The midland journal., 1942-01-16

A Lecture on
Christian Science
Entitled
Christian Science: The Revela-
tiOn Of the Kingdom
Of Heaven
by
Gavin w. Allan, C.S.B.
of Toronto, Canada
Member Of the Board Of Lectureship OF
The Mother Church, The First Church Of
Christ, Scientist, In Boston. Massachusetts
Gavin w. Allan, C.S.B.
of Toronto, Canada

"The kingdom Of heaven" is New
Testament phrase. It's earliest use
seems to have been by John the Bap-
tist, who came proclaiming, Repent
We: for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand" Repent means change your
mind, change your way Of thinking,
change the very basis of your think
ing from the material to the spiritual.
Human beings have been educated to
think of themselves and all that per-
tains to them as material in origin
and existence. They have been taught
that they are mortals, that they live
in material universe, and are SUBJ
ject to laws Of matter. This is not the
real truth about man. The Bible re-
veals that God, Spirit, is the only Gre
ator, and that man is His expression,
a spiritual being, living in a spiritual
universe, and it urges us to awaken
to this truth. AS we do we shall find
that "the kingdom Of heaven is at
hand"
Our Master frequently spoke Of ''the
kingdom of heaven" and on one oc-
casion as recorded in the thirteenth
chapter of Matthew he endeavored to
explain this phrase by a number of
parallels or stories. Possibly one of
Jesus earliest utterances may throw
some light on this subject. You will
remember that, as we are told in the
fourth chapter of Luke, Jesus "came
to Nazareth, where he had been
brought up: and, as his custom was,
he went into the synagogue on the
sabbath day, and stood up for to
read" And this is the passage he
read, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me, because he hath anointed me to
preach the gospel to the poor; he hath
sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to
preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovering Of sight to the blind, to set
at liberty them that are bruised"
When he had finished reading Jesus
announced, "This day is this scripture
fulfilled in your ears"
It was to be Jesus mission to meet
the needs Of the poor, the broken
hearted, the captives, the blind, and
the bruised. In other words, Jesus
came to prove that, as Mary Baker
Eddy has expressed it in "Science and
Health with Key to the Scriptures"
Up. 494), "Divine Love always has
met and always will meet every
human need" Economic needs, mental
needs, social needs, physical needs,
all were to be met. Jesus came to re-
veal by his words and works not only
what God is but what He does for
men. He proved that the, kingdom of
heaven is here and is available to men
now.
Quite early in his ministry "Jesus
went about all Galilee, teaching in
their synagogues, and preaching the
gospel of the kingdom, and healing all
manner of sickness and all manner of
disease among the people," With our
Master preaching and practicing went
together. He practiced what he
preached. He came not only to pro-
claim but to do the will Of the Father.
He proved by his healings that it is
Gods will that men should be happy.
whole, and free.
The kingdom Jesus referred to was
not some territory in Palestine. or
some place in the clouds, under the
rulership Of personal king. This was
no material or local kingdom. Indeed
it is entirely separate from matter or
things material. This is how Mrs.
Eddy defines IL in miscellaneous
Writings" Up. 174): "The kingdom Of
heaven is the reign Of divine Science:
it is mental state. Jesus said It is
within you, and taught us to pray,
Thy kingdom Gomez but he did mot
teach us to pray for death whereby
to gain heaven. We do not look into
darkness for light. Death can never
usher in the dawn Of Science that re-
veals the spiritual facts Of mans Life
here and now."
Many people believe that the king
dom Of heaven has little to do with
here and now" They believe that
If there is such condition 1t belongs
to some distant future and can be en-
tered only through the experience of
death. They believe that death Is a
gateway to paradise, q stepping-stone
to life. Whence came such a concep-
ton? Does the Bible teach any such
doctrine? Did Jesus speak Of death
in this way? The Bible speaks Of
death, not as friend, not as pro-
gressive step, but as an enemy, some-
thing to be overcome.
The entrance to the kingdom Of
heaven is, IS the Bible points out,
through repentance, a new birth, or as
Paul puts it, 'the renewing of your
mind" Such steps can be taken now.
If the kingdom of heaven is to be
found at all, it is to be found where
we are, and the advice Of the wisest
and most scientific man the world has
even seen is that we make the seeking
of this kingdom our first consideration.
Where may we be informed about It.