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Metaphysical Application Ideas for the Christian Science Bible Lesson on

“Doctrine of Atonement”
for Sunday, October 16, 2016

By Christie C. Hanzlik, CS, Boulder, Colorado
720.331.9356 ccern@mac.com

You will certainly find your own insights from this week’s lesson on Doctrine of Atonement. As I understand it, the atonement of Christ is the idea that “Christ died for our sins.” (I Cor. 15:3) Sin can be understood as the belief of separation from God. But what does it mean that Christ died for our sins? Here is one response to this question published in the Christian Science Journal:

“There are many notions about the blood of the cross. And it's especially easy to get transfixed by the crucifixion, considering it was so horrid, gruesome, and public. But we must remember that Jesus' crucifixion is merely one chapter in the story. The very next verse proclaims, ‘He was buried, and … rose again the third day.’

The key element, therefore, is not Christ Jesus' death, but his triumph over death. The gospel message of overcoming sin is not seen in the dead Jesus taken from the cross, but in the undying Christ. It is the message of salvation lived, witnessed, and proclaimed to all humanity, who can in turn live Jesus' example themselves and work out their own freedom from sin. The resurrection, therefore, shows us that his victory over death is also our victory.

The crucifixion, which was meant to stop the mission of Christ Jesus, actually gave it a platform. The resurrection was the final proof of the validity of his ministry, his identity, and the message of the destruction of evil that he proclaimed and lived in front of the people. Paul said, ‘The rising of Christ from the dead is the very heart of our message,’ (I Cor. 15:12, Phillips). It launched a celebration of the message of salvation that still is the light of the world.

R. RYDER STEVENS
AUBURN, WASHINGTON, US
“Your Questions & Answers,” From the December 2005 issue of The Christian Science Journal
http://journal.christianscience.com/issues/2005/12/123-12/your-questions-answers

In short, Christ’s atonement is the crucifixion and resurrection that demonstrate that we cannot be separated from God, eternal Life. We cannot forget the resurrection.

“Resurrection. Spiritualization of thought; a new and higher idea of immortality, or spiritual existence; material belief yielding to spiritual understanding.” (SH 593: 9)

Jesus’ enemies tried to kill the Christ—our awareness and connection to God—but the resurrection proves that Christ cannot die or be separated from God. Many people focus on the crucifixion and sympathize with the pain and suffering of the cross without acknowledging the full importance of the resurrection. But, we cannot allow this. It is through the resurrection that Christ Jesus demonstrated that he was and is always aware and connected to God, eternal Life. Christ, our awareness of God, cannot be killed. When we celebrate the resurrection, we are refusing to end Christ Jesus’ story with the crucifixion. Instead, we aim to follow the way of Christ Jesus and discover that we always have been and always will be at one with God. For me, the idea of our permanent at-one-ment with God, which Jesus demonstrated with the resurrection, is the theme of this week’s lesson.

And, for me, this lesson forms a trio with the subsequent two Bible Lessons:

· Doctrine of Atonement: we are always and already at one with God
· Probation after Death: we are always and already at one with God; there is not a death-process to becoming at one with God
· Everlasting Punishment: we are always and already at one with God; there is no everlasting punishment/separation from Love

Together, these three lessons draw upon the life and teaching of Christ Jesus to affirm that we are already at one with Divine Love, God. They reject the notion that we are born separate from God (sinners), and that we must struggle through a testing period (probation) to connect with God. And they repudiate the theology that sinners who fail to connect with God must suffer everlasting punishment (hell).

During Mary Baker Eddy’s time, and still today, the belief that we are separate from God (sinners) dominated theological opinion. But her discovery of the Science of the Christ, led her to understand the radical truth that we are not separate from God/Love; we are always and already at one with God.

While many folks may pray to become connected to God, the Christian Scientist prays to understand that we are always and already connected to God and to overcome the mistaken belief of separation or punishment. Here is one example of a statement of at-one-ment from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “As a drop of water is one with the ocean, a ray of light one with the sun, even so God and man, Father and son, are one in being.” (SH 361)

The logic of Christian Science that supports our at-one-ment is that God/Love/Mind is supreme and infinite, filling all space, so there is no possibility of a gap between God and us. In other words, God is Mind, and we are Mind’s idea. No separation can exist between Mind and Mind’s idea.

Mary Baker Eddy gives the “important points” of Christian Science, including statements on atonement and freedom from sin and suffering, in the six tenets of Christian Science in Science and Health on page 497. Five of these six tenets are in the three current Bible Lessons:

· Doctrine of Atonement:

Fourth Tenet: We acknowledge Jesus’ atonement as the evidence of divine, efficacious Love, unfolding man’s unity with God through Christ Jesus the Way-shower; and we acknowledge that man is saved through Christ, through Truth, Life, and Love as demonstrated by the Galilean Prophet in healing the sick and overcoming sin and death. (S20, 497:13)

Fifth Tenet: We acknowledge that the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection served to uplift faith to understand eternal Life, even the allness of Soul, Spirit, and the nothingness of matter. (S24, 497:20)

· Probation after Death

First Tenet: As adherents of Truth, we take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life. (S1, 497:3)

· Everlasting Punishment:

Sixth Tenet: And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure. (S25, 497)

Third Tenet: We acknowledge God’s forgiveness of sin in the destruction of sin and the spiritual understanding that casts out evil as unreal. But the belief in sin is punished so long as the belief lasts. (S30, 497:9)

It seems to me that the second tenet, which isn’t included in these lessons but is no less important, gives the premise for the atonement-logic of Christian Science that states God is all, and therefore there can be no separation from “all.” Here is the second tenet: “We acknowledge and adore one supreme and infinite God. We acknowledge His Son, one Christ; the Holy Ghost or divine Comforter; and man in God’s image and likeness.” (SH 497)

Optional Assignment #1: For the next three weeks, study a tenet a day Monday through Saturday, until you better understand each one and how it relates to our at-one-ment, and thus to eternal life and effortless healing. For example, on Monday, focus on the first tenet, Tuesday, the second tenet, etc. [“Extra credit”—follow the development of each of the tenets as traced at http://www.marybakereddylibrary.org/research/the-evolution-of-christian-science-tenets/ ]

Golden Text and Responsive Reading:

In the Bible Lesson on “Doctrine of Atonement,” the Golden Text and Responsive Reading both begin with the word “grace.” This is a big clue that “grace” will be important throughout the lesson. In fact, “grace” recurs twelve times. But what is “grace?” A simple way to define grace is that grace is the reminder of our connection to Love. When we “give grace” at a meal, we’re basically reminding the people at the table of our connection to Love, and being grateful for this truth. So, using word substitution, the Golden Text reads, “[the reminder of our connection to Love] and truth came by Jesus Christ.” Christ’s atonement—the crucifixion and resurrection that demonstrated that we cannot be separated from God, eternal Life—is grace, the reminder of our connection to Love.

Optional Assignment #2: Read “Grace, Healing, and God’s Unfailing Love,” by Bill Moody, considering the definition of grace as the reminder of our connection to Love. (From the August 2006 issue of The Christian Science Journal; also well read in audio form at http://journal.christianscience.com/issues/2006/8/124-8/grace-healing-and-god-s-unfailing-love

Some readers may find Romans 5:10 the most difficult verse to understand in the Responsive Reading. Here is my interpretation of it…perhaps you’ll want to try writing out your own way of understanding it…

“For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

For even when we didn’t understand Christ—our connection to God—the crucifixion made us begin to understand. But now that we understand more and more about Christ, our connection to God, we can see that the crucifixion and resurrection demonstrate our eternal connection to eternal Life, health, and harmony and that we can experience this too as we follow Christ Jesus’ example.

Once we understand this verse and the meaning of the crucifixion and resurrection better, the final line in the Responsive Reading should make lots of sense: “We also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.”

Section 1 {For CC insights on citation B4, see W's PS#1.]

In Section 1, we read more about God sending His son, Christ Jesus, to be the propitiation for our sins (belief of separation). I like to think that Christ Jesus showed us how to understand our always and already connection to God. Without Christ Jesus, we may not fully understand our connection.

Let’s sort out the relationship between God, Christ, and Jesus:

God: God is Love (B2)
Christ: Our awareness of our connection God.
Christ Jesus: “Jesus is the name of the man who, more than all other men, has presented Christ, the true idea of God, healing the sick and the sinning and destroying the power of death.”

We could never separate God, Christ, and Jesus. As Mary Baker Eddy states, “The Christ [awareness of God] was the Spirit which Jesus implied in his own statements, “I am the way, the truth, and the life;” “I and my Father are one.”* This [awareness of our connection to God,] or divinity of the man Jesus, was his divine nature, the godliness that animated him [gave him life].” (S4) {*Warren thinks you will like "I and my Father are one" an original song by CedarS mom, Cherie Brennan on her CD "You are Loved".]

At the conclusion of Section 1, we see the word “grace” again. “What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in [the reminder of our connection to Love], expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds.” This makes so much sense when we consider that as we are being patient, meek, loving and doing good deeds, we will feel our connection to God, Divine Love. God is Love, so when we are love-ing, we will feel our connection to Love. As we are loving, we will feel grace, the reminder of our connection to God.

Section 2 {For CC insights on citations B7 & B8, see W's PS#2 & PS#3 & Download B8 SKIT.]

In Section 2, we have the example of Jesus teaching his doctrine—the way of understanding God. He taught by explanation—“as one having authority”—and by demonstration when he healed the man who was paralyzed. He healed the man who was paralyzed by acknowledging that his sins were forgiven. In other words, the man’s belief that he was separate from God was healed as Christ Jesus made it clear that that the man was at-one, his sins were forgiven. Clearly, Christ Jesus knew he didn’t have to wait for the crucifixion and resurrection to prove our at-one-ment with God. He taught and demonstrated it throughout his ministry. “Our master taught no mere theory, doctrine, or belief…”—he made it practical and provable now. (S9) “Explaining and demonstrating” was “the way of salvation [health] to all those who accepted his word.” (S11)

How did Jesus heal? For me, this question of “how” is the point of Science and Health. The Bible tells us about Christ Jesus’ healing and inspiration, and Science and Health teaches us how he did it. One way to understand how Jesus healed is that, “Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God’s own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick.” (S10)

For me, the word “perfect" can mean connected, as in perfectly aligned, in perfect relation to one another. So, I understand this citation this way: “Jesus beheld in Science the [connected] man, who appeared to him where [separated man] appears to mortals. In this [connected] man the Saviour saw God’s own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick.” We too can heal the sick and sinning thought when we acknowledge that separation from supreme and infinite Love is impossible.

In Section 2, we also read more about how to overcome sin, the belief of separation. We cannot keep believing in our separation and feel at-one with God. We must give up a sense of self that is separate from God before we can really feel our at-one-ment. Mary Baker Eddy writes, “Wisdom and Love may require many sacrifices of self to save us from sin.” In other words, we may have to go through many experiences to find the wisdom to let go of our stubborn sense of a self separated from God before we finally get it, and are free from the false belief of separation.

Section 3 {For CC insights on citation B11, see W's PS#4.]

In Section 2 the focus was on giving up a sense of self that is separate from God so that we can feel our at-one-ment. In Section Three, this theme continues with Jesus’ words, “Whosever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” One way to understand “take up the cross,” is accepting the tough work of self-immolation, or getting rid of a sense of self. It is not always easy, but is always rewarding.

This section also describes Jesus prayer before the crucifixion. While he knows it must happen, his time in the Garden of Gethsemane is a meaningful moment in which he demonstrates self-immolation, letting go of any lingering sense of a self separate from God. Mary Baker Eddy defines Gethsemane as “patient woe; the human yielding to the divine; love meeting no response, but still remaining love.” (S17)

Many of us have felt Gethsemane-like experiences in which we felt alone, isolated, and metaphorically facing the crucifixion. But, through prayer—our willingness to give up a sense of self and feel our at-one-ment—we can find healing and harmony as we follow Christ Jesus’ example in the way of health and salvation. “We must have trials and self-denials, as well as joys and victories, until all error is destroyed.” (S19)

Section 3 concludes with the fourth tenet, “We acknowledge Jesus’ atonement as the evidence of divine, efficacious Love, unfolding man’s unity with God through Christ Jesus the Way-shower; and we acknowledge that man is saved through Christ, through Truth, Life, and Love as demonstrated by the Galilean Prophet in healing the sick and overcoming sin and death.” (S20)

Section 4 {For CC insights on citations B12 & B14, see W's PS#5 & PS#6.]

This section focuses on the resurrection. “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace [the reminder of our connection to Love] was upon them all.” (B13)

In Science and Health, we read, “Jesus’ deed [the crucifixion and resurrection] was for the enlightenment of men and for the salvation [at-one-ment] of the whole world from sin [separation], sickness [inharmony], and death [the false belief in an end].” And in the same paragraph, Mary Baker Eddy quotes the verse from Romans, which was also in the Responsive Reading, “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (S21, see explanation above)

Mary Baker Eddy writes, “The efficacy of the crucifixion lay in the affection and goodness it demonstrated for mankind.” [S25] This statement is not about the pain and suffering on the cross, but about the sure reward of understanding the complete story—the crucifixion and resurrection—that demonstrates eternal life. The resurrection, as you’ll remember is, “Spiritualization of thought; a new and higher idea of immortality, or spiritual existence; material belief yielding to spiritual understanding.” (SH 593:9)

Note that Section 4 contains another tenet. The fifth tenet is, “We acknowledge that the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection served to uplift faith to understand eternal Life, even the allness of Soul, Spirit, and the nothingness of matter [limitations].” (S24, italics and bracketed words are my additions]

Section 5

Section 5 makes sure that we know that at-one-ment with God/Love is universal, not just for a select few in a select time. This idea of universal at-one-ment corrects the false theology that only some people in certain times are chosen and that there are some who are sinners [separated] and some who are saved [at-one]. Here are some examples of the statements of universality in this section:

· “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus…. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” (B16)
· “ye are called in one body…” (B17)
· “With one Father, even God, the whole family of man would be brethren…” (S27)
· “…God’s will must be universally done.” (S28)
· “Throughout all generations both before and
after the Christian era, the [awareness of God], as the spiritual idea, — the reflection of God, — has come with some measure of power and [reminder of our connection to Love] to all prepared to receive [awareness of God], Truth.” (S29)

This section also contains wonderful instructions as to how we can feel universal at-one-ment. In Colossians, we read, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” To me, this verse means, Let the good news of our awareness of God dwell in us as we lift each other up with hymns and songs that remind us of our connection to Love. (B17)

In Science and Health, we receive more instructions telling us how to follow Christ Jesus and feel at-one with God (and thus find healing). Here is a list of the ideas in citation 30, which tell us directly to follow Christ Jesus’ commandments—love God and love one another as yourself—to follow him in the way of at-one-ment and resurrection:

· keep the commandments of our Master and follow his example
· he has said: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
· The habitual struggle to be always good is unceasing prayer.
· Simply asking that we may love God will never make us love Him; but the longing to be better but the longing to be better and holier, expressed in daily watchful-ness and in striving to assimilate more of
the divine character, will mould and fashion us anew, until we awake in His likeness. (S30)

And, finally, the Bible Lesson concludes with a statement of our at-one-ment: “God, the divine Principle of man, and man in God’s likeness are inseparable, harmonious, and eternal.” (S31)

We discover our universal at-one-ment as we strive to understand the principle of the tenets of Christian Science. This Bible Lesson offers a great foundation for understanding the relationship of infinite God, Christ Jesus, Christ, Christian Science and our connection to infinite God. Note that these concepts are each mentioned in the second tenet, “We acknowledge and adore one supreme and infinite God. We acknowledge His Son, one Christ; the Holy Ghost or divine Comforter; and man in God’s image and likeness.” (SH 497)


[Warren Huff’s (W’s) PS#1 –B.C. Crisler’s commentary on citation B4 (John 10:27-30) and nearby verses… Bring a shepherd’s care to all you do; be at one with God:
“Chapter 10. Not too many of us keep sheep anymore. So, this is a lost simile on the twentieth century. Should we be keeping sheep in the real meaning of it? What could you and I do more about our job, our home, our world, our political situation, our community, and church, if we introduced more of the shepherd motive into all of them?
John 10:13 shows the difference between the shepherd-motive and the hireling’s motive who was working just for pay. “The hireling fleeth, because that’s all he was working for is money.” Where’s the difference? “He doesn’t care.”
Let’s ask ourselves the question, do we care? If we care, that’s the shepherd motive. Jesus cared. He walked in the midst of the dissolute, the despairing, the injured, the grieved, and the broken in heart as well as in body. And nobody knew why he did it…

[“Jesus says that he is the Shepherd and he also says he is the door. It may look like he is confused. Let me give you an example of how he isn’t. When my wife and I were in Israel, we stopped in a place between Jerusalem and Bethany. I saw what I thought was an unattended flock of sheep. There was also a rock wall with one door or gate. It was an almost complete square. As I wandered around, I was suddenly surprised by the shepherd whom I had disturbed. He rose up. He was stretched across that entry way, getting a few winks.
Right there I had illustrated for me what Jesus meant in John 10: 2, 11, 14, “I am the shepherd” and in John 10: 7, 9, “I am the door.” Now there was no confusion at all. With the sheep inside an enclosure and the only possible entrance of wild animals or thieves being that door, you had to get through the shepherd in order to get to the sheep. The shepherd was also the door.
In Mary Baker Eddy’s poem, “Feed My Sheep”, there is the statement, “I will listen for Thy voice.” [Hymn 304] While we were down in that area of Beersheba, we saw many sheep all mixed together. I said to Janet, ‘I wonder how the shepherd is ever going to sort out his sheep. They’re all just mingled together.’ I had the answer to the question very readily. It wasn’t very long before our shepherd separated himself from the crowd, walked away never looked over his shoulder at the mixed up sheep, but made some kind of identifying click or clack of his tongue or voice.
“Do you know that every one of his sheep separated themselves from that flock and followed him? He never doubted. He never looked back. The sheep did their job. The sheep knew his voice. “I will listen for Thy voice.” These lessons are things that in the busy moments of our own twentieth century we need to contemplate. They’re not just symbols. They’re not done just as ancient history. They’re attitudes. They’re states of mind and thought. This is something we often need to consider.” In John 10:30, Jesus’ great statement, “I and my Father are one.” If this is from the Aramaic, then, the Aramaic word would give the meaning, “I and my Father are in accord.”
Book of John, A Walk with the Beloved Disciple, B. Cobbey Crisler, To buy your own copy, see W’s PS#7.]

[W’s PS#2 –B.C. Crisler’s commentary on citation B7 and nearby verses,

“Mark 1, Verse 14. We have "John put in prison." He has already disappeared from the scene. And, ‘‘Jesus comes into Galilee, and his work begins."

Verse 15. There are four foundational aspects to the gospel we need to study. Normally, an architect might refer to just one cornerstone in a building. But let's remember that all four of the corners have cornerstones. To that degree, let's ask ourselves if this is not a clue to understanding Mark. We have a foursquare gospel, and at each corner we have a particular point. If this is true, you should be able to compile the information that follows in 'ihe gospel under 'one of the following four headings.

(1) The announcement that, "the time is fulfilled." What does this mean? Prophecy. The time for the fulfillment of prophesy has arrived. So, everything is just brimming in the gospel of Mark with this great news. All of the expectation is over for the Messianic prophecy: We have a fulfillment now. ‘What could be more exciting than to be living in an era of fulfilled prophecy? Nothing, apparently, because this is what impels the gospel writers to pick up their pens.

We saw 'right in the beginning of Mark, Chapter l ,Verse 2, "As it is written in the prophets. " It is one of the first things we were to focus on. So, "the time is fulfilled,” is one of these foundational cornerstones. Study Mark as if it were a textbook, filled with data that Jesus needed us to know in order to follow him. It is a handbook, so to speak, a textbook where we can find data that can be applied.

Those four foundational points, under "the time is fulfilled , " you will see over and over again, explicit or implicit, in the text.

The second one, “the kingdom of God is at no distance.” It is right here. Even that idea is radical to Christendom today often because the kingdom of God, or often heaven, is considered to be so far away from any of us now. It is out of reach, and we’re not really behaving ourselves sufficiently to get there. It takes Palomar’s 200 inch reflecting telescope to even get a glimpse of it. But we find the founder of Christianity saying, ''Not so." His theology is based on the fact that "the kingdom of God is at hand."

Do we act like it is? We moan and we groan most of the time. We wouldn't if our state of mind was the “kingdom-of-God-is-at-hand" and the “prophecies-are-fulfilled." But those are only two of the cornerstones.

The third one is “Repent!" That means to change your concept. Now, we’re going very deeply to the roots of what is required of us to get anywhere spiritually. The problem is mental or he never would have stated it in this way.

It would be cruelly misleading if he laid down as one of the four important aspects of his theology the fact that we had to change our concepts of things. The implication is that every human ill, physical, moral, mental, all can be changed mentally. Otherwise, repenting wouldn’t make any. Changing one's concept wouldn't make any difference.

This might be where maybe we temporarily get off the train leading to Jesus' theology. We may say to ourselves, if our bodies are riddled with cancer, of what avail would it be to change our concept? How would that affect the body? The implication is that this is the panacea. Repent ye. Change your concept about things.

Do you realize what kind of a religion that suggests? It's very revolutionary in this respect: nothing is incurable from the point of view of Jesus ' theology. If you can change your concept, then everything is curable. That's some good news of victory that has yet to hit the human race with any impact like Mark, the h amn1,£_r. ·

The fourth and final cornerstone is to "believe the gospel," That "believe" is not just to hold an opinion that .waves in the breeze. This is a conviction on and a trust in the pronouncements of the gospel of the kingdom of God, and that "kingdom of God is at hand."

With that structure of the gospel in mind, we can do this kind of work together. As a matter of fact, the reward comes from doing this work individually and meeting each other that way. It affects the world's climate by doing this kind of deep research. In your own individual study, try those four columns.

The time is fulfilled,

The kingdom of God is at hand,

Repent ye,

Believe the gospel,

and see how you can outline the whole gospel in that way.

We may just discover that Peter becomes one of the most polished orators of all time. Yet he is regarded as a rather simplistic fisherman who probably stumbled in Greek and was more at home in his Aramaic…

Verse 21, “Straightway on the Sabbath day.”

Let’s look at the gospel from above. Let's see the divine structure here that is motivating what we are being told.. Aside from simply gathering the first disciples and paying tribute to John the Baptist's fulfillment of his mission, a greater sense of baptism, the fact that Jesus is defining things in Mark for us. He’s defining things like church, and baptism, and man, and repentance, and relation­ ship. All of these things are major definitions. But we have to move from the day-to-day approach into the narrative and see this happening in an overall tenor behind the text.

The Sabbath day is an important thing, because what we’re supposed to do on the Sabbath day had already been defined by a commandment (Exodus 20:8). We were to keep it holy. Is he going to be consistent or inconsistent with this commandment? We test his every move. "He enters into the synagogue, “where worship is going on, “and he teaches."

Mark1, Verse 22. What he is teaching is so radical that his hearers acted as if they’d never heard this before. How wonderful! That means it's inspired. They didn't recognize in his method anything they were used to in the scribal method the Bible experts, the teachers of that period. In Jesus' remarks they heard more authority coming across than they had ever heard from the local ecclesiastics.

Excerpted from a transcript of a talk by B. Cobbey Crisler entitled What Mark Recorded. To buy your own copy, see W’s PS#7.]

[W’s PS#3 –B.C. Crisler’s commentary on citation B8 and nearby verses
“Mark, Chapter 2, Verse 1, "We’re back in Capernaum. " We’ve got to have Peter’s recollection; here because he’s the one that owns the house. His mother-in-law was healed in this same house. "He (Jesus) was in the house.”

Verse 2. "Many are gathered together. They couldn't move. "

Verse 4. Jesus had the same problem many well-known people have today. "They couldn’t come nigh unto him for the press.” No one but the home owner could have told it like that. In fact, only Mark has the details here. "They uncovered the roof where he was.” You have a nice roof on your house and total strangers suddenly are dismantling it above your head. As a home owner you're probably going to be the one most emotionally involved i n th is.

"And when they had broken it up." You can almost see Peter going arou nd the world giving this as his oral presentation of the gospel of Jesus and never forgetting what had happened to his roof.

"They let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay." It’s a potentially dangerous situation. You are crowded in there elbow-to-elbow and down comes the roof plus four people bringing someone lying on a pallet. Gravity might even have him shift off the pallet right into the midst of the people down there. The whole thing was filled with a potential fear of disaster. See how Jesus handles this panic-in-the-making. He doesn't see any of the physical motions. To him that does not describe the real activity going on. But remember what Jesus lays down as a rule later in the gospel of John 7:24, "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”

Verse 5. So, "When Jesus saw their faith,” which was as visible to them as the commotion was visible and audible to those around, "He said unto the sick of the palsy, Son." Notice "Son," immediately linking him to a relationship with God. "Son, your sins be forgiven thee. "
Verse 6. Does that really hit the fan? Some of the scribes, the teachers of the faith of the time, "the experts," didn't dare say anything. "So they only reasoned it in their hearts." This shows you how mental the whole thing is and how accurate Jesus was in establishing one of those cornerstones, as “repent," and change your thought.
Verse 8. Jesus announces what they were thinking. Apparently it was an obstacle to healing, just as sin was an obstacle to healing. He had to deal with all of them before he could get to the nature of the case completely.

There are three treatments involved in many of the cases as recorded in Mark . Mark is the most methodical in giving us the rules for healing. It is almost as if we have a n eyewitness that not only remembered the details but cherished the details. If it is Peter, how appropriate, because Peter is the first one to be a major healer after the ascension. And he is the first one to raise t he dead after Jesus.

These details were obviously taken in. They imbued him with an education which he was able to use and apply in his own case, even without the physical presence of Jesus to do this healing.

Verse 11. So he says, "Take up thy bed, and walk, and go thy way into the house." Again, the definition of healing includes dominion. Jesus did not take up the bed of this man. This man had associated the bed with what dominated him. It was a false comforter. Both those had to be subordinated to the joyous news that each and every person is a child of God. "Son." he said. Each and every child of God has the freedom to express dominion. Dominion is something that one expresses, not something that 's imposed. It 's a matter of expression.

Would it have been entirely a different experience if Jesus had somebody else pick his bed up, rather than the man himself, to exercise dominion over it, and walk out? "They had to help you through the roof. You walked out through the door with the bed. Your faith hath made thee whole." A mental state. Faith is apparently the antidote for sin because that's how it's treated in Verse 5. One mental state must supersede the other. This is healing. Illness is a conflict of mental states. It's a point of view that can be our worst enemy. But the divine outlook, that is our best friend. We cannot play like our gear is in neutral on the subject. We’ll go nowhere. We must go forward, picking up our bed and going our way into our houses. That's what dominion means.”

Excerpted from a transcript of a talk by B. Cobbey Crisler entitled What Mark Recorded. To buy your own copy, see W’s PS#7.]

[W’s PS#4 –B.C. Crisler’s commentary on citation B11 and nearby verses,
Matthew 26: (Verse 18). "Passover comes. Jesus knows what that's going to mean."
(Verse 24). He again using Scripture says, "As it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! " It did not have to be Judas. But Judas elected because greed in his thought completely overpowered any other right element. He betrayed his Master for gold.
(Verse 26). "We find the Last Supper."
(Verse
30). ''The last thing Jesus does before he goes out into the Mount of Olives is to sing a hymn."
I suggest that you very quietly at home take Psalm 113 all the way through 118. Those are the hymns still sung today by Jews at Passover. These were undoubtedly the Psalms from which that hymn would have been taken. I think that every hair on your head will stand on end and you will be moved very deeply to read those psalms and determine what probably was being sung by Jesus, among which is a modern hymn, "This is the day the Lord hath made." Just think when he sang this.

Look at the verses that face the subject of death. It's very moving indeed. Psalm 118 and 116 specifically. Connect it with that event. Do it privately and within yourselves. Because it's a very precious moment of studying the Scriptures.
(Verse 31). Jesus quotes Scripture, again, Zechariah 13:7, about "the shepherd being smitten, and the sheep scattered."
(Verses 36-45). "His Gethsemane hour he faces." You have to read every gos pel account of Gethsemane to appreciate it. The oil press that forced out of Jesus, according to Luke, sweat that looked like drops of blood pouring on the ground.

Jesus was fighting the Adam-myth of man's origin, where the curse on Adam was, that from the sweat of his brow he would survive. Here Jesus was overcoming that claim on man of perspiration and relying on man's salvation through inspiration,

(Verse 50). Jesus' first words to Judas. Could you have said that to Judas? "Friend, wherefore art thou come?"
(Verse 53). He says to Peter who chopped off the ear of the High Priest's servant, "Don't you know that I could pray to God and immediately be saved?"
(Verse 54). "But how shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be?"
What was Jesus using as his guide going right through the crucifixion? Everything he found in the Scriptures, or he wouldn’t do it.”

Excerpted from a transcript of a talk by B. Cobbey Crisler entitled Book of Matthew, Auditing the Master: A Tax Collector’s Report. To buy your own copy, see W’s PS#7.]

[W’s PS#5 – B.C. Crisler’s commentary on verses near citation B12:
“Acts 10, verse 34, begins a lecture or sermon to the first group of Gentiles. And the opening statement that Peter makes is one that could be well considered by every denomination of Christianity today. Here Peter expressed his new view of God, that God is no respecter of persons, that God speaks to receptivity.

This new view of God, of course, leads to this next question: Should man as well be no respecter of persons? This is a tradition-shattering concept.

And Acts 10, verse 35, Peter summarizes it by saying “in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”

Then he begins to explain to Cornelius and the friends and acquaintances of Cornelius, the history of early Christianity. “The beginning of Christianity is traced from Galilee after John’s baptism, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth.” (Acts 10:37)
Of course that word “anointed” immediately identifies Jesus as the Messiah. This is a point that Peter is obviously going to get across to this Gentile audience that would need some instruction in this.

Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

And you find in Acts 10, verse 43, he does that by stating that “all the prophets had given witness to the Messiah, namely Jesus.”

As soon as Peter gets into this “Walked to Emmaus” approach, in other words the comprehension of Jesus’ role in the earlier scripture, we find in Acts 10, verse 44 that “the Holy Ghost falls on all the listeners.”

It wasn’t Peter’s idea that this should happen; it’s at the Holy Ghost’s initiative. This is disturbing to some of those that came with Peter: Jewish Christians.
And we will find it becomes even more disturbing to other elements in the church later on, for this is a departure. The question underlying this event is “Should the church be parochial or universal?” Is it simply a sect of Judaism or an outcome of Judaism, or is it the fulfillment of God’s will as expressed in prophecy with its ultimate mission to embrace universal humanity?”
Excerpted in part from a transcript of a talk by B. Cobbey Crisler entitled “After the Master, What? The Book of Acts”. To buy your own copy, see W’s PS#7.]

[W’s PS#6 of B.C. Crisler’s commentary on verses near citation B14:
“Acts 5, verse 12, gives us our familiar phrase of unity. It’s what? “They were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.” You see, they’re still connected with the temple. It’s still effective Judaism really.
Acts 5:13 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.
Acts 5:14 and believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)

Now, Acts 5, verse 15, shows that healing is occurring all over. As a matter of fact, the indiscriminant public sense of it was “that even Peter’s shadow passing on people seemed to heal people.” It was that easy in those early days.
Acts 5:15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
Acts 5:16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.”

Excerpted in part from a transcript of a talk by B. Cobbey Crisler entitled “After the Master, What? The Book of Acts”. To buy your own copy, see W’s PS#7.]

[W’s PS#7: You can buy your own transcripts of most of Cobbey’s 28 talks at a new website: www.crislerlibrary.co.uk Email your order or inquiry to office@crislerlibrary.co.uk, or directly to Janet Crisler, at janetcrisler7@gmail.com ]


[Although the recent outpouring of Fiscal Year End gifts was wonderful and greatly appreciated, GIFTS are still VERY MUCH NEEDED and APPRECIATED to cover a year FULL of BIGGER than anticipated maintenance and operating expenses that was HUGE with blessings for campers and staff. Your generous support will enable CedarS to be sustainable in its efforts to bless over 1200 Sunday School students each summer. The blessings of making one's own the love of Christianity and its scientific application are not only immediate and heartfelt, but they also last forever–as can be seen in our summer FRUITAGE. Please check back on this webpage in coming weeks for a gushing stream of new stories of blessings felt across the country and around the world–thanks to God and to your ongoing generosity! CedarS, your friend in need, is "a friend indeed!"

1. "Unrestricted Gifts" allow CedarS to allocate funds where most needed.

2. "Maintenance Musts" Matching Funds! This hugely helpful matching grant offer has been renewed by dear supporters to match up to $25,000 through December 31, 2016!

3. “Adopt the Herd” Matching Opportunity! Generous donors, aware of the ongoing need to care for CedarS herd, will match donations for our horse program!

[You can also reach a member of the Founding family nearly anytime by
PHONE at 417-532-6699

or MAIL your tax-deductible support to our 501C3 organization
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The CedarS Camps, Inc.
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[THANKS TO YOU PRECIOUS DONORS FOR YOUR ONGOING, GENEROUS and NEEDED SUPPORT OF CedarS IMPORTANT WORK!]


[CedarS weekly Metaphysical Newsletter is provided at no charge to the 1,200 campers and staff blessed each summer at CedarS, as well as to CedarS alumni, families and friends who have requested it. However, current and planned gifts are a big help and are greatly appreciated in defraying the costs of running this service and of providing needed camperships, programs and operations support.

[The Met application ideas above are provided primarily to help CedarS campers and staff (as well as friends) see and daily demonstrate the great value of studying and applying the Christian Science Bible lessons throughout the year, not just at camp! YOU CAN ALSO SIGN UP for weekly emails from past CedarS staff of possible ways to share Bible Lesson applications with older, as well as younger, Sunday School classes by clicking the "Subscribe Now" button (lower left) athttp://www.cedarscamps.org/metaphysical/

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