00 – Christian Science – 16 books by Mary Baker Eddy – 12 – Message to The Mother Church 1900

Mrs Eddy wrote seven of these special Messages to The Mother
Church for the occasion of their Communion Service. (Mis. 120,
My 121, Pan, My 124, Mess. 1900, Mess. 1901, Mess. 1902.) Instead of
giving the students the symbols of bread and wine which are partaken in
the ordinary Christian sacrament, in these Communion Messages she is
feeding them with the actual Christ-substance that makes up the healthy
church body. When Paul is writing his similar epistles to the young
church of his day he frequently refers  in his messages to "the edification
of the church;" for instance, "the edifying of the body of Christ," or
making "increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love" (Eph. 4).
The word has no connection with eating nor, originally, does it mean
merely pleasing moral instruction. The literal sense is building up, as in
'edifice.' In these Messages, then, Mrs Eddy is building up the Christian
and scientific consciousness that constitutes the Christian Scientist.
Although this twelfth book contains some powerful statements, it may
appear - on the surface at least - not to carry quite the same spiritual
force as the previous eleven; that is, it brings no dramatic new teaching
on the nature of God, no fresh revelation of the absolute facts of Science.
But we would be very mistaken if we thought it lightweight. The
function of the earlier eleven books has been to explain the allness of God
and the illusory nature of evil and disease; step by step they equip us to
prove in practice the truth of these two points. We have observed just the
same spiritual sequence flowing through the chapters of Science and
Health. Now with the objections answered (textbook chapter II), the
way is open for the successful practice of Christian Science (textbook
chapter 12). "Truth is revealed. It needs only to be practised"
(S&H 174). And the key to its practice lies not in some extra piece of
scientific instruction but in maintaining the Christ-consciousness -
which alone does the healing work. What is required is an attitude of
abiding, of steadfastness, for as we live our way through the eleven steps
we are in the twelfth, the circuit is completed, and the power flows.
The subject of Message 1900 is this theme of consistency, of being
"present with the ever-present Love" (p. 1), of practising Love in terms
of love. What makes it possible for us to abide in this attitude is not
personal Christianity but Christianity in its Science. Hence we find
Christian Science defined by such phrases as "the divine Science of
divine Love" (p. 5). What marvellous scientific backing we have, then,
to our Christian efforts!
The book unfolds easily through seven topics. First is "the right
thinker and worker," who loves to be in consonance with "the song of
Christian Science ... 'Work - work - work - watch and pray' " (p. 2).
This right thinking loses self in love, and wakens man's slumbering
capability. Capability for what? For distinguishing between the dualistic
human sense of God and the purer monotheism now being introduced
by Christian Science in a new renaissance. There follows naturally the
third point: the only perfect religion is identified as divine Science, or
Christianity as taught and demonstrated by our Master (pp. 3, 4).
Christian Science being "the divine Science of divine Love" it enables
man not only to "have no other gods before me" but also to fulfil the
second great commandment, "love thy neighbor as thyself' (p. 5).
This is because "Christian Science is the Science of God," and
capable of proof as "the Science of perfectibility" (pp. 6, 7). The way is
through the living Way: the way we are to layoff the mortal ego is to put
on Christ as our true individuality; in such loving obedience we
"exterminate self' and relate rightly with others (pp. 7-9). Thus the
right thinker and worker becomes the rifoTTTUr, the ideal man who "must
have conquered himself before he can conquer others." The reformer
has been individually represented by Mary Baker Eddy, but of course it
applies to man generically "as leader of this mighty movement" (p. 9).
In the generic sense all men are brethren, and are as harmoniously
related to one another as are the tones in music (p. 11).
The text of the Message now suddenly changes, and Mrs Eddy
launches into a vivid description of St John's messages in Revelation to
"the churches which are in Asia." She draws on them as types of
consciousness illustrating "the right thinker and worker" (or otherwise),
with which the book began.
"In Revelation St John refers to what 'the Spirit saith unto the
churches.' His allegories are the highest criticism on all human action,
type, and system. His symbolic ethics bravely rebuke lawlessness. His
types of purity pierce corruption beyond the power of the pen. They are
bursting paraphrases projected from divinity upon humanity" (p. II).
"He goes on to portray seven churches" (p. 14). The seven churches are
really one church; they represent the main aspects that make up the one
Christ-consciousness, the one whole body. They are allegories of human
action and behaviour and thus point to the practice of divinity in terms
of humanity. "Note his inspired rebuke to all the churches except the
church in Philadelphia - the name whereof signifies 'brotherly love' "
(p. 14).
Christian Science practice is the practice of the Principle of universal
Love that heals and regenerates and saves, and brotherly love is its
visible evidence. Thus in focusing on brotherly love, Message 1900 is
teaching the practical, living Christianity in its Science. The book does,
after all, carry the same weight and potency as the previous books,
though in the unexpected form oflove rather than Love. "If we love one
another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us" (I John 4).
Of course, love of one's fellow man does not necessarily have a divine
source; it could be mere personal affection on a material basis. On the
other hand, Christly affection that flows from divine Love will inevitably
be manifested outwardly in warm appreciation for others' spiritual
individuality, for "Love is reflected in love" (S&H 17). The twelfth
chapter of the textbook, CHRISTIAN SCIENCE PRACTICE, to which this
twelfth book corresponds, states the case strongly through the
illustration of Jesus' healing love for Mary Magdalen. "If the Scientist
has enough Christly affection to win his own pardon, ... then he is
Christian enough to practise scientifically and deal with his patients
compassionately" (S&H 365). Mrs Eddy goes on, "The physician who
lacks sympathy for his fellow-being is deficient in human affection,
and ... 'He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he
love God whom he hath not seen?' Not having this spiritual affection, the
physician lacks faith in the divine Mind and has not that recognition of
infinite Love which alone confers the healing power" (S&H 366).
The love that flows from Love must be the practitioner's outlook.
What about that of the patient? The last pages of Message 1900 describe
it. "When invited to a feast you naturally ask who are to be the guests
... Putting aside the old garment, you purchase, at whatever price, a
new one that is up to date. To-day you have come to a sumptuous
feast ... to partake of what divine Love hath prepared." Then, as
though consciously referring back to the Magdalen, Mrs Eddy adds,
"The Passover, spiritually discerned, is a wonderful passage over a
tear-filled sea of repentance - which of all human experience is the most
divine; and after this Passover cometh victory, faith, and good works"
(pp. 14, 15). By responding to the love wherewith divine Love loves us,
we are washing out the concept of man as fallen, sinful and sick, and are
ready to grasp the transcendent note of the next book.
Message 1900 brings us to the end of the third group of four books; all
are dedicated to the one common purpose- the actual working out of the
"Life-problem." First is the Church Manual, providing the framework for
demonstrating right relationship; then Miscellaneous Writings shows the
human being redeemed from the mortal through Christianization of
daily life; Christian Science versus Pantheism consistently preserves pure
monotheism by demonstrating Spirit to be All-in-all; lastly Message to
The Mother Church, 1900, gives the underlying Science of right practice: it
is Love demonstrated as love.
We could summarize the first twelve books as follows: the first group
offour are God's way revealed; the second group are how the problem of
dualism is resolved; the third group illustrate the working out achieved
in Christian practice. Now we move on to the fourth and last group of
four, which gives the scientific explanation of it all.

Mary Baker Eddy's Other Writings
'You will find me in my books'

“To be a Christian Scientist involves being changed; it demands an inner transformation, a renovation of the self, in order to become a transparency for the divine. This vital work is done by spiritualization of consciousness, but it is done in the area of life and of relationships, and it is on this area of experience that the Other Writings concentrate. Mrs Eddy herself considered these writings 'essential to preparing Christian Scientists for the full understanding of Science and Health'” (Orcutt 78).

"The spiritual beauty and practicality of these inspired books have made them beloved to generations of Christian Scientists, yet strangely few students today, a century later, know much about their origin, or regard them in their wholeness.  Yet this is critical to appreciating the value of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy’s flagship which is the Textbook of Christian Science.  Understanding this framework is necessary in order to approach the ever-unfoldment that takes place when a serious study of Christian Science is undertaken.  With this background information the student can read intelligently each piece in its setting, The message of the writings is enormously enhanced once he understands their occasion.  
See  Mary Baker Eddy's Other Writings by John L. Morgan  (1984)SHOW ALL

          Message for 1900 

 1	    My beloved brethren, methinks even I am touched
  	with the tone of your happy hearts, and can see
 3	your glad faces, aglow with gratitude, chinked within the
  	storied walls of The Mother Church. If, indeed, we may
  	be absent from the body and present with the ever-present
 6	Love filling all space, time, and immortality — then I am
  	with thee, heart answering to heart, and mine to thine in
  	the glow of divine reflection. 
 9	    I am grateful to say that in the last year of the nine-
  	teenth century this first church of our denomination,
  	chartered in 1879, is found crowned with unprecedented
12	prosperity; a membership of over sixteen thousand com-
  	municants in unity, with rapidly increasing numbers, rich
  	spiritual attainments, and right convictions fast forming
15	themselves into conduct. 
  	    Christian Science already has a hearing and following
  	in the five grand divisions of the globe; in Australia, the
18	Philippine Islands, Hawaiian Islands; and in most of the
  	principal cities, such as Boston, New  York, Philadelphia,
  	Washington, Baltimore, Charleston, S. C., Atlanta, New
21	Orleans, Chicago, St. Louis, Denver, Salt Lake City, San
  	Francisco, Montreal, London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Paris,
  	Berlin, Rome, Pekin. Judging from the number of the
24	readers of my books and those interested in them, over a
 
   
Message to The Mother Church - 1900 by Mary Baker Eddy        2


 1	million of people are already interested in Christian
  	Science; and this interest increases. Churches of this
 3	denomination are springing up in the above-named cities,
  	and, thanks to God, the people most interested in this
  	old-new theme of redeeming Love are among the best people
 6	on earth and in heaven. 
  	    The song of Christian Science is, "Work — work — 
  	work — watch and pray." The close observer reports
 9	three types of human nature — the right thinker and
  	worker, the idler, and the intermediate. 
  	    The right thinker works; he gives little time to society
12	manners or matters, and benefits society by his example
  	and usefulness. He takes no time for amusement, ease,
  	frivolity; he earns his money and gives it wisely to the
15	world. 
  	    The wicked idler earns little and is stingy; he has
  	plenty of means, but he uses them evilly. Ask how he
18	gets his money, and his satanic majesty is supposed to
  	answer smilingly: "By cheating, lying, and crime; his
  	dupes are his capital; his stock in trade, the wages of sin;
21	your idlers are my busiest workers; they will leave a
  	lucrative business to work for me." Here we add:  The
  	doom of such workers will come, and it will be more sudden,
24	severe, and lasting than the adversary can hope. 
  	    The intermediate worker works at times. He says:
  	"It is my duty to take some time for myself; however, I
27	believe in working when it is convenient." Well, all that
  	is good. But what of the fruits of your labors? And he
  	answers: "I am not so successful as I could wish, but I
30	work hard enough to be so." 
 
   
Message to The Mother Church - 1900 by Mary Baker Eddy        3


 1	    Now, what saith Christian Science? "When a man is
  	right, his thoughts are right, active, and they are fruitful;
 3	he loses self in love, and cannot hear himself, unless he
  	loses the chord.  The right thinker and worker does his
  	best, and does the thinking for the ages.  No hand that
 6	feels not his help, no heart his comfort.  He improves
  	moments; to him time is money, and he hoards this capital
  	to distribute gain." 
 9	    If the right thinker and worker's servitude is duly valued,
  	he is not thereby worshipped. One's idol is by no means
  	his servant, but his master. And they who love a good
12	work or good workers are themselves workers who appre-
  	ciate a life, and labor to awake the slumbering capability
  	of man. And what the best thinker and worker has said
15	and done, they are not far from saying and doing. As a
  	rule the Adam-race are not apt to worship the pioneer
  	of spiritual ideas, — but ofttimes to shun him as their
18	tormentor. Only the good man loves the right thinker
  	and worker, and cannot worship him, for that would de-
  	stroy this man's goodness. 
21	    To-day it surprises us that during the period of captivity
  	the Israelites in Babylon hesitated not to call the divine
  	name Yahwah, afterwards transcribed Jehovah; also
24	that women's names contained this divine appellative and
  	so sanctioned idolatry, — other gods. In the heathen
  	conception Yahwah, misnamed Jehovah, was a god of
27	hate and of love, who repented himself, improved on his
  	work of creation, and revenged himself upon his enemies. 
  	However, the animus of heathen religion was not the in-
30	centive of the devout Jew — but has it not tainted the reli-
 
   
Message to The Mother Church - 1900 by Mary Baker Eddy        4


 1	gious sects? This seedling misnomer couples love and
  	hate, good and evil, health and sickness, life and death,
 3	with man — makes His opposites as real and normal as
  	the one God, and so unwittingly consents to many minds
  	and many gods. This precedent that would commingle
 6	Christianity, the gospel of the New Testament and the
  	teaching of the righteous Galilean, Christ Jesus, with the
  	Babylonian and Neoplatonic religion, is being purged by
 9	a purer Judaism and nearer approach to monotheism and
  	the perfect worship of one God. 
  	    To-day people are surprised at the new and forward
12	steps in religion, which indicate a renaissance greater than
  	in the mediaeval period; but ought not this to be an agree-
  	able surprise, inasmuch as these are progressive signs of
15	the times? 
  	    It should seem rational that the only perfect religion is
  	divine Science, Christianity as taught by our great Master;
18	that which leaves the beaten path of human doctrines and
  	is the truth of God, and of man and the universe. The
  	divine Principle and rules of this Christianity being de-
21	monstrable, they are undeniable; and they must be found
  	final, absolute, and eternal. The question as to religion
  	is:  Does it demonstrate its doctrines? Do religionists
24	believe that God is One and All? Then whatever is real
  	must proceed from God, from Mind, and is His reflection
  	and Science. Man and the universe coexist with God in
27	Science, and they reflect God and nothing else. In divine
  	Science, divine Love includes and reflects all that really
  	is, all personality and individuality. St. Paul beautifully
30	enunciates this fundamental fact of Deity as the "Father
 
   
Message to The Mother Church - 1900 by Mary Baker Eddy        5


 1	of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." 
  	This scientific statement of the origin, nature, and govern-
 3	ment of all things coincides with the First Commandment
  	of the Decalogue, and leaves no opportunity for idolatry
  	or aught besides God, good. It gives evil no origin, no
 6	reality. Here note the words of our Master corroborating
  	this as self-evident. Jesus said the opposite of God — 
  	good — named devil — evil — "is a liar, and the father
 9	of it" — that is, its origin is a myth, a lie. 
  	    Applied to Deity, Father and Mother are synonymous
  	terms; they signify one God. Father, Son, and Holy
12	Ghost mean God, man, and divine Science. God is self-
  	existent, the essence and source of the two latter, and their
  	office is that of eternal, infinite individuality. I see no
15	other way under heaven and among men whereby to have
  	one God, and man in His image and likeness, loving an-
  	other as himself. This being the divine Science of divine
18	Love, it would enable man to escape from idolatry of
  	every kind, to obey the First Commandment of the Deca-
  	logue: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me;"
21	and the command of Christ: "Love thy neighbor as thy-
  	self." On this rock Christian Science is built. It may
  	be the rock which the builders reject for a season; but
24	it is the Science of God and His universe, and it will be-
  	come the head of the corner, the foundation of all systems
  	of religion. 
27	    The spiritual sense of the Scriptures understood enables
  	one to utilize the power of divine Love in casting out God's
  	opposites, called evils, and in healing the sick. Not mad-
30	ness, but might and majesty attend every footstep of
 
   
Message to The Mother Church - 1900 by Mary Baker Eddy       6


 1	Christian Science. There is no imperfection, no lack in
  	the Principle and rules which demonstrate it. Only the
 3	demonstrator can mistake or fail in proving its power and
  	divinity. In the words of St. Paul: "I count not myself
  	to have apprehended:  but this one thing I do, forgetting
 6	those things which are behind, and reaching forth to those
  	things which are before, I press toward the mark for the
  	prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" — in the
 9	true idea of God. Any mystery in Christian Science de-
  	parts when dawns the spiritual meaning thereof; and the
  	spiritual sense of the Scriptures is the scientific sense which
12	interprets the healing Christ. A child can measurably
  	understand Christian Science, for, through his simple faith
  	and purity, he takes in its spiritual sense that puzzles the
15	man. The child not only accepts Christian Science more
  	readily than the adult, but he practises it. This notable
  	fact proves that the so-called fog of this Science obtains
18	not in the Science, but in the material sense which the
  	adult entertains of it. However, to a man who uses to-
  	bacco, is profane, licentious, and breaks God's com-
21	mandments, that which destroys his false appetites and
  	lifts him from the stubborn thrall of sin to a meek and
  	loving disciple of Christ, clothed and in his right mind, is
24	not darkness but light. 
  	    Again, that Christian Science is the Science of God is
  	proven when, in the degree that you accept it, understand
27	and practise it, you are made better physically, morally,
  	and spiritually. Some modern exegesis on the prophetic
  	Scriptures cites 1875 as the year of the second coming of
30	Christ. In that year the Christian Science textbook,
 
   
Message to The Mother Church - 1900 by Mary Baker Eddy        7


 1	"Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," was
  	first published. From that year the United States official
 3	statistics show the annual death-rate to have gradually
  	diminished. Likewise the religious sentiment has in-
  	creased; creeds and dogmas have been sifted, and a
 6	greater love of the Scriptures manifested. In 1895 it was
  	estimated that during the past three years there had been
  	more Bibles sold than in all the other 1893 years. Many
 9	of our best and most scholarly men and women, distin-
  	guished members of the bar and bench, press and pulpit,
  	and those in all the walks of life, will tell you they never
12	loved the Bible and appreciated its worth as they did after
  	reading "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." 
  	This is my great reward for having suffered, lived, and
15	learned, in a small degree, the Science of perfectibility
  	through Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 
  	    Is there more than one Christ, and hath Christ a second
18	appearing? There is but one Christ. And from ever-
  	lasting to everlasting this Christ is never absent. In doubt
  	and darkness we say as did Mary of old: "I know not
21	where they have laid him." But when we behold the
  	Christ walking the wave of earth's troubled sea, like Peter
  	we believe in the second coming, and would walk more
24	closely with Christ; but find ourselves so far from the em-
  	bodiment of Truth that ofttimes this attempt measurably
  	fails, and we cry, "Save, or I perish!" Then the tender,
27	loving Christ is found near, affords help, and we are saved
  	from our fears. Thus it is we walk here below, and wait
  	for the full appearing of Christ till the long night is past
30	and the morning dawns on eternal day. Then, if sin and
 
   
Message to The Mother Church - 1900 by Mary Baker Eddy        8


 1	flesh are put off, we shall know and behold more nearly
  	the embodied Christ, and with saints and angels shall be
 3	satisfied to go on till we awake in his likeness. 
  	    The good man imparts knowingly and unknowingly
  	goodness; but the evil man also exhales consciously and
 6	unconsciously his evil nature — hence, be careful of your
  	company. As in the floral kingdom odors emit character-
  	istics of tree and flower, a perfume or a poison, so the hu-
 9	man character comes forth a blessing or a bane upon
  	individuals and society. A wicked man has little real
  	intelligence; he may steal other people's good thoughts,
12	and wear the purloined garment as his own, till God's
  	discipline takes it off for his poverty to appear. 
  	    Our Master saith to his followers: "Bring forth things
15	new and old." In this struggle remember that sensitive-
  	ness is sometimes selfishness, and that mental idleness or
  	apathy is always egotism and animality. Usefulness is
18	doing rightly by yourself and others. We lose a percentage
  	due to our activity when doing the work that belongs to
  	another. When a man begins to quarrel with himself he
21	stops quarrelling with others. We must exterminate self
  	before we can successfully war with mankind. Then, at
  	last, the right will boil over the brim of life and the fire
24	that purifies sense with Soul will be extinguished. It is not
  	Science for the wicked to wallow or the good to weep. 
  	    Learn to obey; but learn first what obedience is. 
27	When God speaks to you through one of His little ones,
  	and you obey the mandate but retain a desire to follow
  	your own inclinations, that is not obedience. I some-
30	times advise students not to do certain things which I
 
   
Message to The Mother Church - 1900 by Mary Baker Eddy        9


 1	know it were best not to do, and they comply with my
  	counsel; but, watching them, I discern that this obedience
 3	is contrary to their inclination. Then I sometimes with-
  	draw that advice and say: "You may do it if you de-
  	sire." But I say this not because it is the best thing to
 6	do, but because the student is not willing — therefore,
  	not ready — to obey. 
  	    The secret of Christian Science in right thinking and
 9	acting is open to mankind, but few, comparatively, see it;
  	or, seeing it, shut their eyes and wait for a more convenient
  	season; or as of old cry out: "Why art thou come hither
12	to torment me before the time?" 
  	    Strong desires bias human judgment and misguide ac-
  	tion, else they uplift them. But the reformer continues
15	his lightning, thunder, and sunshine till the mental at-
  	mosphere is clear. The reformer must be a hero at all
  	points, and he must have conquered himself before he can
18	conquer others. Sincerity is more successful than genius
  	or talent. 
  	    The twentieth century in the ebb and flow of thought
21	will challenge the thinkers, speakers, and workers to do
  	their best. Whosoever attempts to ostracize Christian
  	Science will signally fail; for no one can fight against God,
24	and win. 
  	    My loyal students will tell you that for many years I
  	have desired to step aside and to have some one take my
27	place as leader of this mighty movement. Also that I
  	strove earnestly to fit others for this great responsibility. 
  	But no one else has seemed equal to "bear the burden and
30	heat of the day." 
 
   
Message to The Mother Church - 1900 by Mary Baker Eddy      10


 1	    Success in sin is downright defeat. Hatred bites the
  	heel of love that is treading on its head. All that worketh
 3	good is some manifestation of God asserting and develop-
  	ing good. Evil is illusion, that after a fight vanisheth with
  	the new birth of the greatest and best. Conflict and perse-
 6	cution are the truest signs that can be given of the greatness
  	of a cause or of an individual, provided this warfare is
  	honest and a world-imposed struggle. Such conflict never
 9	ends till unconquerable right is begun anew, and hath
  	gained fresh energy and final victory. 
  	    Certain elements in human nature would undermine
12	the civic, social, and religious rights and laws of nations
  	and peoples, striking at liberty, human rights, and self-
  	government — and this, too, in the name of God, justice,
15	and humanity! These elements assail even the new-old
  	doctrines of the prophets and of Jesus and his disciples. 
  	History shows that error repeats itself until it is extermi-
18	nated. Surely the wisdom of our forefathers is not added
  	but subtracted from whatever sways the sceptre of self and
  	pelf over individuals, weak provinces, or peoples. Here
21	our hope anchors in God who reigns, and justice and judg-
  	ment are the habitation of His throne forever. 
  	    Only last week I received a touching token of unselfed
24	manhood from a person I never saw. But since publishing
  	this page I have learned it was a private soldier who sent
  	to me, in the name of a first lieutenant of the United States
27	infantry in the Philippine Islands, ten five-dollar gold
  	pieces snuggled in Pears' soap. Surely it is enough for a
  	soldier serving his country in that torrid zone to part with
30	his soap, but to send me some of his hard-earned money
  
   
Message to The Mother Church - 1900 by Mary Baker Eddy      11


1	cost me a tear! Yes, and it gave me more pleasure than
  	millions of money could have given. 
 3	    Beloved brethren, have no discord over music. Hold
  	in yourselves the true sense of harmony, and this sense
  	will harmonize, unify, and unself you. Once I was pas-
 6	sionately fond of material music, but jarring elements
  	among musicians weaned me from this love and wedded
  	me to spiritual music, the music of Soul. Thus it is with
 9	whatever turns mortals away from earth to heaven; we
  	have the promise that "all things work together for good
  	to them that love God," — love good. The human sigh
12	for peace and love is answered and compensated by divine
  	love. Music is more than sound in unison. The deaf
  	Beethoven besieges you with tones intricate, profound,
15	commanding. Mozart rests you. To me his composition
  	is the triumph of art, for he measures himself against
  	deeper grief. I want not only quality, quantity, and vari-
18	ation in tone, but the unction of Love. Music is divine. 
  	Mind, not matter, makes music; and if the divine tone be
  	lacking, the human tone has no melody for me. Adelaide
21	A. Proctor breathes my thought: — 

  	                      It flooded the crimson twilight
  	                         Like the close of an angel's psalm,
24	                      And it lay on my fevered spirit
  	                         With a touch of infinite calm. 

  	    In Revelation St. John refers to what "the Spirit saith
27	unto the churches." His allegories are the highest criticism
  	on all human action, type, and system. His symbolic
  	ethics bravely rebuke lawlessness. His types of purity
 
   
Message to The Mother Church - 1900 by Mary Baker Eddy      12


 1	pierce corruption beyond the power of the pen. They are
  	bursting paraphrases projected from divinity upon human-
 3	ity, the spiritual import whereof "holdeth the seven stars
  	in His right hand and walketh in the midst of the seven
  	golden candlesticks" — the radiance of glorified Being. 
 6	    In Revelation, second chapter, his messages to the
  	churches commence with the church of Ephesus. History
  	records Ephesus as an illustrious city, the capital of Asia
 9	Minor. It especially flourished as an emporium in the
  	time of the Roman Emperor Augustus. St. Paul's life
  	furnished items concerning this city. Corresponding to
12	its roads, its gates, whence the Ephesian elders travelled to
  	meet St. Paul, led northward and southward. At the head
  	of the harbor was the temple of Diana, the tutelary divinity
15	of Ephesus. The earlier temple was burned on the night
  	that Alexander the Great was born. Magical arts pre-
  	vailed at Ephesus; hence the Revelator's saying: "I
18	have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy
  	first love . . . and will remove thy candlestick out of his
  	place, except thou repent." This prophecy has been ful-
21	filled. Under the influence of St. Paul's preaching the
  	magical books in that city were publicly burned. It were
  	well if we had a St. Paul to purge our cities of charlatanism. 
24	During St. Paul's stay in that city — over two years — he
  	labored in the synagogue, in the school of Tyrannus, and
  	also in private houses. The entire city is now in ruins. 
27	    The Revelation of St. John in the apostolic age is sym-
  	bolic, rather than personal or historical. It refers to the
  	Hebrew Balaam as the devourer of the people. Nicolaitan
30	church presents the phase of a great controversy, ready to
 
   
Message to The Mother Church - 1900 by Mary Baker Eddy      13


 1	destroy the unity and the purity of the church. It is said
  	"a controversy was inevitable when the Gentiles entered
 3	the church of Christ" in that city. The Revelator com-
  	mends the church at Ephesus by saying: "Thou hatest
  	the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate." It is
 6	written of this church that their words were brave and their
  	deeds evil. The orgies of their idolatrous feasts and their
  	impurities were part of a system supported by their doc-
 9	trine and their so-called prophetic illumination. Their
  	distinctive feature the apostle justly regards as heathen,
  	and so he denounces the Nicolaitan church. 
12	    Alexander the Great founded the city of Smyrna, and
  	after a series of wars it was taken and sacked. The Reve-
  	lator writes of this church of Smyrna: "Be thou faithful
15	unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." A glad
  	promise to such as wait and weep. 
  	    The city of Pergamos was devoted to a sensual worship. 
18	There Aesculapius, the god of medicine, acquired fame;
  	and a serpent was the emblem of Aesculapius. Its medical
  	practice included charms and incantations. The Reve-
21	lator refers to the church in this city as dwelling "where
  	Satan's seat is." The Pergamene church consisted of the
  	school of Balaam and Aesculapius, idolatry and medicine. 
24	    The principal deity in the city of Thyatira was Apollo. 
  	Smith writes: "In this city the amalgamation of different
  	pagan religions seems not to have been wholly discoun-
27	tenanced by the authorities of the Judaeo-Christian
  	church." 
  	    The Revelator speaks of the angel of the church in
30	Philadelphia as being bidden to write the approval of this
 
   
Message to The Mother Church - 1900 by Mary Baker Eddy      14


 1	church by our Master — he saith: "Thou hast a little
  	strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my
 3	name.  Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of
  	Satan . . . to know that I have loved thee. . . .  Hold
  	that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." 
 6	    He goes on to portray seven churches, the full number
  	of days named in the creation, which signifies a complete
  	time or number of whatever is spoken of in the Scriptures. 
 9	    Beloved, let him that hath an ear (that discerneth spirit-
  	ually) hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; and
  	seek thou the divine import of the Revelator's vision — 
12	and no other. Note his inspired rebuke to all the churches
  	except the church in Philadelphia — the name whereof
  	signifies "brotherly love." I call your attention to this
15	to remind you of the joy you have had in following the
  	more perfect way, or Golden Rule: "As ye would that
  	men should do to you, do ye." Let no root of bitterness
18	spring up among you, but hold in your full hearts fervently
  	the charity that seeketh not only her own, but another's
  	good. The angel that spake unto the churches cites Jesus
21	as "he that hath the key of David; that openeth and no
  	man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth;" in
  	other words, he that toiled for the spiritually indispensable. 
24	    At all times respect the character and philanthropy of
  	the better class of M.D.'s — and if you are stoned from
  	the pulpit, say in your heart as the devout St. Stephen said:
27	"Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." 
  	    When invited to a feast you naturally ask who are to be
  	the guests. And being told they are distinguished indi-
30	viduals, you prepare accordingly for the festivity. Putting
 
   
Message to The Mother Church - 1900 by Mary Baker Eddy      15


 1	aside the old garment, you purchase, at whatever price, a
  	new one that is up to date. To-day you have come to a
 3	sumptuous feast, to one that for many years has been await-
  	ing you. The guests are distinguished above human title
  	and this feast is a Passover. To sit at this table of their
 6	Lord and partake of what divine Love hath prepared for
  	them, Christian Scientists start forward with true ambi-
  	tion. The Passover, spiritually discerned, is a wonderful
 9	passage over a tear-filled sea of repentance — which of
  	all human experience is the most divine; and after this
  	Passover cometh victory, faith, and good works. 
12	    When a supercilious consciousness that saith "there is
  	no sin," has awakened to see through sin's disguise the
  	claim of sin, and thence to see that sin has no claim, it
15	yields to sharp conviction — it sits in sackcloth — it waits
  	in the desert — and fasts in the wilderness. But all this
  	time divine Love has been preparing a feast for this
18	awakened consciousness. To-day you have come to Love's
  	feast, and you kneel at its altar. May you have on a wed-
  	ding garment new and old, and the touch of the hem of
21	this garment heal the sick and the sinner! 
  	    In the words of St. John, may the angel of The Mother
  	Church write of this church: "Thou hast not left thy first
24	love, I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith,
  	and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more
  	than the first." 

27	                         Watch! till the storms are o'er — 
  	                             The cold blasts done,
  	                         The reign of heaven begun,
30	                             And love, the evermore.SHOW ALL