|
To View
To View
To View
To View |
 |
Volume 13, Number 1
—
February 2004
the spiritual idea will be understood." (Science and Health, p. 570)
CHRIST AND
CHRISTMAS * * * "Advanced scientific
students
This issue of The Christian Science Standard includes material published in previous issues of the Standard that were compiled and edited by Stanley C. Larkin. This issue of the Standard continues to address the momentous questions that are now agitating the Christian Science Movement and the world, i.e., the questions relating to the second coming of Christ and the place of Mary Baker Eddy in Scriptural prophecy. The following is an exegesis of the first four plates in Christ and Christmas, Mary Baker Eddy's undeniable confession of herself as the second appearing in the flesh of the Christ, presented in Scriptural texts, illustrations, and verses. She writes on page 308 of Miscellaneous Writings, "Advanced scientific students are ready for 'Christ and Christmas.'" And, notice Mrs. Eddy's words in Science and Health regarding herself, when she speaks of Jesus' parable of the leaven, "which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal": Did not this parable point a moral with a prophecy, foretelling the second appearing in the flesh of the Christ, Truth, hidden in sacred secrecy from the visible world? (Science and Health, pp.117-118) Mary Baker Eddy first published her book, Christ and Christmas, in December 1893. During her lifetime the pages of the book were doubly or triply thick, and were separated by a tissue between each page, and the book was always gilt-edged. Mrs. Eddy considered it highly important that this book be understood. She said the divine guidance she received in its preparation was more apparent than in the writing of Science and Health: Christ and Christmas was an inspiration from beginning to end. The power of God and the wisdom of God was even more manifest in it and guided me more perceptibly, as those of my household can attest, than when I wrote Science and Health. God taught me that the art of Christian Science has come through inspiration the same as its Science has. Hence the great error of human opinions passing judgment on it. (Letter to Carol Norton, Dec. 14, 1892. [Johnson, History of the Christian Science Movement, Vol. 2], p. 448) CHRIST AND CHRISTMAS Items in the July 1994 and September 2000 issues of The Christian Science Standard discussed "the God-power behind the confession of the Messiah." Peter's recognition of Jesus as Christ was the "rock" on which the Church of Christendom would be built. (Matt. 16:16) This was in conformity with a timeless spiritual law of God which was demonstrated at the time of the rebuilding of Solomon's temple. As recorded in Zechariah 4, Solomon's temple at Jerusalem could not be rebuilt until "the two anointed ones" were recognized and acknowledged. Zechariah had to recognize the candlestick and the two olive trees which "are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth." (Zech. 4:14) When Jesus, the first "anointed one," was crucified, the spiritual foundation stone was rejected, and the temple was levelled to the ground, for it was not built by power nor by might, but by the spirit of God. Eventually, the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, would be the successor temple where the second "anointed one" would minister. In order to build this new temple, the stone which had been rejected, Christ Jesus, would have to be "brought forth" in keeping with these times. That is, Mary Baker Eddy would have to be recognized in her spiritual identity as the Christ. Christ and Christmas serves this purpose since it is a declaration by both Mrs. Eddy and Jesus that she is the Christ, the woman who compasses the man. But as pointed out in our July 1994 issue, there was a fifty-year "providential waiting period" — 1890 to 1940 — "before man [would be] permitted to render his public verdict on some of the momentous questions that are now agitating the world" — namely, Mrs. Eddy's place in the fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus had charged his disciples that they should tell no man that he was the Christ. For her part, Mrs. Eddy put her message in the form of a code in Christ and Christmas so that her meaning would not be discovered by the general public, but only by her followers who found her message in the artwork and the verses of the text. Her coded message served to side-step the issue as far as the general public was concerned, for the providential waiting period. Even today, most Christian Scientists do not seem to be able to accept Mrs. Eddy as Christ. We recently received the following in a letter: "I know a couple of practitioners who went into orbit over [your calling Mrs. Eddy] 'Christ Mary' and were totally unprepared to perceive the duality of the Christ. . . ." Mrs. Eddy presented these very points in Christ and Christmas as essential for demonstrating Christian Science healing, and for the preservation of her Church. In 1897, Mrs. Eddy took steps to reissue Christ and Christmas after it had been withdrawn for three years. Early in the year, she wrote her artist, Mr. James F. Gilman, for a new design for plate no. 11. When this was finished, she wrote him again to make another drawing to better illustrate "Christian Science Healing," plate no. 6. She was greatly pleased with the result. In a letter to Mr. Gilman on April 30, she wrote: Do you know what you have done for yourself, for mankind, for our Cause? No, you do not, perhaps, but I will tell you. You have illustrated and interpreted my life on the plate that you sent me. (Diary Records of James F. Gilman, p. 91) In this plate, "Christian Science Healing," Mrs. Eddy is depicted wearing a conspicuous mantle reaching to the floor, healing a man as she stands beside the bed. A practitioner is standing in the background, praying. The mantle denotes Christ, for in her writings she speaks of "the Christly garment" (S&H 242:26), and "the hem of the Christ garment" (No and Yes 22:1), etc. Therefore, when Mrs. Eddy says that this plate "illustrates and interprets" her life, it can only mean that it interprets her life as Christ Mary. While Mrs. Eddy is depicted there physically, she is only there in her spiritual entity as the Christ, as denoted by the mantle. Therefore, the practitioner must be recognizing the Christ in Christ Mary as bringing power to the healing work, — "And I will give power unto my two witnesses." (Rev. 11:3) The related "Scriptural Text" reads: "But such as I have give I thee: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. — St. Peter." (Acts 3:6; "Glossary" to Christ and Christmas, p. 55) This suggests that the practitioner in the background is declaring the same truth as Peter, adjusted to the present era, i.e., "In the name of Christ Mary rise up and walk." The following is an exegesis of the verses, the illustrations and the Scriptural texts. The texts are given in the "Glossary" of Christ and Christmas, p. 55. Mrs. Eddy says the Scriptural texts are the basis of the sentiments in the verses. They are crucial to the understanding of the meaning. The earlier editions, up to 1910, often show the illustrations more clearly and with more detail than in the current editions. Plate Title: Star of Bethlehem. This picture shows a night sky with various forms and shadings of clouds and a single seven-pointed star piercing the darkness. Suggested Theme: The nativity of Jesus, and pre-existence and duality of Christ Mary. Verse 1:
Fast circling on,
from zone to zone, — Scriptural Text for Verse 1: (This text is the basis of the sentiments in the above verse 1, and is found in the "Glossary," Christ and Christmas, p. 55): "I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. — Christ Jesus." (Rev. 22:16) The morning star is seen alone before or at sunrise, and is symbolic of the one Christ moving consciousness progressively from one zone of thought to a higher zone. The stages of progress must reach that level where this question (about the Scriptural text) is answered: How can Christ Jesus be both "the root and the offspring of David"? This text should be examined in connection with its corollary verse in Revelation, chapter 5. Together they are: Rev. 22:16 I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. — Christ Jesus Rev. 5:5 Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. In the first text, Jesus is identified as "the offspring of David." He is frequently referred to as "the son of David" in the four Gospels, — "Christ cometh of the seed of David." (John 7:42) But how is he also the "root of David"? How can he be both? In the second text, the book with seven seals is accepted by Christian Scientists to be Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. This is the book that Ezekiel saw and read (Ezek. 2:9-10; 3:1-5), and which he was to preach to Israel. It is the book that God directed Daniel to "shut up the words, and seal . . . to the time of the end." (Dan. 12:4, 9) The second text identifies the root as Mrs. Eddy, because she is the one who loosed the seven seals and opened the book, Science and Health, to the world at "the time of the end." Thus we have the following: 1. Christ Jesus is the root and the offspring of David in the first text. 2. In the second text, Jesus reveals to St. John that the Root of David is that individual who will unseal and open the book. 3. Nineteen centuries later, as the author, Mary Baker Eddy unsealed and opened the book. This identifies her as the Root of David. 4. In the first text, there is just one root and one offspring. 5. Jesus says he is also the root of David, as is Mrs. Eddy. For this to be, they must be two-in-one. 6. To be two-in-one with Jesus, Mrs. Eddy must be not only the Root, but also the offspring of David. 7. Therefore, Mrs. Eddy is Jesus and Jesus is Mrs. Eddy. 8. Then, Mrs. Eddy is Christ Mary, the woman who compasses Jesus. 9. Christ Mary embodies the dual nature of Christ. AS THE CHRIST Since the book of Revelation is the revelation of Christ Jesus, then it is Jesus himself who confirms Mrs. Eddy as the root and offspring in the two above texts, and it is he who confirms her as Christ Mary. EMERGENCE OF THE WOMAN The plates of the final edition in 1910, at Mrs. Eddy's passing, were destroyed about a decade later, and the spiritual messages in the artwork in some cases were not fully restored. Here, in Plate no. 1, "Star of Bethlehem," brings to mind the puzzle pictures used in her day to entertain adult readers by having them find people or objects hidden somewhere in the picture's artwork. The clouds nearest to the star at 7 o'clock, have the shape of the Madonna and child, with the faces highlighted. At 9 o'clock, behind the Madonna, is a cloud resembling a dragon, facing the nativity scene. At 3 o'clock is a woman's head, bowed. Because it is nearer to the viewer than the nativity group, it may represent a different era, even Mrs. Eddy. It appears to show that Mrs. Eddy was present at the birth of Jesus, — both individual natures present, — and they are both represented in the Star of Bethlehem. The importance of observing the nativity will rise to the higher spiritual fact of the incarnation of Mrs. Eddy, the woman compassing the man. Dual in nature, she is, in fact, "one lone" individual. (Cf. S&H 577:4) She does not displace him, but compasses him in spiritual duality. The wise men and women of today are going to have to recognize the woman, Christ Mary, or there will be no future to the Cause of Christian Science. Plate Title: Christ Healing. This picture shows Mrs. Eddy rising from the dead out of a coffin. Jesus is standing in the light from the star, wearing the Christ mantle and gently lifting her hand. Two awe-filled witnesses are standing to the side, — a woman in 19th century dress and a man dressed as in the time of Jesus. There are no visible surroundings. Suggested Theme: The resurrection and incarnation of Mary, the Root of David. Verse 2:
In
tender mercy, Spirit sped [sent] Verse 3:
The Christ-idea, God anoints
— Scriptural Text for Verse 2: ("Glossary," p. 55): "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming [Second Advent], and now is [First Advent], when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. — Christ Jesus" (John 5:25) Scriptural Text for Verse 3: ("Glossary," p. 55): "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. — Isaiah." (Isa. 9:2) The loyal ray sent by Spirit in verse 2 is Christ Mary, who brings "the Way in Science," and is the "Christ-idea" that "God anoints." She leads the way out of "the grim night" of darkness seen in plate no. 1. This "loyal ray" which Spirit sent, was resurrected from a fatal injury on February 4, 1866, a day her doctor thought would be her last. She opened her Bible and read Matthew 9:2-6: "The Son of man hath power on earth," and she was healed, resurrected. ". . . the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God." (Scriptural text from p. 55) It was the voice of the Son of God that raised her. In Retrospection and Introspection 23:1-24, Mrs. Eddy describes this scene as "Emergence into Light": — . . . the moment arrived of the heart's bridal to more spiritual existence. When the door opened, I was waiting and watching; and, lo, the bridegroom came! The special wording here is unmistakably a wedding, not of two individuals, but of "two individual natures in one." (S&H 577:4) The scene is of Mrs. Eddy's emergence or incarnation as Christ Mary. She experienced her Christ incarnation through her resurrection and spiritual marriage rather than through nativity, or birth, and is shown hereafter as having the Christ nature — represented by a halo. The two bystanders are a representation of the shepherds and sages of the orient who came to adore the Christ at the incarnation of Christ Mary, the Root of David. Their ears are exposed listening "to the voice of the Son of God," as the Scriptural text indicates. The difference in their dress indicates that they are not related and that they represent two periods or "zones" in religious development. One is the zone of Christ Jesus where thought accepts the individual manhood of the Christ, and the other is the advanced zone of Christ Mary, where human thought is prepared to accept the two-in-one womanhood of the Christ. The position of their hands shows that they are greatly moved by the revelation of Mrs. Eddy as Christ Mary. They are wise in recognizing this incarnation. They have grown in thought beyond the nativity of the babe Jesus to see the Advent of Mary as the dual Christ. The setting is in the nineteenth century. This is a manger scene without a birth. The man from Jesus' time has moved on to the higher zone of witnessing the full Christ, i.e., both elements. They are signalizing a higher level of incarnation than was witnessed at the time of Jesus' nativity. Plate Title: Seeking and Finding. This picture shows Mrs. Eddy with halo studying her Bible with great concentration. She is writing her book, Science and Health. Behind her is a serpent and on the shelf a clock. Light is coming from the star through a skylight. Suggested Theme: The Root of David, Christ Mary, unsealing the seven seals of the book. (Cf. Rev. 5:5) Verse 4:
What the Beloved
[Jesus] knew and taught, Scriptural Text for Verse 4: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. — Christ Jesus." (Matt. 6:33) Christ Mary seeks refuge in the wilderness as a means of escaping the dragon of animal magnetism, a warfare described in Revelation 12:14. In contrast with the editions published after the original plates were destroyed, it should be noted that in the ninth edition of 1910, — Mrs. Eddy's final edition, — the background of this picture is light gray and every feature is distinct. The serpent is dark and stands out against the background. Its tongue is clearly shown and is forked, — denoting prevarication. Its teeth are those of a human and therefore, it is a whispering, talking serpent. Its eye has a bright and malicious gleam. (Cf. Mis. 177:1) The clock registers 12:05, representing the five senses at the midnight hour. Mrs. Eddy is shown avidly and ardently seeking revelation, — "with fierce heart-beats." Plate No. 4: Christmas Eve. This picture shows gifts being distributed from a huge Christmas tree, but the Morning Star, or its light, is not present. Suggested Theme: The Tree of Knowledge. Verse 5:
Thus Christ,
eternal and divine, Scriptural Text for Verse 5: "Man that is born of woman is of few days, and full of trouble. — Job." (Job 14:1) Verse 5 was revised for the 3rd edition in 1897, and the Scriptural text for the new verse was not given. The present text from Job does not apply except in the sense that mortals do not want to accept the revelation of the duality of Christ, or the duality of individual man. The only way Mrs. Eddy could present this message was in its coded form of artwork, verse, and Scriptural text, and let the age await spiritual growth. The "Glossary" with the "Scriptural texts" (Christ and Christmas, p. 55) first appeared in the 2nd edition in December 1893. The sequence of verses 5 and 6 were reversed in the 3rd edition of 1897, but the order of these two Scriptural texts was never reversed in the "Glossary" to correspond. However, they are here adjusted. Verse 6:
For heaven's
Christus, earthly Eves, Scriptural Text for Verse 6: "The tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of His hands. — Isaiah." (5:12) Christ is "eternal and divine," without a birthday. To celebrate Christ "As Truth demands" is to demonstrate "this living Vine" in one's daily life. We must get away from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil where gender seems to suggest itself because Eve is separated from Adam, and their progeny multiply in a time-world of false knowledge. Adam was a dual being but did not know it until Eve was separated from him. "It was the creation of Womanhood that completed the equation which even yet we have not fully solved." (Mrs. Eddy quotes Totten; see January 1993 and July 2003 issues.) When Christ Mary is recognized as a dual being compassing Christ Jesus, then Eve will compass Adam in "one lone" dual individuality and their progeny will necessarily cease from the mortal scene. Humanity will find the Kingdom of God by demonstrating the "living Vine" and rejecting the false tree with babe and crib prolonging the Adam dream. Then there will be "neither Jew nor Greek, . . . neither bond nor free, . . . neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus [or now, Christ Mary]." (Gal. 3:28) The true tree of life is that of spiritual understanding as represented in plate no. 3, "Seeking and Finding." Mortals think the tree of life is the tree of knowledge, with babe and crib. This plate no. 4 illustrates the false tree of life, with the closed Bible, and the evidence of false hopes, pain and suffering. Mrs. Eddy tells us on page 565 of Science and Health, that the first coming was "impersonated" in the life of Jesus, represented "first by man," and "last by woman." She writes: "The impersonation of the spiritual idea had a brief history in the earthly life of our Master; but 'of his kingdom there shall be no end,' for Christ, God's idea, will eventually rule all nations and peoples — imperatively, absolutely, finally — with divine Science. This immaculate idea, represented first by man and, according to the Revelator, last by woman, will baptize with fire; and the fiery baptism will burn up the chaff of error with the fervent heat of Truth and Love, melting and purifying even the gold of human character." (565:13-22) In Genesis we are told that God created man in His own image, male and female. In this we recognize the divine Fatherhood and Motherhood of God. Since the "first coming" presented the Fatherhood of God in the man Christ Jesus; so the "second coming," in order to express the "fulness of the Godhead bodily," must present the Motherhood of God in the woman, Mary Baker Eddy. Thus we see the complete revelation of God in human experience. The next four plates will be discussed in the April issue of the Standard.
|
