God Does Not Retaliate

 

Photo credit: Christopher Fischer

Almost every day, we hear people either thanking God for some goodness which has come into their lives, or else expressing disappointment in this God they’ve made in their image and likeness. Perhaps they’re distressed because their god has taken a loved one from them: “God called him home”. Or maybe they’re lamenting why god chose to allow a horrible thing to happen, such as a fire or tornado. I suppose we have these ideas because of Biblical teachings and preachers’ interpretations of them. But even if you choose to take the Bible literally, after the 40 days and nights of rain, God told Noah he would never do it again. Last Sunday, in the mainstream churches for which I provide musical accompaniment, the scriptural readings had to do with “God was not in the earthquake, fire, etc”. I guess it’s easier for us to have someone to blame, or give credit to, or fear, or love. So we anthropomorphize Spirit because it’s easier to visualize a person walking along with us. “God is my co-pilot!” Really??? We think we’re in charge and God’s riding in the next seat? Interesting. The whole God thing can be quite confusing if we try to follow the instructions given us in Sunday School. I have never run into dead-end conundrums when following the teachings of “primitive Christianity”. And the study is always joyous!

“God does not believe in retribution. His Mind does not create that way. He does not hold your ‘evil’ deeds against you. Is it likely that He would hold them against me? Be very sure that you recognize how utterly impossible this assumption is, and how entirely it arises from projection. This kind of error is responsible for a host of related errors, including the belief that God rejected Adam and forced him out of the Garden of Eden. It is also why you may believe from time to time that I am misdirecting you. I have made every effort to use words that are almost impossible to distort, but it is always possible to twist symbols around if you wish.” 

A Course in Miracles T-3.I.3:4-11

“Christian Science eschews what is called natural science, in so far as this is built on the false hypotheses that matter is its own lawgiver, that law is founded on material conditions, and that these are final and overrule the might of divine Mind. Good is natural and primitive. It is not miraculous to itself.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page127:30-3

The Presence of Light

 

Art by Rich Urbaniak

“We are not saints, we are not heroes. Our lives are lived in the quiet corners of the ordinary. We build tiny hearth fires, sometimes barely strong enough to give off warmth. But to the person lost in the darkness, our tiny flame may be the road to safety, the path to salvation. It is not given us to know who is lost in the darkness that surrounds us or even if our light is seen. We can only know that against even the smallest of lights, darkness cannot stand. A sailor lost at sea can be guided home by a single candle. A person lost in a wood can be led to safety by a flickering flame. It is not an issue of quality or intensity or purity. It is simply an issue of the presence of light.”

~ Kent Nerburn: Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace

“Light is a symbol of Mind, of Life, Truth, and Love, and not a vitalizing property of matter. Science reveals only one Mind, and this one shining by its own light and governing the universe, including man, in perfect harmony.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 510:27-1

“Come therefore unto me, and learn of the truth in you. The mind we share is shared by all our brothers, and as we see them truly they will be healed. Let your mind shine with mine upon their minds, and by our gratitude to them make them aware of the light in them. This light will shine back upon you and on the whole Sonship, because this is your proper gift to God. He will accept it and give it to the Sonship, because it is acceptable to Him and therefore to His Sons. This is true communion with the Holy Spirit, Who sees the altar of God in everyone, and by bringing it to your appreciation, He calls upon you to love God and His creation. You can appreciate the Sonship only as one. This is part of the law of creation, and therefore governs all thought.” 

A Course in Miracles T-7.V.11:1-8                            

Take Me To The Church!

    

St. Emilion in Bordeaux, France

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

The last writing which was sent out to you ended with the hope that churches would follow the two great precepts which Jesus left us: love each other and love God most of all. Today I had this note from my dear friend and Mentor, Jim Young: “It seems to me, at least in large part, that Eureka Springs itself is a church/religion that fits the two basic principles.” I agree with him totally, and his words caused me to think about ways this is true. When anyone is in trouble — be it physical, financial, emotional, or anything in between — the people of our town come together to support them. No one stops to think about political affiliations, gender orientation, or past run-ins. We just help each other. I’ve seen it happen time and time again. I’ve seen it firsthand when I was in need. Eight years ago, I had no means of supporting myself for almost a year. It was six months before I got a prosthetic device which allowed me to walk and drive, but people picked up books from the library, took me to the grocery stores, ferried me back and forth to doctor’s appointments — everything. My every need was met before I knew I had it! Jim is exactly correct: Eureka Springs, collectively, is a religion. Take me to the church!        
                    

"PSALM XXIII 

[Divine love] is my shepherd; I shall not want.

[Love] maketh me to lie down in green pastures: [love] leadeth me beside the still waters.

[Love] restoreth my soul [spiritual sense]: [love] leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for [love] is with me; [love’s] rod and [love’s] staff they comfort me.

[Love] prepareth a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: [love] anointeth my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house [the consciousness] of [love] for ever."
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 577:4-18

“Prayer is the greatest gift with which God blessed His Son at his creation. It was then what it is to become; the single voice Creator and creation share; the song the Son sings to the Father, Who returns the thanks it offers Him unto the Son. Endless the harmony, and endless, too, the joyous concord of the Love They give forever to Each Other. And in this, creation is extended. God gives thanks to His extension in His Son. His Son gives thanks for his creation, in the song of his creating in his Father’s Name. The Love They share is what all prayer will be throughout eternity, when time is done. For such it was before time seemed to be.”
A Course in Miracles S-1.in.1:1-8

Church, Religion, Loving God

St. Emilion in Bordeaux, France

Photo by Blake Lasater

It seems many friends and acquaintances, from lifelong Christians to adamant atheists, are talking about the Exodus from organized religion. I understand the pain involved in closing down a church, as we were forced to do it eight years ago with our Eureka Springs Christian Science edifice. But according to Mary Baker Eddy, she had not wanted to start a new religion, but felt it was necessary to found a church in order to insure that the book, Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures, would continue on through the years. And so to that end, she has succeeded. I’m not sure the church she founded has been successful in furthering the “cause of Christian Science”. I could speculate on the reasons, but it seems the culprit is a staid insistence on following the letter, without “imbibing in the Spirit”. With regard to other religions, it appears the ones which need to flourish in order to create fellowship and reach out to “the least, the last, the lost”, are struggling; and it is strange (at least in my mind) to see evangelical, holier-than-thou congregations thriving. But perhaps the bottom line is that the kingdom of heaven is within, and we don’t need a building and a preacher to tell us how to love. But we do need more community, in the form of a network of people who can help those in need. So while we’re leaving religion and rebelling against rhetoric, let’s not forget the two commandments Jesus gave us: love each other and love God above all else. I hope churches which practice this precept flourish during these interesting days of change.

“We shall obey and adore in proportion as we apprehend the divine nature and love Him understandingly, warring no more over the corporeality, but rejoicing in the affluence of our God. Religion will then be of the heart and not of the head. Mankind will no longer be tyrannical and proscriptive from lack of love, — straining out gnats and swallowing camels.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 140:10-15

“Communion is impossible alone. No one who stands apart can receive Christ’s vision. It is held out to him, but he cannot hold out his hand to receive it. Let him be still and recognize his brother’s need is his own. And let him then meet his brother’s need as his and see that they are met as one, for such they are. What is religion but an aid in helping him to see that this is so? And what is psychotherapy except a help in just this same direction? It is the goal that makes these processes the same, for they are one in purpose and must thus be one in means.”
A Course in Miracles P-2.II.9:1-8

A Transformative View of the World

 

Photo by Blake Lasater

Reading an editorial in the Christian Science Monitor, I was again struck by the importance of this publication. I am going to quote a paragraph from it here, but the prologue to this quote is that the Boston Globe has discontinued overseas news because it’s too expensive to keep correspondents all over the globe, and they say that no one in America cares or reads news from anywhere else. Hum … I could write a page or two about that, but I won’t. Here is the beautiful sentiment Mark Sappenfield, Editor, wrote:  “What does the Monitor do better than every other news organization on the planet? I would argue that it offers a transformative view of the world itself — that the human story is more interconnected and more hopeful than much media coverage would have us to believe. The Monitor can’t NOT cover the world. To focus only on the United States — or any other country — would be to misapply its mission. Quality ties like compassion, respect, generosity, and honesty know no borders, and to understand how they shape the human experience requires chronicling how the struggle over them is convulsing the world. That’s what news is.” As I contemplate these words, I visualize what a difference it would make if all media understood this and acted accordingly. 

“You may know when first Truth leads by the fewness and faithfulness of its followers. Thus it is that the march of time bears onward freedom’s banner. The powers of this world will fight, and will command their sentinels not to let truth pass the guard until it subscribes to their systems; but Science, heeding not the pointed bayonet, marches on. There is always some tumult, but there is a rallying to truth’s standard.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 225:5-13

“All this beauty will rise to bless your sight as you look upon the world with forgiving eyes. For forgiveness literally transforms vision, and lets you see the real world reaching quietly and gently across chaos, removing all illusions that had twisted your perception and fixed it on the past. ³he smallest leaf becomes a thing of wonder, and a blade of grass a sign of God’s perfection.” 

A Course in Miracles T-17.II.6:1-3

The Perfume of Gratitude

 

Cheers with GrandmaMa and Torin

We tend to project our own feelings onto God, don't you think? I guess it's part of our upside-down  training to see Source as anthropomorphic, and hence it's tempting to put conditions and limitations on forgiveness and gratitude. Seeing myself as a reflection of God is a great first step in developing spiritual sense, but it's easy to think that God is a reflection of me! I may feel that I can never forgive certain things because they're just too bad. But God "is of purer eyes" than to see these things, so there is nothing to forgive when I'm living in Oneness. My beliefs may tell me I'm grateful that things aren't as bad as they could be, but God's creation is only good. And so anything unlike God, good, is unreal. Mortal mind, or ego, would tell me many other stories, but I choose to listen to Truth. My gratitude, your gratitude, God's gratitude -- it's all One and the same, as is the Love which conveys it!

“This is what is meant by seeking Truth, Christ, not ‘for the loaves and fishes,’ nor, like the Pharisee, with the arrogance of rank and display of scholarship, but like Mary Magdalene, from the summit of devout consecration, with the oil of gladness and the perfume of gratitude, with tears of repentance and with those hairs all numbered by the Father.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 367:10-16

“You are being blessed by every beneficent thought of any of your brothers anywhere. You should want to bless them in return, out of gratitude. You need not know them individually, or they you. The light is so strong that it radiates throughout the Sonship and returns thanks to the Father for radiating His joy upon it. Only God’s holy children are worthy channels of His beautiful joy, because only they are beautiful enough to hold it by sharing it. It is impossible for a child of God to love his neighbor except as himself. That is why the healer’s prayer is: Let me know this brother as I know myself.” 

A Course in Miracles T-5.in.3:1-8

New Views of Divine Goodness

           Art by Sam Toft

GOOD

By Donna Ashworth

“Most people are good. Most people kiss their pets goodbye and read just ‘one more’ bedtime story to their children. Most people visit their grandparents even when they have no time and stop by to check on quiet friends, after a long day. Most people give money when money is scarce and most people worry about people they don’t even know, day in and day out. When the world seems bad, remember, most people are good.”

Written by Donna Ashworth from the book “Wild Hope”

“Love propagates anew the higher joys of Spirit, which have no taint of earth. Each successive stage of experience unfolds new views of divine goodness and love.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 66:13-16

“Nothing that is good can be lost because it comes from the Holy Spirit, the Voice for creation. Nothing that is not good was ever created, and therefore cannot be protected. The Atonement is the guarantee of the safety of the Kingdom, and the union of the Sonship is its protection. The ego cannot prevail against the Kingdom because the Sonship is united. In the presence of those who hear the Holy Spirit’s Call to be as one, the ego fades away and is undone.”

A Course in Miracles T-5.IV.1:7-11