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FRANK MASON, CSB
God speaks to us today, as he did to Jacob and Joseph of old, "in the visions of the night." In our own darkness of thought come flashes of Truth, which may reveal to us the gray of an eternal morning, which precedes the rising of the orb of Truth. Let us drink deeply of the Spirit, and walk, with single-eyed devotedness, the very way our Master trod. Having divorced ourselves from material things, we cannot fail to see the Star in the East, which leads to the place where the young Child lies. Our sun, in all its splendor and glory, — as it rises in the east, and drives away the darkness of the night, — is but a temporal light, which Mind will extinguish, through the eternal brilliancy of the light of Truth. The Star in the East, which at first is only a glimmer, will increase in brightness and power, as we unload ourselves of the beliefs of mortal mind, until we find ourselves standing in the radiance of perpetual harmony. We shall find many to condemn us; for we are living in a world which shouted Barabbas, in answer to Pilate's question: "Whom shall I release unto you, Barabbas, or Jesus, which is called Christ?" Interpreted according to Christian Science, this means: "Which will ye that I release unto you, Error or Truth?" The world chose Error. Barabbas was released, and is still at large, — a fact whereof we have evidence in our everyday life, our public streets, our dramshops, our police-records, all furnish undeniable evidence of the release and presence of Barabbas; for Barabbas was a criminal. Barabbas has several aliases, one of which is King Herod. When the Magians had finished their interview with King Herod, they departed, and lo! the Star again appeared, and held its supremacy. If we listen to King Herod, alias Barabbas, alias Mortal Mind, the Star will disappear, as it did to the Magi; but after they left the King, the Star resumed leadership, and went before them till it came and stood over the place where the young Child lay. We must depart from King Herod, mortal mind, if we would see the Star of Hope which leads to the perfect idea of God. We find Barabbas again, under the guise of Satan, when our Master overcame the belief of appetite, and refused to transform stones into bread. "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread," were the words of the Tempter; and they brought forth the reply, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." The Tempter offered fame, ambition, glory, the world, if Jesus would only cast himself down from his great spiritual height; but the sole response to these seemingly princely offers, if he would listen to mortal mind, was: "Get thee behind me, Satan. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." "Whom will ye that I release unto you, Barabbas or Christ?" This question is asked today; and this question must be answered, in some way, by everyone in this world. "He that is not for me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad." From the north, from the south, from the east and from the west, all must choose either Barabbas or Christ, Truth or Error. One you must have, and one only you can have. If you have chosen Barabbas, you have rejected Christ; if you have chosen Christ, you do not want Barabbas. Leaving to mortal mind the records of darkness, let us behold only the brightness of the Truth that glowed through the dark background of Calvary, burning asunder the veil, and giving to mortals a glimpse of the mighty truths which for ages had been hidden by human superstition. Let us look only to the brilliancy of the light which emanates from above the Crown of Thorns, and has sent its rays glancing down the centuries, revealing to us the grand verity that Life is deathless, and dispelling the darkness, until we see at our feet the priceless legacy which he who wore that Crown of Thorns has bequeathed to us. As we turn our eyes from worldly things to things celestial, and hear the angels say, "Peace on earth, and goodwill to men," let us ever walk in the sunshine of Truth, and forget the narrow sepulchre. If any readers have not seen the Star of the East, let them not, because Christian Scientists say that God is not person but Principle, say as did Mary, "They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him;" but let them look above the personal to the impersonal. The Star in the East will go out if we do not watch it. We have work to do. Somebody must keep trimmed and burning the light our Leader has flashed out to the world from the Mountain of God. If that light goes out, they alone are responsible in whose charge it is placed, and who neglect their duty. Pilot-boats go down the harbor in the night. When the pilot sees an incoming ship he flashes a light from his bow; and when he has made fast to the ship, he pilots her safely into port. We are spiritual pilots; and many there are who stand looking for the flash of our lights in the darkness of error. Many there are who need our assistance, to pilot them safely into the harbor of God. All along the shore we see the enemy's forts. Envy, jealousy, malice, hate, and selfishness will keep up their cross-fire, and must be met shot for shot. Who is there to see that this work is carried out, — who but those who depart from King Herod, and are following the Star of Hope? We must help one another, and not hide our lights under bushels; but let them so shine that men may see our good works, and glorify God. An eagle was fatally wounded. In its death-agony it saw that the arrow was tipped with feathers from the eagle's own royal wing. It is so with us. Our wounds are caused by our follies and superstitions; and we ourselves furnish the means whereby we are turned from the light to the darkness of mortal mind. Our sun moves on its course, and lights a race of slaves, whom nothing but the resplendent light of Truth can set free. Let those who have seen the light dispel this darkness, for the labor rests on them. Let them keep in the pathway their Leader has opened, and leave the dank lowlands of the past. Let them trust no more to the flickering will-o'-the-wisp, which only leads from pitfall to pitfall; but let them turn their gaze (with her) to the city on the hill, which cannot be hid, whose watchtower is ever shining, the beacon of eternal Truth. In this generation God has reopened the way through our Teacher. The Light of Truth shines again; and all who catch its rays must derive them from her spiritual inspiration. Those who are yet in swaddling-clothes must follow where she leads for safety; for Herod still seeks the young Child's life, to destroy him. It has been truly said: One, with God, is a majority. Let us not limit the power of Truth, even in thought. Extensive alterations are being made in Pemberton Square, Boston, with the view to erecting a courthouse, where justice may reign supreme. Old buildings and trees have been removed to make room for the incoming bride of the city, who may give birth to equity and right. While yet a few trees remained on the eastward side, I was standing, one spring day, in a doorway in that locality, waiting for a friend. Suddenly I saw a sparrow fly down, almost to my feet, and begin pulling at some cotton which had become lodged near the curbstone. When the bird had gathered a considerable quantity, it flew to one of the neighboring trees, and added its burden to a partially completed nest. The thought came to me: How very soon the workmen will remove that tree, tear down the nest, and destroy the home the sparrow has struggled so hard to build. How I wish I could warn the bird of its situation, that it might seek a home in some other neighborhood, where it would be free from the hand of the marauder! Alas! the sparrow could not understand my language, and so it had to learn its lesson by bitter experience. Then I thought of the many who are making their habitations in just such tottering places, — houses built on the sand, not on the rock. Like this bird, they must learn, by bitter experience, that when the winds come and the rains descend, their houses must fall. The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown, are the three C's leading into the eternal realm of the One Mind. These three correspond with the third period of the ascending order of spiritual discernment, when Spirit is seen to be the Life of all. Heaven is a mental condition, not a locality; and the belief of death will not bring you nearer to it. Heaven is only attainable by these three C's. First, the Cradle. Ye must be born again. Ye must become as little children. None but the pure in heart can see God. We must be born in meekness, and be guided by our Father and Mother, God. Second, the Cross. Said Jesus unto his disciples: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." The Cross opens the everlasting floodgates of Heaven, and lets out the waters of Eternal Life. We all have our crosses to bear; and the heavier the Cross, the brighter the Crown. The great composer Liszt once said, "The weight of the dear Cross has pressed many melodies out of me." The Cross is the school from which we graduate into Heaven. Third, the Crown. This will surely follow, and is the reward of all who do the will of God, and do not return to King Herod. The Apostle James says: "Blessed is the man who endureth temptation; for, when he is tried, he shall receive the Crown of Life, which the Lord has promised to them that love Him." Paul says, in his Second Letter to Timothy: "Henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day.“ Let us all remember the three C's which lead to Life Eternal, and ever bear in the mind's eye the record: "When they had heard the King [Mortal Mind], they departed; and lo! the Star which they saw in the East went before them." For us the Star will shine, if for the Star we search diligently. It ever burns in the eternal sky, to destroy error and blazon Truth abroad. When once the spiritual eyes behold it, let them not lose sight of it, but let the feet follow where it leads, till the knees can bend lowly at the threshold of the stable where the Christ is rising into human view. In the words of the beautiful Christmas Hymn, by Domett, who has passed away within the month: Within that province, far away, . . . . . Oh strange indifference! Low and high
The Christian Science Journal, December, 1887 |
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