Sacrament

Sacrament 1-11-09 Sara Lincoln

A ‘sacrament’ is a formal religious act symbolizing a spiritual reality, for example when Jesus used bread and wine to teach his disciples, again, that “His true flesh and blood were his Life, and they truly eat his flesh and drink his blood, who partake of that divine Life.” SH 25: 10 Jesus taught the oneness of God and man, Mind and idea.

Most Christian churches celebrate ‘the sacrament act’ by offering a sip of wine or grape juice, and a piece of bread. This reminds people of The Last Supper when Jesus offered these to his disciples. Does the Christian Science church celebrate ‘the sacrament act’? _____ Mary Baker Eddy kept this ritual of traditional Christianity, but she interpreted it spiritually. No material ‘bread and wine’ are provided, but the congregation is invited to kneel, pray, and recite the Lord’s Prayer. It is ‘the sacrament act’ of thought and prayer (not matter or ritual) that brings us into closer communion with Christ Jesus.

The best way to remember and honor Christ Jesus is not through a ‘formal religious act.’ It is to know what he knew, to do what he did: he served mankind; he healed mankind.

What qualities enable us to serve and heal?
Joshua (Joshua 24: 14) and Paul (Eph. 6: 23-24) mention ______________.
Mary Baker Eddy implies ‘correct motive’ when she says we need to “examine ourselves and learn what it the ____________ and __________ of the heart…” SH 8: 28-30

Jesus served God by healing in His name and he told his followers (including you and me) to do the same. Jesus said, Heal……Matt: 10:8
Jesus also served by praying often, communicating with his Father-Mother God. When the disciples asked how they should pray, he said, ‘like this,’ ‘after this manner,’ and we call it The Lord’s Prayer.

What is it about the Lord’s Prayer that ‘covers all human needs’? SH 16: 8-11
Is it just the words that you memorize? ______To heal ourselves and others by praying this prayer, what thoughts (mental qualities) do we need to have as we pray?
For example, inspiration, peace, knowledge of God, unselfed love, …. What else?

God in His/Her felt presence as Principle, Mind, Soul, Spirit, Life, Truth, and Love prepares our thoughts for service and healing. Let’s consider some of the ways God inspires us and prepares us.
Principle – (SH 20: 4-5) “this divine Principle alone reforms and sinner;”
Mind -- (SH 467: 13) “having that Mind which was also in Christ;”
Soul – “The Lord’s Prayer is the prayer of Soul, not of material sense.” (SH 14: 22)
Spirit – (SH 467: 3-4) “this me is Spirit;”
“man is not the offspring of flesh, but of Spirit.” (SH 289: 31)
Life – “When we realize that Life is Spirit, never in nor of matter, this understanding will expand into self-completeness, finding all in God, good, and needing no other consciousness” (SH 264: 15)

Truth – “Truth casts out all evils…” (SH 183: 26)
“Christ is the ideal Truth…” (SH 473: 10)
Love – “Divine Love corrects and governs man;” (SH 6; 3)
“Love imparts the clearest idea of Deity” (SH 517: 13)
I AM – “the great I AM made all that was made.” (SH 267: 10
“Life is the everlasting I AM…” (SH 290: 1)
Father – Mother – “Father-Mother is the name for Deity, which indicates His tender relationship to His spiritual creation.” (SH 332: 4-5)
“For we are also His offspring.” (SH 332: 4)

Which is your favorite way of communicating with God and learning His-Her nature, and your nature? Pick three of these manifestations of God that help you communicate. Here’s how I might start a prayer, how I might communicate with God about serving and healing.


(Here are some more mental qualities we need to have as we pray: purity, commitment, affection, self-forgetfulness, childlike receptivity, quiet, determination, rejection of passivity and defeat…)