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Give loving attention to Soul and you’ll shine as Soul’s remembered reflection forever!

Metaphysical application ideas from the Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson on

Soul”
for February 14, 2021

by Kerry Jenkins, CS, of House Springs, MO
kerry.helen.jenkins@gmail.com • 314-406-0041

Here’s AN AUDIO LINK to enable you to hear Kerry Jenkins read her metaphysical application ideas on this week’s Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson on “Soul”. Details of citation locations are NOT in the audio version, but are written below and online. To hear the Met you can also use this address: https://www.cedarscamps.org/metaphysical/audio/play/audio-met-on-soul-by-kerry-jenkins-cs/

INTRODUCTION: Golden Text and Responsive Reading

[Grace Wasson, CS, in a Christian Science Lecture in the 1960s said: “Wherever there’s loving attention, memory is inevitable.”] This lesson is full of giving loving attention to and remembering all the power, beauty, love, health and life—the identity of God and man. It’s hereby ours by reflection as a unique gift forever! Soul is often connected with identity and it is hard to understand who we truly are, without a deepening understanding of who God is, as Soul. As I was studying this lesson in preparation to write this Met, I felt compelled to set things aside and begin a list of remembering with loving attention every healing that I had ever experienced myself, or was a part of in my family.

So often, when we feel doubt or fear, we suddenly feel we have never had an example of healing in our experience. Or, the human mind will tell us that maybe it wasn’t really a healing after all, or was more insignificant than it seemed at the time. The ubiquity of these suggestions, and the unvaried nature of them across humanity, show them to be typical lies of material sense.

Human memory often attempts to diminish what is inspired, beautiful, spiritual. Think of how the great, red dragon of the chapter of Revelation in the Bible tries to chase down the woman to destroy the child she is birthing, and then swallow her up with a flood. (If you are unfamiliar with this account you can read it in the 12th chapter of Revelation). This flood is like the doubts and fears of human sense that surround us at times when we are facing a challenge.

The Bible Lens from the Christian Science Sentinel this week, points out that our Golden Text, Psalms 22:27, is late in the Psalm that begins with the famous cry “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?”, a verse that Jesus quotes while hanging from the cross. [Check-out Warren’s GEM#1 for Cobbey Crisler’s eye-opening connections between Jesus’ Psalm 22:1 quote from the cross and the rest of Psalm 22’s prophesies of crucifixion events and even of a “live for ever” promise of resurrection for “everyone on this earth” to remember (verses 26 & 27, G. Text).] This is typical of most lament Psalms that end by “flipping the script” — thanks to God. Lament psalms that start with a wave of doubt, fear, despair, almost always move to praise, affirmation, and even joy.

All of us face challenges—some seem insurmountable. But as we remember, meditate, commune with, diligently search for, and rely on Soul to move human thought forward spiritually, we begin to see, and to demonstrate for ourselves the immortal and spiritual nature of man as Soul’s reflection. (Look at the Responsive Reading for some of these ideas about hungering after and searching for Soul!)

SECTION 1: How do we understand God/Soul?

In order to understand a reflection, we have to understand the source of that reflection. To do that we can take steps to devote our thought to becoming conscious of how Soul has “set [Her] tabernacle among [us]”. (citation B1, Lev.26:11) How do we see Soul at work all around us, within us? There are several references in this Bible lesson to our soul being thirsty for Soul or God, as one would thirst in a desert. The Bible takes place in a desert climate, so these analogies would have been meaningful where the value of water would be high. Obviously, water is essential to life. In the same way a deep understanding of Soul/God, is actually essential to our being! The more we can understand God as Spirit, Soul, and lose a “false sense” or material sense of Soul (cit. S3, 335:22), the more we understand man’s immortal nature. To do this, we exercise our spiritual senses.

Citation S4 gives us a concise definition of spiritual sense: “Spiritual sense is the conscious, constant capacity to understand God.” (SH 209:31-32) Each of us has the ability to be conscious of Soul’s presence, even constantly. It is different for each. I heard a bit of it in my son Huck’s voice when he called in great excitement on his way to a motorcycle race Friday when they had spotted a bald eagle nest with an adult and baby in it. They were able to pull over and observe the pair, as these beauties were in the treetops which were actually below the level of the road they were traveling!

The ability man has to appreciate, wonder, love, joy in beauty, power, life, is a quality of spiritual sense. But we don’t have to have a major nature sighting to feel this spiritual sense, we can feel it when we take a moment to remember the way that God has been active in our lives. This remembering makes us awake to the present activity of Soul, much as a regular practice of gratitude brings more spiritual riches to light!

SECTION 2: Satisfaction and joy come from remembering our being is rooted in infinite Soul.

Material sense looks at man as mortal, subject to laws of matter. But spiritual sense reveals that “It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.” (cit. B5/Ps.18:32)
It is in Soul that we find our spiritual strength to face each falsehood, and our wholeness, completeness as Soul’s reflection. Material sense will always tell us that we are needing something. We need more money, more friends, less weight, less stress. This is the material model of man. Mary Baker Eddy eloquently addresses this in citation S7 when she states: “Continuing our definition of man, let us remember that harmonious and immortal man has existed forever, and is always beyond and above the mortal illusion of any life, substance, and intelligence as existent in matter.” (SH 302:14-17)

While the true, spiritual man is “beyond and above” the illusion of material man, it is not inaccessible to us, wherever we are in our understanding! Practice remembering. Practice spiritual consciousness. Acknowledge everything you can identify as beautiful as coming from Soul. No endeavor that is wholly rooted in matter can permanently bring us peace.

Many practices that reflect the discipline, devotion, love, and generosity of Soul reflect Soul’s being. But, unless we take the step to acknowledge the connection to Soul, we are just trying another material “self-help” program. We have to gain an understanding of our deep connection to our spiritual source, or we tend to feel only intermittently happy and at one with Soul.

SECTION 3: Remembering to ask Soul for direction in every task leads to union with Soul.

Marriage, at its best, is often regarded as a satisfying form of happiness. Many, if not most of us, hold a desire to experience a warm and rewarding connection with others, and specifically a marriage partner. In this beautiful account from Genesis 24, (cit. B8) of Abraham sending his servant to find a wife among his kindred for his son Isaac, we have clear examples of humble prayer and the expectation that these prayers would be answered in a helpful way.

What kind of thought do we carry with us when we approach major decisions in our lives? Do we expect to hear answers? Do we ask in humility for that which is right—Soul-given? Or, do we have something in mind? Do we have a specific person, timeline, type, and so on, in mind?

If we have our spiritual consciousness clouded by our human desires that have not been elevated, or brought to Soul to be “…molded and exalted…” (Science and Health 1:11), then we cannot be confident of our direction, or at peace with the choices that we face. Is this section only directed at those who are in a marriage or looking for a marriage partner? No! Look at this beautiful statement from citation S11: “Unselfish ambition, noble life-motives, and purity, —these constituents of thought, mingling, constitute individually and collectively true happiness, strength, and permanence.” (58:7-12) Who doesn’t want to know what makes up “true happiness, strength, and permanence” for both ourselves and for everyone?!! Rather than focus on our “happiness”, or on finding a marriage partner, why not focus on what constitutes a “noble life-motive”, purity, or what makes an ambition unselfish? These are ideas worth pondering, especially if they lead directly to individual and collective happiness, strength and permanence! These are ideas that are worth pursuing at any age, in any endeavor. If we are playing a team sport, or even an individual sport, we could think about what motivates us. Is it noble, “of an exalted moral or mental character or excellence” (dictionary.com)?

What is our ambition as we practice or compete? Are we wanting to be noticed, gain acclaim or praise? Is our sense of worth tied to our “success”? Or, is our ambition to express and reflect the joy of Life, the freedom and grace of Soul, to improve our skills, or bless our teammates?
How does purity play a role in our endeavor? Our ambitions or motives can be purer when they are anchored in spiritual goals. Purity means, in this case, being comprised of only spiritual ingredients. There is no materiality mixed in with our desires. This is not as hard as it might sound. It requires only our remembering of God, being conscious for just a moment, of the reason why we are participating in the sport in the first place. Our relationships, and entire life experience, stand to gain a deeper sense of union or oneness with the joys of Soul as we practice these three “constituents of thought”!

SECTION 4: No component of mind or Mind’s reflection can be lost.

The Amplified Bible puts citation B10 this way “Now set your mind and heart to seek (inquire of and require as your vital necessity) the Lord your God.” (1 Chron. 22:19) I just love that part, “inquire of and require as your vital necessity”. How often do we approach God in that way? This is like the Bible verses included in this lesson that refer to hungering, thirsting, panting after, Soul, God.

Rather than despair when we feel we are struggling with issues of memory, why not affirm in that moment that we are only inquiring of Mind for our needed information? We are not looking through our human “Rolodex” if you will, of memory.

This whole lesson, it seems to me, is encouraging us to always go to God first, remember God first, as our source of good. Whether we are forgetting our day-to-day tasks, or struggling with health issues, school, big decisions, we need to remember to humbly go to God. Expect to hear what we need to hear, don’t listen for some specific thing we are “trying to remember”, but open thought, or consciousness, to the infinite Mind which is never contained within a skull!

This section even tells us what we must forget! Our misery! Aging is the accumulation of material beliefs and thoughts. Let misery, a human belief for sure, be like “water under the bridge.” Let resentments and anger pass away in the same fashion. If you have ever stood on a bridge watching water go by, you will know what a great illustration this is for letting go of all the human miseries that clamor for our attention.

I may not be able to address in more than a glancing way, in this space, what appear to be traumas that we experience. But, I can say for sure that they are only resolved as we reach a state of thought that is ready to see such trauma as worthy of forgetting, or letting go. As long as we feel the need to hold on to them, or feel we cannot let them go, we are tethered to that material sense of life in matter. I can say that we need to make a practice of this conscious, regular, remembering of Soul and Soul’s goodness, now and always, in order to move forward with peace and joy.

SECTION 5: Soul gives man dominion over the body.

Jesus gave us the most consistent example of man’s dominion over body in his healing ministry. He was merely illustrating the law of Soul that reveals our identity as one that is spiritual, rather than material. He wasn’t performing miracles that only he, in his special position as God’s son, could perform. His mission was to reveal that these divine laws were in operation at all times, throughout the ages, to all who seek to understand and practice them.

When we are experiencing illness and we remember Soul, God, we can “…awake to realize [our] need of what [we] have not…” (cit. S21, 323:19). We do not need a material “makeover”— a physical adjustment or repair. We need a “true idea of God” which will give us a “true understanding of Life and Love”. Read the whole paragraph (cit. S21, 323:19) to discover that this “true idea of God” will give us power over the grave, over sin, and anything else that separates us, in belief, from our oneness with Soul. We don’t need to achieve some grand state of enlightenment to demonstrate these facts. We feel this truth each day through our practice of remembering!

SECTION 6: Man’s immortality illustrated.

This section contains the story of Jesus raising from death the son of the widow woman. The fullness of his compassion was shown in his love for the widow who without her son, would have had no other palatable way to support herself in that era. Maybe this story is included to illustrate how Love was being remembered for this woman, as well as for the young man? She could not be separated from her source of income, good, love.

We are reminded in citation B17 (Matt. 12:18) and again in Section 7 (cit. B21, Isa. 42:1, 6) that we are to “behold” or recognize, see, look-on, the true man, the man of Soul’s creation. Don’t “look on” the man on the bier being carried out of town, but look on the Christ man, the immortal reflection of Soul. Jesus tells his disciples in citation B18, that if they want to follow him: “…let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matt. 16:24).

Deny a false, material sense of self, take-up the cross, which Mary Baker Eddy helpfully defines on page 50:30-31: “The real cross which Jesus bore up the hill of grief, was the world’s hatred of Truth and Love.” Maybe our “cross” is different, she has at least one other definition, I just thought it was helpful to look at this as one possible “cross”.

As we gain a real clarity for ourselves of the identity of Truth and Love, of Soul, we can demonstrate it and share this more clearly with the world, that is “follow” Jesus, do those works. Understanding even a little more of the immortality of Soul and the identity of Soul can give us a glimpse of man’s immortal nature.

SECTION 7: Human thought changes until we remember man as the reflection of Soul.

Isaiah 42:1, 6 says: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth;” (cit. B21). This man is the man of Soul. This is who we must remember when we are facing challenges. “Remember that man’s perfection is real and unimpeachable…” (cit. S30, 414:28) Doesn’t that sound like the servant in citation B21? Our thought will change as we “…inquire of and require as [our] vital necessity the Lord [our] God”. Our spiritual sense, which does hunger after a deeper sense of God and man, does receive answers. You have only to remember, give your loving attention, to this gift of grace to forever shine as Soul’s unique, delightful reflection!


CLICK below for more APPLICATION IDEAS for this Lesson from CedarS-team:


Enjoy OPPORTUNITIES for SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT with fresh insights WEEKLY!

CedarS Sunday Hymn Sings are being enriched every Sunday through February by representatives of Longyear Museum giving a feature presentation each week on a different one of the seven hymns written by Mary Baker Eddy. We will focus on one hymn per week, in order of their composition, through February 28. Each Sunday, right before the final hymn of the Hymn Sing, a representative from Longyear Museum will share six minutes of historical insights on what was happening in Mary Baker Eddy’s life and the Christian Science movement at the time she wrote that hymn/prayer as a poem.

We look forward to deepening our appreciation and understanding of these hymns, not only in how they reflected Mary Baker Eddy’s experience, but also in how they continue to bring healing to our world today. Invite family, church and other friends and even neighbors to join us by Zoom every week at 7pm Central Time for CedarS Sunday Hymn Sings. (A precious prelude precedes each sing at 6:45pm CT.) We encourage singing along in Zoom’s gallery view to share the joy of seeing dear ones in virtual family-church reunions that bless all generations.

To protect privacy and copyrights, these “brief, but spectacular” sessions are NOT recorded. So, calibrate your time-zone clocks, mark your calendars, and remind friends, so that no one misses any of these inspiring, weekly reminders of our precious, spiritual oneness with each other and with our ever-loving, Father-Mother God who owns and embraces us all!

Lovingly singing prayers and praise to God for 30 minutes each Sunday is such a warm, “Welcome Home” tradition to bless the start of each week with joyous, peaceful GRACE. (Our 2021 theme.) We have loved singing-in this grace with longtime as well as first-time friends—not only from ALL 50 of the United States, but also from 21 other countries! So far, our “Hymn Sing family” has clicked or dialed-in from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, England, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, New Zealand, Pakistan, Paraguay, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Scotland, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, as well as from each of the United States! In the universal language of divine Love, thestill, small voice”’ of scientific thought reaches over continent and ocean to the globe’s remotest bound.” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 559:8–10)


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