20121207

"Great is the reward of self-sacrifice."



...according to thy word

Readings from
(Citations follow)

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me [Isaiah]; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek(B1)
Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.  ...the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. ...in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee. ...and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. ...I the Lord will hasten it in his time.(B2)

...all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise:(B3)

...a certain priest named Zacharias, ...went into the temple of the Lord.
And there appeared unto him [Gabriel] an angel of the Lord(B4)
...I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee(B5)  

...Fear not,Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John ...and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.(B6)
And Zacharias ...as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived.(B7)

Thy kingdom come.

Thy kingdom is come; Thou art ever-present.(SH1)

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.(B8)
And the angel [Gabriel] came in unto her, and said,
Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 
Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end..(B9)
Then said Mary unto the angel,
How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?(B10)
And the angel [Gabriel] answered and said unto her,
The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.(B11)
And Mary said,
Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.(B12)
And the angel departed from her.(B13)

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Enable us to know, — as in heaven, so on earth, — God is omnipotent, supreme.(SH2)

...Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.(B14)

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And Love is reflected in love;(SH3)

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying,
Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:(B15)

Our Father which art in heaven,
Our Father-Mother God, all-harmonious,(SH4)

And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.(B16)

Give us this day our daily bread;
Give us grace for to-day; feed the famished affections,(SH5)

And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said,
Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.(B17)
And Mary said,
My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.(B18)
And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.(B19)

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet [Isaiah], saying,(B20)
Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.(B21)

~:~:~:~:~:~

ANGELS.  God's thoughts passing to man;(SH6)
The Old Testament assigns to the angels, God's divine messages, different offices.  
Gabriel has the more quiet task of imparting a sense of the ever-presence of ministering Love.(SH 7)

To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings.(SH 8)

According to recent lore, successive generations do not begin with the birth of new individuals, or personalities, but with the formation of the nucleus, or egg, from which one or more individualities subsequently emerge;(SH9)
As a material, theoretical life-basis is found to be a misapprehension of existence, the spiritual and divine Principle of man dawns upon human thought, and leads it to "where the young child was,"(SH10)
A limitless Mind cannot proceed from physical limitations.
Infinite Mind is the creator, and creation is the infinite image or idea emanating from this Mind.(SH11)

The seed within itself is the pure thought emanating from divine Mind.(SH12)
\God is the only author of man.  The Virgin-mother conceived this idea of God, and gave to her ideal the name of Jesus — that is, Joshua, or Saviour.
The illumination of Mary's spiritual sense put to silence material law and its order of generation...
The Holy Ghost, or divine Spirit, overshadowed the pure sense of the Virgin-mother with the full recognition that being is Spirit.
Jesus was the offspring of Mary's self-conscious communion with God.(SH13)

"Blessed are the pure in heart:  for they shall see God" [Truth].(SH14)
Christian Science demonstrates that none but the pure in heart can see God(SH15)

Jesus was born of Mary
Mary's conception of him was spiritual,(SH16)

And the angel [Gabriel] came in unto her, and said,
Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.(B22)
And Mary said,
Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.(B23)

Great is the reward of self-sacrifice.(SH17)

And so it is
Amen and Amen.



Readings read December 5, 2012
at Wednesday Testimony Meeting of
Christian Science Society of San Juan Capistrano
by +Carolyn St.Charles, Reader



CITATIONS
(SH1)   16:30-31 Thy (to .) 
(B10)   Luke 1: 34
(B11)   Luke 1:35-37
(B12)   Luke 1:38 (to .)
(SH2)   17:1-3 Thy (to .) 
(SH3)   17:6-7 And (to ;) 
(B15)   Matthew 1:20-21,24
(B16)   Luke 1:39,40
(B17)   Luke 1:41-45
(B18)   Luke 1:46-55
(B19)   Luke 1:56
(B20)   Matthew 1:22
-:-:-:-:-:-:-
(SH6)   581:4 (to ; ) 
(SH8)   vii:1-2 
(SH9)   549:13-17 (to ;) 
(SH10)   191:8-11 
(SH12)   508:14-16 
(SH14)   341:9 " 
(B22)   Luke 1:28
(B23)   Luke 1:38 (to .)



___________
Link to post:  http://goo.gl/cnQM2
Author:  +Carolyn St.Charles
Document with citation links:  http://goo.gl/26B8F
Prelude:  Carols, Ave Maria
Hymns:  162, 208, 24
Postlude:  Joy to the World
Synonyms for God:  Spirit, Truth, Love, Mind, Principle and also, Life and Soul
Hashtags:
#Christmas #Christ #Jesus #Mary #Savior #Nativity #Immanuel or #Emmanuel #Magnificat #HolyGhost #LordsPrayer #Gabriel #Isaiah #angels #Bible #Science and Health #MaryBakerEddy #accordingtothyword #birth #conception #virginbirth  #ChristianScience #Zacharias #Elizabeth 

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1 comment:

soitis said...

Happy Advent Everyone,
This post focuses on Mary in the context of customs and beliefs about conception and birth.
What are your thoughts about the virgin birth, Mary and Christ Jesus in particular?
Looking forward to reading your comments.
Warmly,
Carolyn

7/12/12 15:53

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