' Let There Be Light' C S Topic
Delivered Saturday, auspices of First Church of Christ Scientist Massapequa
by EDWARD C. WILLIAMS, C. S. B., of Indianapolis, Indiana Member of the Board of Lectureship of The Mother Church, The Fir^ t Church <> f Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts
© 1967 Edward C. Williams All rights reserved
The lecturer spoke substantially
a.-, follows:
Recently I heard someone say
that perhaps the next great breakthrough
in scientific research will
be the development <> f the vast
potentialities of light.
This set me to pondering just
what kind of light is most needed
today. Certainly the material,
further that this message of Truth
from God to humanity came
through the man, Jesus. Speaking
of his divine message, Christ Jesus
said. " 1 am the light of the world:
he l hat follow el h me shall not walk
in darkness, but shall have the light
of life" Ijohn 8: 12). The enlightenment
Jesus brought raised
humble fishermen and other simple
muscles and joints couldn't measure tian Science, refers to this in her I t dawned upon her that this was
my strength any more than they book, " Science and Health with what Jesus had been proving when
could measure the presence of Key to the Scriptures." She writes, he healed the sick and raised the
Spirit. It just didn't make sense " Saul of Tarsus beheld the way — dead.
that unintelligent matter could the Christ, or Truth — only when This revelation of the Christ
frustrate God's purpose of express- his uncertain sense of right yielded lighted so sharply and registered
ing His spiritual qualities in me. I to a spiritual sense, which is al- so distinctly upon her receptive
insisted that whatever was contrary ways right" ( p. 326). thought that she was healed,
to God's nature and purpose could Have you ever prayed that an Mrs. Eddy went on to heal and
not be authentic As the expression " uncertain sense of right" might teach others. She saw that all
everyday light defined by physical nu'n to such spit itua] heights that of infinite Spirit," I was independent yield to a " spiritual sense, vvhich causation is God divine Mind; that
scientists as radiant energy is im- t h e y could go fearlessly out into of matter. « always right Every day of our God is the intelligent Principle of
portant. I t s hard to imagine what the world, teaching what he had Well, in this instance I had to
life would be like if we were totally taught them, transforming men's continue this prayerful reasoning
without this kind of light. VVc dc- characters, healing the sick and for several weeks. Then one day I
pend upon it for our sense of form, e v e n raising the dead. realized that for some time my
direction, position, even our sense Now this light, this message of ankle had been behaving normally,
of balance. Why most of us depend the Christ from God to men, had Since then I have enjoyed many
upon light to divide day from night, always been present. It appears in vigorous walks, even running up-
It regulates our sleeping and wak- the first chapter of Genesis in the stairs. And my ankle has enjoyed
ing, and the scheduling of all our divine demand " Let there be light" going along!
activities. ( Genesis 1: 3). But in Jesus this But it was the same ankle. What
Even artificial forms of physical light shone clearly through to suffer- had happened? Spiritual enlighten-light
are useful. Street lights, traffic jng humanity. It was the truth of ment, the truth of God, Spirit, and
lights, automobile lights. But as God and of man in God's likeness, of man's relationship to Him, had
marvelous and useful as physical
light is, it can never satisfy humanity's
need for higher illumination.
Radiant energy has never taught a
man to be moral, or to love his
neighbor.
Another type of light is the human
enlightenment found in academic
learning. Never have we en-
Its purpose was to rescue humanity
from that ignorance of God which
is the source of all human discord.
Jesus clearly understood and
thoroughly exemplified the truth of
God as infinite good and of man's
indestructible relationship to good.
It's this truth that brings complete
enlightenment of human conscious-joyed
so much education. Millions n e s s a n d releases our natural capaci-of
dollars in public money as well ties for achievement and happiness,
as scholarships make education it ' s the power through which Jesus
available to more young people c o u i d c u r c t n e incurable and could
filled my consciousness. This dispelled
the darkness, the ignorance,
which appeared physically as weakness
and pain.
Now the same is true of all evil.
Any evil is ignorance of God, ignorance
of man's eternal unity with
God. It's the belief that almighty
God is not almighty; that there is
an opposite p6wer, which often upsets
good with bad. Centuries of
materialistic teaching have built
this belief into icebound conviction.
lives each of us needs the light of all creation, and that all men must
spiritual illumination — a light be- i e a m h o w t o commune with this
yond either physical light or mere pr i n c i p l e and identify it as their
human education. The same Christ s o u r c e for j t t o bring happiness
light that shone upon Saul as he a n d o r d e r i n t o t h e i r i i v e s She saw
knelt in the desert sand is here to t h a t t h e a n s w e r t o both personal
illumine us with a measure of that a n d w o r i d p r oblems lies in under-s
p i r i t u a l sense, which is always s t a n d i n g God to be the one and
r ' S n t - only Mind. That acceptance of
This light enables us to see our- t h i s o n e M i n d w i l l b r i n g harmony
selves and our fellowman from the a n d u n i t y t o m e n a n d n a t i o n s .
viewpoint of God, all- knowing T h i s iHum} n a t i o n which came
Spirit, instead of from the ignorant t 0 M r s E d d y t h r o u g h prayer was
material viewpoint which obscures i n f i n i t e i y m o r e than a personal
the perfection of true being And transformation; it was a scientific
with it come the wisdom and poise d i s c o v e r y for which the world had
which accompany this God- given b e e n w a i t i n g for centuries. In fatt,
spiritual sense. Jesus prophesied its reappearance.
Sometimes spiritual Truth bursts H e r e f e r r e d t o it as the spirit of
Truth, which would lead into all
truth. It was to be known by its
on human consciousness with brilliant
illumination as it did to Saul.
Sometimes it enlightens us so i n f l u e n c e i n the lives of men;' and
quietly so unobtrusively, that we a v a s t m u l t i t u d e of people since
hardly know it. Yet we feel its M r s E d d y> s d i s c o v e r y h a v e f o u nd
effect in a persistent discontent tha t this is just what Christian Sci-with
our old ways of thinking until e n c e is> a n iHumination of divine
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than ever before. And it's reported give new hope and purpose to the But spiritual enlightenment can and ^ e discard them lor something T r u t h w h i c h brings comfort and
tu^ t ;„ » u„ C„\ A ,. c „ J . . U *. A » : • • ., ' J .. *. that in the field of adult education, :.. T » u /-> J>- hetter. i i « TL _ • i
one out of every five adults takes at
least one school course.
This educational enlightenment
is all to the good. Yet, in spite of
sinner and the outcast
Let's examine this light further.
The King James Version of the
Bible, which is the version used in
Christian Science church ser
it, there's a moral decay in some vices, quotes Jesus as saying, " God
areas of society which threatens to j s a Spirit" ( John 4: 24). In The
undermine our modern culture. Nc w English Bible this reads, " God
Education has quickened our social ; s spirit
and international conscience, but
at the same time increasing crime
and disregard of law have become
a social pestilence. Since 1958 crime
has increased five times faster than
does penetrate it. Revealing God's
all- power, it dispels the darkness
of ignorant belief. In the light of
Christ, Truth, the pain and weakness
resulting from spiritual ignorance
melt like ice in the warm
sunshine.
We can compare evil to darkness.
As darkness is simply the absence
Jesus was explaining the spiritual of light, evil is the suppositional
nature of man as created by God,
the population of our country.
Society spends far more money on
drugs, liquor, and smoking, than it
does for higher education. The
popular song is quite true which says
when he said, " The wind blowcth
where it listeth, and thou hcarest
the sound thereof, but canst not
tell whence it cometh, and whither
it goeth: so is every one that is
born of the Spirit" ( John 3 : 8 ) .
Here the great Teacher showed that
man in his true nature is wholly
better. healing. The message is complete
I suppose you ve heard the story i n M r s E d d > s b o o k " Science and
about the old man who for years H e a l t h w i t h K t o t h e Scriptures,"
wore a long white beard. One day w h i c h M C h r i s t i a n Scientists use
his little granddaughter said, i n t h e i r s t u d o f t h c B i b l e T h is
Grandpa, when you go to bed at b o o k u n l o c k s t h e h e a l i m e
night, do you put your beard on o f t h e B i b l e a n d i t s appfi c a t i o n *,
the inside of the covers or on the h u m a n n e e ds
outside of the covers? Mrs E d d y n a m e d h e f d i s c o v e r y
Grandpa thought for a moment Christian Science because it's based
absence of God, good. But God is and then said, " Why, I don't rightly o n the same divine Principle Christ
everywhere. An infinite God can remember. I'll have to tell you to- j e s u s demonstrated. She founded
never be absent. Then evil can morrow." When the old gentleman The First Church of Christ, Scien-never
be present. It's simply igno- went to bed that night he put his tist, in Boston, Massachusetts, as a
ranee of God's presence and of beard on the inside of the covers, means of sharing with all mankind
man perpetually in that divine But he rolled and tossed until finally the spiritual enlightenment which
presence. A sickly, discordant he put his beard on the outside of bad dawned on her. Today this
mortal is no more real than a cruel the covers. Still he couldn't settle • Church has branches around the
or sinful mortal. Both are only down, so at last, at two o'clock in w o r i d -
Jesus taught that God is Life and i n g from ignorance. Christ brings years.
Love, tenderly sustaining and caring
for every least identity in His creation.
He taught that men should
live to express the perfection of
their heavenly Father. And he indicated
that this was possible because
that was how God had made
man, good like Himself. Each of
these facts contains tremendous
implications that throw an entirely
new light on our experience and
its possibilities for good
" Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." People spiritual, the expression of his di- mistaken concepts of God's spiri- the morning, he got up and cut off
need to see more clearly where real vine source. tual, perfect man — shadows result- the beard he had worn for forty
satisfaction is found. For want of
a fuller understanding of strong,
spiritual values our modern society
stumbles in moral uncertainty, and
we're referred to as a pill- worshiping
generation.
A college president recently said,
" The tragedy of our times lies in
the fact that there is little or no
correlation between education and
goodness. We know how to make a
man an outstanding scientist, but
we do not know how to make a
man a saint. We can make a man
skilled in finance, but we do not
know how to make him so good
that he will not take advantage of
the poor."
So we need something to firm up
the character of men. And this
brings us to the most important
light of all: the spiritual illumination
which is found only through
an understanding of God. It's the
light referred to in the Bible where
John speaks of God's Word, which
we understand to be God's message
to the world or the Christ. John
says, " That was the true Light,
which lighteth every man that
cometh into the world" ( John 1: 9).
Here it's interesting that the New
English Bible refers to this light as
the " absolute" light.
It's this " true light" of which
John speaks that I'd like you to
consider with me here — because
it's through this light that a full
and free life is to be found. Suppose
we examine this light from the
viewpoint of three basic questions.
First, What is this true light? Second,
How do we find it? And third,
What effect does it have?
The Nature of Prayer
Now let's'consider further what
to God, or pleading with the infinitely
intelligent creator to correct
some supposedly divine mistake.
God is the one perfect, all- knowing
Mind. We can't influence Him
through prayer. But we can sensi-spiritual
enlightenment. Then the So when fresh spiritual truth t b e n a t u r e of true prayer is. By
shadows yield to the spiritual facts dawns on us and invites us to lay p r a y e r I don't mean giving advice
of health, love, and freedom. aside an old way of thinking, we t o Cod. or Dleadine with the in-can't
get by with just stuffing the
How Spiritual Illumination Comes old habit under the covers. Truth
to Us will insist and persist until we dis-
The Bible tells the story of a card the old — until we cut it off
man who traveled all day in the and throw it away completely.
bright desert sun; yet he was in Then perfect God and perfect man tize our thought more fully to God's
mental darkness until the Christ, are seen to be the reality of being, enlightenment by learning more of
through spiritual illumination, We can't dispel the darkness of j j j m a s d i v j n e Love Principle and
pierced that darkness. Saul of spiritual ignorance by ourselves, for Truth. We can respond to Love's
fake, for instance, this fact that Tarsus was an overzealous Pharisee we have no inherent light of our influence through more unselfish
man is spiritual. It means that in w h o believed that he was serving own. Christ, the true idea of God, b v j n g Th e n increasing good will
reality were not physical organisms, G o d ' s purpose by persecuting the comes to human consciousness and brighten our experience
dependent upon the limiting and followers of Jesus. Saul went to enlightens it. This light destroys the Tn photography physical light de-
Damascus, as the Bible says, darkness of evil just as rapidly as p e n d s upon the sensitivity of
" breathing out threatenings and we make room for it in our think-. photographic film in order to regis-slaughter
against the disciples of the ing. It's the true and absolute light. ter its effect
Lord" ( Acts 9: 1). Steeped in T h e darkness of greed, fear, all
theological dogma, Saul's narrow, materiality, cannot stand before it.
materialistic sense of God prompted Christ reveals our spiritual identity,
him to do wrong. Of course, he just as it revealed Paul's.
insecure qualities of matter. Instead
we have the indestructible substance
of Spirit and we can utilize Spirit's
limitless, indestructible qualities.
Qualities of intelligence, integrity,
joy, for example, derived direct
from God.
The Effect of Spiritual Light
As an illustration, not so very
thought he was right, but now as
he approached Damascus to take
more prisoners, Saul began to feel
Prayer Brings Enlightenment
Clear reproduction
requires a film which is responsive
to light. In the same way, our
responsiveness to good is needed for
divine inspiration to illuminate our
lives.
Now the revelation of spiritual
What Is the True Light?
Our answer to the first question
— What is this true light? — lies
in John's assertion of God's Word
as the true light. And John explains
Page 8
long ago I needed to prove in a the prick of conscience,
small way that God's quality of Then suddenly came the light
strength is always available to man. — spiritual illumination of such
My ankle developed a tendency to brilliance that even in the blaze of
give way at certain times. I would the desert sun its radiance shone
be walking along the street, or going round about him. A revelation of
downstairs, and suddenly with a the Christ spoke audibly, " Saul,
shoot of intense pain it would give Saul, why persecutest thou me?"
way so that I would almost go down ( Acts 9 : 4 ) ; and his whole structure
if I didn't catch onto something, of Pharisaical learning collapsed.
Well, that ankle had served me Complacent scholasticism went
well for many years and I saw no dark, and his sight was gone. Saul
reason why it shouldn't continue to found himself in an intellectual
do so. So I gave myself a Christian blackout, and actually physically
Science treatment. I insisted that blind.
all strength, all good are spiritual In the days ahead Saul must be
and that they are present because born again, but with a new nature
God is present. I denied the sug- and with the new name of Paul,
gestion that in God's unchanging He must be transformed by spiritual
presence I could lose tfie quality enlightenment. He would see again,
of strength that was natural to me but never from the old, Pharisaical
as thc expression of God, infinite viewpoint. Mary Baker Eddy, the
Spirit. I reminded myself that . Discoverer and Founder of Chris-
Now so far we've considered our ii g h t w h i c h h e a l e d M r s E d d
first basic question, What is the w a s n> t v i s i b i e t o t h e h u m a n e y e
true light? We ve seen that i t s the
spiritual illumination that comes
through the Christ, God's Word or
message of divine Truth to humanity.
This brings us to our second
basic question: How do we find
this light?
One way is through prayer
Just as some kinds of material light
are invisible to the naked eye, so
spiritual light is invisible to the
material senses. Degrees of light
which are beyond the spectrum of
visible light, such as infrared and
ultraviolet, can be seen only
A hundred years ago a solitary through scientific instruments that
woman reached out in prayer for are more sensitive than the eye To
spiritual light under circumstances Pe rF « Ye spiritual truth, which is
where all hope, even life itself,
seemed lost. But Mary Baker Eddy
was a deeply religious woman, so
she had prayer and her Bible to
invisible both to the senses and to
scientific instruments, we must
purify and spiritualize our thinking.
Like Christ Jesus, Mrs. Eddy saw
work with. As she pondered the beyond the narrow spectrum of
healing works of Jesus, she was mortal thought. She discerned spir-convinced
that God is infinite good i t u a l realities which are invisible to
— that is, good with no possibility t h e materialist. The materialist
of an opposite. She saw that God may disregard God because his
is Life, Spirit, and that this Life is faculties for discerning spiritual
the total and only reality of being. ( Con turned on p a g e 9)
FARMINGDALE OBSERVER - Thursday, November 21, 1968
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