That’s right—vestures of thought!  In other words, what are we clothing our thought in—material vestures or Christly vestures?

Now this may seem to some like a poetic metaphor, but it is anything but that.  It’s an important question that we need to ask ourselves since our ability to heal and be healed in many ways hinges upon it.

What are we accepting as the truth?  What are our thoughts infused with?  Are they from God or from error?  Are they radiant in the light of the Almighty or are they tinged with the erroneous assumptions and suppositions of a life separate from God—the God in whom “we live, and move, and have our being”? (Acts 17)

These are not some abstract or philosophical meanderings.  They are essential to our spiritual progress.

Perhaps you’ve been dealing with the effects of a disease, or of aging, or of a relationship problem and haven’t been seeing the results you’ve been hoping and working for.  If that’s the case, you need to examine your thoughts and turn deeply to God.

Are you accepting the testimony of the five material/personal senses—even in part?  Are you believing that the picture being presented to your consciousness—a picture of illness, or diminished capacities, or loss—has even an iota of reliability, credence, or reality?  If so, then you’re working against the results you desire.  The results you deserve.

Have you inadvertently accepted—even tacitly—the conclusions of medical studies and observations as the final word?  Or even a plausible explanation to be left unchallenged in your thought by the truths of Christian Science?

A couple of weeks ago, I encountered two different people saying basically the same thing to me when I was engaging in outdoor activities.  What was it?  “Oh—it’s good that you’re outside on this sunny day so you’ll get your Vitamin D!”

Frankly, the comments took me by surprise.  So what did I do?  I cheerfully redirected the focus by replying that I was just out enjoying the beautiful day.  But I made sure to quickly mentally refute this medical claim in my own thought and deny that it could be part of those two individuals’ true thinking.  Why?  Because that claim would seek to reduce the spiritual sense of the day’s joy and beauty to be but a supposed beneficial physiological effect.

A day or so later when relating this to a fellow Christian Scientist they proceeded to tell me that it’s been shown by medical studies that a certain race of people who live in arctic climes and who, as a result, get very little sun have a deficiency of that vitamin which in turn has led to bowed legs in that population.

This, my friends, is an example of how easily our thoughts can be clothed in matter-based thinking if we’re not watching carefully.

Now, did my friend think that this is what had happened to their thought?  No, they saw the medical research’s findings as a logical and reasonable explanation for this defect in that population and defended it is as such until I pointed out that as Christian Scientists we cannot afford or dare to accept such conclusions—not if we’re to be the healers that Jesus and Mary Baker Eddy expected us to be.  Why?  Because there is only one cause, God, Spirit, and God would never bring about such results on His creation.  A creation that is entirely spiritual and good!

And that fundamental truth awakened them!

But how could such a basic concept of Christian Science have been forgotten by this individual—a life-long Christian Scientist?  Error—evil—had mesmerized them into dropping their guard and allowing that falsehood to slip in and clothe their thinking materially.  Had permitted this lie, this vesture—unbeknownst to them—to be working against their own desires for healing.

In Science and Health, Mary Baker Eddy wrote:

Selfishness and sensualism are educated in mortal mind by the thoughts ever recurring to one’s self, by conversation about the body, and by the expectation of perpetual pleasure or pain from it; and this education is at the expense of spiritual growth. If we array thought in mortal vestures, it must lose its immortal nature.  (p. 260)

So before we allow our thought to be arrayed in vestures, let’s stand before the mirror of Christian Science—a mirror that reflects only the true image and likeness of God.  A mirror that shows us if we’re putting on the right attire!

The final section of the chapter titled “Christian Science Practice” in Science and Health (p. 430-442) is an allegory of a trial in which mortal man is first tried in the Court of Error and is found guilty of breaking the various health rules of mortality in his efforts to obey the Golden Rule by helping a sick friend.  The verdict given by this material court is death.  However, when the case is brought before the Court of Spirit after a vigorous appeal by Christian Science, the defendant is found innocent and is regenerated: “His form was erect and commanding, his countenance beaming with health and happiness.” (p. 442)

This allegory is a perfect illustration of how to give a Christian Science treatment.  Each and every element of the false accusations leveled at the defendant in the lower court are uncovered and mightily argued against, denounced, refuted, rebuked, and proven to be false by the defense attorney, Christian Science, and then the truth is argued for, affirmed, and stated with only the authority that the understanding of Spirit can bring.

So—here’s a question that I ask myself regularly, and perhaps you may need to, also.  Which side am I arguing for?  Spirit or matter?

Now, both you and I will probably answer “Spirit”!  But are we always sure that’s the case?

Are we really examining our thoughts closely in the light of Truth?

If we’ve accepted in any form the supposed claims and validity of material health rules/superstitions, dietary laws, medical diagnoses, physical symptoms and causes, eastern religions and philosophies, psychology, yoga, alternative medicines, or material substance and identity, then aren’t we arguing against God to the detriment of ourselves and those who need our help?

Each and every one of these has a concept of matter as their basis.  Each and every one of these would seek to distract and misdirect our attention and reliance from God as the only source of our or anyone else’s health and well-being.  Each and every one is enthroned in the lies of matter—regardless of how “convincing” their arguments seem to be.  No matter how “logical” or “reasonable” they appear.  No matter how “tangible” the effects seem to be.  They are all products of the material senses, of mortal mind, of which Mary Baker Eddy wrote:

The material senses originate and support all that is material, untrue, selfish, or debased. They would put soul into soil, life into limbo, and doom all things to decay. We must silence this lie of material sense with the truth of spiritual sense. We must cause the error to cease that brought the belief of sin and death and would efface the pure sense of omnipotence. (Science and Health, p. 318)

There you have it: The material senses are both the origin and the substantiation of evil whose intent is to deface all that is good and holy!  The claim of a power other than God.  A claim that we must put a stop to—that we must destroy!

In this week’s Bible Lesson, “Truth,” this citation appears:

We must not seek the immutable and immortal through the finite, mutable, and mortal, and so depend upon belief instead of demonstration, for this is fatal to a knowledge of Science. (SH 286)

Think of it!  Fatal to a knowledge of Christian Science and its demonstration!  We need to take these words seriously!

And if taking them seriously makes us uncomfortable or if we find ourselves avoiding deeply considering the meanings of the numerous warnings that Mrs. Eddy has written relative to taking a half-way position about the rules and morality of Christian Science or the various pitfalls and traps of mortal mind, then we can be sure that this reluctance isn’t coming from God.  It’s none other than the silent argument of mortal mind masquerading as our own thinking and deductions.

Let’s pray to be arguing against the beliefs of matter and for the reality of God and not the other way around!

Christian Scientists will no doubt immediately recognize these three words as part of Mary Baker Eddy’s answer to an important question she asked her last class.  In the reminiscences of Sue Harper Mims (We Knew Mary Baker Eddy: Expanded Edition, Vol. 1, p. 298), Mims wrote:

Then she asked us questions. One was, “What is the best way to do instantaneous healing?” Many arose. Some said, “Realize the ever-presence of good”; others, “Deny the claims of evil.” There were many answers, but when they had finished, she said, as I remember: “I will tell you the way to do it. It is to love! Just live love—be it—love, love, love. Do not know anything but Love. Be all love. There is nothing else. That will do the work. It will heal everything; it will raise the dead. Be nothing but love.”

It’s a remarkable and powerful statement and one that, without question, is critical to our healing work.  But too often we forget this wasn’t the whole of what transpired.

What? There’s more?

There certainly is!

Mims continued:

Then there came up what was, to me, the most interesting question in the whole class. Someone said, “But, Mother, are we not to discriminate between good and evil?” She answered substantially as follows:

Ah, now you have asked me what is to me the hardest thing in Christian Science! Yes, you must see and denounce evil. The Bible tells us that Jesus was God’s chosen because he loved righteousness, but the Bible does not stop there. It says, “and hated iniquity”! So often have I longed to see and know only Love—only the good—but I have not dared. I must uncover and rebuke and hate iniquity.

See and denounce evil!  Love righteousness and hate iniquity as Jesus did!  These are strong words, but words that are absolutely essential to our continued understanding and fruitful practice of Christianly scientific healing.

It reminds me of the passage from Science and Health where Mrs. Eddy, while referring to Jesus, wrote (p. 52):

The “man of sorrows” best understood the nothingness of material life and intelligence and the mighty actuality of all-inclusive God, good. These were the two cardinal points of Mind-healing, or Christian Science, which armed him with Love.

Focusing solely on Love without uncovering and destroying evil is, clearly, only half the equation.  It’s not one or the other.  Remember, Mrs. Eddy told that final class how she longed to know only Love, but didn’t dare to do so—that she must uncover, rebuke, and hate iniquity (wickedness, unrighteousness, evil).

Shouldn’t we then be willing to courageously follow the path that our Leader blazed through the wilderness of matter to the freedom of Spirit and not be tempted into taking a shortcut suggested by mortal mind—no matter how pleasant or appealing that shortcut may seem?  A shortcut that would have us only look at the good while simultaneously abandoning both our requisite need and our ability to use our God-given spiritual discernment to strip evil of its disguises?

Can we really afford to allow error—in any form—to go undisturbed in its secret as well as blatant enslavement of humanity?

Then let’s make sure that we’re willing to be armed with the same two cardinal points of Love that our Master and Mrs. Eddy went into battle with—that divine sense of compassion which uncovered, rebuked, and destroyed evil while healing the sick, reforming the sinner, and demonstrating the way to transform the world!

OK.  What am I referring to?

Well, I’ll tell you.  It’s a specific page number in the Church Manual of The First Church of Christ, Scientist written by Mary Baker Eddy.  A page number that contains a By-Law that should have a profound significance to all who are students of Christian Science.

A By-Law that blesses and protects not only us, but those who are in need of our help.

Alertness to Duty. Sect. 6. It shall be the duty of every member of this Church to defend himself daily against aggressive mental suggestion, and not be made to forget nor to neglect his duty to God, to his Leader, and to mankind. By his works he shall be judged, — and justified or condemned.

Yes—alertness to our duties.  Duties that keep us safe from the onslaught of the suggestions of the carnal mind.  Duties to God to be God-like, to our Leader (Mary Baker Eddy) by following her as she followed the Christ, and duties to mankind by taking up the roles that our Master and Mrs. Eddy demonstrated and expected each of us to accomplish in healing the sick and reforming the sinner.  Roles that are for the salvation of mankind.

I find it interesting that Mrs. Eddy began the list of duties with our need to alertly defend our thought.  And of course, it’s completely logical isn’t it?  How else could we carry out our duty to God, to our Leader, and to mankind if error has successfully mesmerized us through aggressive mental suggestion into forgetting and neglecting those same obligations?

And by the way, aggressive doesn’t necessarily have to mean blatant or “in your face.”  No, it could also be the silent yet persistent argument that would attempt, for instance, to discourage, demoralize, distract, dissuade, embitter, or mislead us.

Now, perhaps you’ve thought that the daily reading of the Christian Science Lesson-Sermon is your protective work.  Or that you’re maxed-out and don’t have time to do anything else.  Maybe you’ve felt that to do specific daily work for your own protection is a form of selfishness—one that takes you away from helping others.

But given this By-Law, can we really believe that these or any similar thoughts are from God?  The same God that we are not to neglect or forget our duty to?  The same God that inspired Mrs. Eddy to write the Manual?

Reading the Lesson-Sermon is absolutely wonderful and needed, but let’s not confuse it with specific Christianly scientific treatment—treatment that becomes aware of the machinations of error and handles them.  And who said that such treatment is necessarily time-consuming?  Furthermore, how could it possibly be selfish if you’re able to be more effective in your healing work as a result of your thought having greater clarity and understanding?

In the reminiscences of John C. Lathrop (We Knew Mary Baker Eddy, Expanded Edition, Vol. 1), Lathrop wrote that after explaining to him that to watch was to become conscious of one’s danger, Mrs. Eddy said:

Christian Scientists read their literature, go to church, to church meetings, and still may be tumbled over; that is not watching, they are merely marching up and down the breastworks. (p. 262)

So, let’s see.  We’ve got two choices on this issue before us:

1) Merely marching up and down the breastworks, or

2) Giving ourselves daily treatments so that we are able to remain alert and carry out our duties.

Which box will you tick off?