Day 29: The Real Cross

49:7-51:27

Mary Baker Eddy explains the superficial, material cross Jesus bore and the spiritual, real one. The crucifixion is the material and the hatred of Truth and Love is the spiritual.

Following that line of the spiritual cross further, who or what hates Truth and Love? Sticking to a non-material line of reasoning, the people or place involved isn’t the hater. It has to be something non-material. Perhaps animal courage, animal magnetism?

To me, it is about someone being different, possessing something different. Jesus didn’t flow with the crowd, he built a new crowd. He didn’t follow the rules, he revealed them for what they were. He attracted with Love, not control. He healed, instead of abused.

2010

Day 28:

47:10-49:6

Animal courage, that intense reaction of material strength and brutality with little thought, is mentioned in this reading. Animal courage is never quite, doesn’t sleep, waiting it’s moment to act out, speak out, attack.

How would you describe spiritual courage? 

2010

Day 27: Influx of Light

45:22-47:9

Mary Baker Eddy explains the disciples sudden understanding of Spirituality after Jesus’ ascension

The influx of light was sudden. It was sometimes an overwhelming power as on the Day of Pentecost.

Just thinking about that…

2010

Day 26:

43:21-45:21

Mary Baker Eddy describes the material veil over the three days in the sepulcher. 

It’s impressive what was overcome.

2010

Day 25: Word Choice

41:22-43:20

The belief that man has existence or mind separate from God is a dying error.

I can’t stop looking at this sentence. I think I’ve been misunderstanding it for years. Instead of pointing out a belief that is coming to an end because it is wrong (my previous thought), what about the erroneous belief causes the result of death?

Did everyone see that but me all these years? I’ll be in the corner with the dunce cap on.

2010

Day 24: A Convenient Season

39:31-41:21

In this reading, I felt like a errant child. In some regards, I am always looking for a convenient time to get things done. Five minutes here to do the dishes, twenty minutes here to do the laundry, a few minutes after picking up the kids from school to run errands. My life is all about a convenient season materially. But not spiritually. If anything, I struggle with how to remove the veil of matter. I often wonder if a different place, time, or position would lend itself to more spirituality.

In the meantime, here I am, reading each day to glimpse that spirituality and find that calm.

2010

Day 23:

37:32-39:30

He taught that the material senses shut out Truth and its healing power.

2010

Day 22: The Hand of Love

35:30-37:31

Mary Baker Eddy explains the sin and punishment in this reading. Justice is the handmaid of mercy. If you sin, you will be punished in order to learn to mend your ways. Once sin ends, the suffering ends.

This argument (to me), until a few years ago, seemed a hard sell. Then I had kids.

Now I identify with her follow-up statement and understand the whole argument:

It is useless to suppose that the wicked can gloat over their offences to the last moment and then be suddenly pardoned and pushed into heaven, or that the hand of Love is satisfied with giving us only toil, sacrifice, cross-bearing, multiplied trials, and mockery of our motives in return for our efforts at well doing.

2010

Day 21: Inspiration of Love

33:27-35:29

Mary Baker Eddy says that our wine of the Eucharist is the inspiration of Love.

What has your Love of God ( and as a reflection, man) inspired you to do?

2010

Day 20: The Material Senses

31:25-33:26

These two pages discuss Jesus removing himself from the material senses in the Garden of Gethsemane. He had fewer distractions but amazing focus than we do today.

I can’t thing of a place, besides church, that gives me that time and quiet place to collect myself.

Where do you remove yourself to?

2010

Day 19:

29:30-31:24

A couple of ideas I need to work on—

Jesus, the new executor of God, present the divine law of Love, which blesses even those that curse it.

and

Pride and fear are unfit to bear the standard of Truth, and God will never place it in such hands.

2010

Day 18: The Author of Man

28:1-29:29

Mary Baker Eddy says

Christians must take up arms against error at home and abroad. They must grapple with sin in themselves and in others

And

God is the only author of man.

It is so important to remember the error, sin that is within or without, isn’t from God and isn’t real. It’s nothingness will be its undoing.

2010

Day 17: Principle and principles

26:1-27:32

I've been thinking about what principles I live by in my life. They are in direct contrast to someone else's principles in my life. This isn't usually a problem because we are far from each other and the evidence of our choices isn't constantly in the middle of our friendship. But in a few months, I will be asked to bend my principles to meet the situation. Or put them aside altogether.

Comparing this to Jesus's principles, Mary Baker Eddy wrote:

Our Master taught no mere theory, doctrine, or belief. It was the divine Principle of all real being which he taught and practiced. 

I will have to do the same and put self aside.

2010

Day 16:

24:4-25:32

Three words popped out while reading: affection (that one seems to pop up often, for me), sacrifice, and obedience.


2010

Day 15:

22:3-24:3

I don’t want the pendulum swing in my progress. I will search out areas of my thought and actions where Truth and Love are not understood and practiced.

2010

Day 14: Truth & Honesty

20:6-22:2

The idea that truth commands sure entrance into the realm of Love is interesting because it isn’t capital T – Truth. Mary Baker Eddy also writes if we are honest, we will be earnest from the start and gain a little each day.

Truth and honesty aren’t spiritual concepts as much as self-awareness. Whatever they are,  it is easy to believe I’ve tackled those and that I need to look for other areas to pray about – but that wouldn’t be the honest truth.

2010

Day 13: Hero

18:1-20:5

In this reading Mary Baker Eddy mentions two things about Jesus that I think of as gifts. The first is that he acted boldly against physical sense, material law, and just healed. The second thing is that he gave us a truer sense of Love.

Both together make a hero, by today’s standards.

2010

Day 12: A Debt of Love

16:24-17:15

The line about forgive our debtors and then Mary Baker Eddy’s interpretation about Love reflected in love made me think about a debt of love, loving your neighbor, who is your neighbor, and loving the world.

It is too easy to pull in to our small circle or just ourselves and feel overwhelmed and incapable of reflecting Love but not only must we, we can, and ultimately, we will.

2010

Day 11: Enlightened Faith

14:31-16:23

This is one of my favorite sections of the entire book. It isn’t radical or controversial. It’s just an easy “yeah, I agree with that” kind of reading. I don’t have to learn any new words, or try to decipher some awkward grammar usage.

The thought that will stay with me all day is:

Trustworthiness is the foundation of enlightened faith.

2010

Day 10: Absent from the body

13:5-14:30

In this reading Mary Baker Eddy has two point that are old standards in Christian Science but struck me new today. The first is to work toward your goal. Prayer isn’t enough; we must do. Take steps. Move Forward. For just a moment, I felt like I was listening to a motivational speaker. That isn’t a bad thing at all. It’s just I never got that from Mary Baker Eddy before.

The second point is to be absent from the body and present with God. When I saw body, I thought all materiality. Life and intelligence are spiritual but pretty much everything else isn’t. It didn’t matter if I was absent from the body or absent from my car. To me, the deeper point is to be present in spirituality enough to be absent from materiality.

2010

Day 9: Habitual Desire

11:5-13:4

On Day 6, the quote about God pouring riches of His Love by affections has been on my mind. I’ve been looking for those affections and as a tradeoff been spotting my own human will and ignoring it. Not easy. I have a list of things I want to get done but I have kids – who require affection from me and have boat loads of human will. But I’ve been just going with it. Something like this:

prayer, coupled with a fervent habitual desire to know and do the will of God, will bring us into all Truth.

2010

Day 8: Space for Prayer

9:5-11:4

Mary Baker Eddy explains that asking isn’t enough. Prayer needs to also include the work of sinning no more. She lists two things that are not a part of prayer:

• material sense
• human will

If I eliminate these entirely from my mental landscape, I wonder if the nature of my prayers would change. I’m not asking to be rich and famous but I have spiritual goals. Perhaps I’m focusing too much on the goal and not the immediate steps in front of me that confirm my progress.
2010

Day 7: False Claims

7:1-9:4

In the first paragraph, Mary Baker Eddy writes

The relinquishment of error deprives material sense of is false claims.

This is stated so succinctly that I wanted to remember it here.

2010

Day 6: Sincerity’s Test

5:3-6:32

Today’s reading is about sin and reformation. Mary Baker Eddy says

God pours the riches of His love into the understanding and affections, giving us strength according to our day.

I’m going to look for how He does this today.

2010

Day 5: The Task of a Solution

3:4-5:2

Mary Baker Eddy says the rule is established and our task is to work out the solution. Here is some of the work I need to do:

1. Reflect God
2. Express gratitude in action
3. Be sincere
4. Prayer: patience, meekness, love, good deeds
5. Habits of unceasing good
6. Watchfulness
7. Obedience

 

2010

Day 4: My Motive for Prayer

1-3:3

In this reading, Mary Baker Eddy asks what the reader’s motive is for prayer. She gives four options:

• make ourselves better
• benefit those listening
• enlighten infinite mind
• heard of men

The way she phrases this, all four options are incorrect motives for prayer. However, the first one, to make ourselves better, is exactly what I’m aiming for -- to be more spiritual by understanding God.

At the beginning of the chapter, she lays out an interesting equation (or at least that’s the way I thought of it):

absolute faith = spiritual understanding = unselfed love

My desire for personal spiritual progress is currently taking front seat to unselfed love. Probably need to correct that.

2010

Day 3: Ever Present

xi:1-xii:27
Mary Baker Eddy says that physical healings are a divine influence ever present in human consciousness and repeating itself. I never thought of it that way before.

2010

Day 2: Unbiased Christian Thought

ix:1-x:32
There are several points in this reading that are intriguing. The first is that Mary Baker Eddy, even she, says she is still waiting on the Mind of Christ. Patience and expectation in spiritual development definitely walk hand in hand.
The second point she makes seems to be a continuation of yesterday’s instruction regarding obedience to divine Principle. Today’s thought is that

The divine Principle of healing is proved in the personal experience of any sincere seeker of Truth.

And the last thought is about unbiased Christian thought

The unbiased Christian thought is soonest touched by Truth, and convinced of it.

What is that unbiased Christian thought?

2010

Day 1: Two Instructions to Begin

vii:1-viii:32
This is the second year I’m going to read Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy according to the journal.

When I started the journal last year, I didn’t know what I wanted to accomplish other than greater spirituality through Christian Science. The temptation came to me to not continue another year however the question was more subtly should I continue studying Christian Science. Since my answer was yes and this journal is helping me be consistent in my prayer and practice -- I’m going to continue. To say I have more to understand and learn is an understatement.

The two things that have been on my mind lately are personal sense as discussed in the Trial and the testimonies in Fruitage. So that’s my mindset going into this new year.

In this reading, I found two instructions from Mary Baker Eddy. The first is that man must live in obedience to divine Principle. The second instruction is that the discords of corporeal [personal] sense must yield to the harmony of spiritual sense.

2010