we pity infirmity into strength. We can, however, conquer resistance to Truth by expressing gentleness and love and by holding to God's loving government of all, in which there is no friction or stubborn self-will. Thus we realize the eternal preservation of God-given strength, health, and unlabored activity.
When we utilize the ever-present Christ, Truth, to dispel friction, uselessness, stagnation, decrepitude, self-will, and other discordant conditions, we are anointing men "with oil in the name of the Lord" (James 5:14). This anointing does not beg God to bring to pass what we outline humanly. We know that God, the only creator, did not make anything that needs healing; therefore discords are not realities. Instead of asking Him to rid us of inharmony, which cannot really exist, we should consecrate our efforts and our desires to the joyous understanding of what is true of His creation.
We seek heavenly inspiration from the Bible, the writings of Mrs. Eddy, and from silent communion with the divine Mind, Love. As we do this "in the name of the Lord," the nature of the Christ reveals the eternally inseparable relationship of God and man. Matter does not enter into this sacred activity either as cause, effect, or remedy. Scientific prayer includes denial of mortal mind and its claims, as well as positive affirmation of Spirit's all-power, all-science, all-presence, all-action, and all-law.
With what gentleness and gratitude the woman of ill repute anointed the feet of Jesus! She did not ask any favors. She simply recognized and acknowledged the divinity Jesus reflected. She expressed a readiness to consecrate her life to Christ, Truth. Jesus' words of approval and blessing (Luke 7:50), "Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace," can be earned by all of us. We too can recognize, acknowledge, accept, and utilize the "infinite Truth of the Christ-cure." We can help to uplift and bless mankind with love and heavenly inspiration. We can see man as Christ Jesus saw him and thus awaken in ourselves and others spiritual sense and the resultant harmonious activity.
The sun does not burn away the morning dew with sudden or intense heat, nor does it break the hardness of ice with abrupt force. The sun's steady and increasing warmth removes them both with a quiet radiance. Our Leader expresses our part in the divine anointing thus (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 354): "A little more grace, a motive made pure, a few truths tenderly told, a heart softened, a character subdued, a life consecrated, would restore the right action of the mental mechanism, and make manifest the movement of body and soul in accord with God."
