that we can say that their emanations are spiritual. But these seven avenues of expression are to be trained in spiritual ways and their efficiency multiplied tenfold-"the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come." The sending them "two and two before his face" refers to their dual action in expression (face). "City and place" refer to centres or aggregations of intelligent cells in the organism. These senses must be freed from mortal limitations. They must be innocent and confiding (lambs), unselfish (no purse), no care for future providence (no scrip-wallet for food), understanding not restrained (no shoes), but the message of peace and harmony to be carried to every abiding thought (house). Peace shall be established wherever your thought of peace has gone forth, and if it has not been established you will know it by the thought returning unto you, The thought of health is to be sent to every house or place of abode in the body and the message of the Spirit spoken unto it, "The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you." Deny all seeming materiality (wipe) off the dust of the city). Then your senses shall return the true words which you sent them forth with, and the consciousness will be that even the devils (discords) of your body are subject unto them. Lesson 11. September 9. The Good Samaritan. Luke 10:25-37. GOLDEN TEXT-Love thy neighbor as thyself. Lev. 19:18. The central idea of this lesson is "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus illustrates by the story of the waylaid traveler and the good Samaritan. neighbor is here shown to be farther removed tha Our the one who lives next door, or those in whom we are personally interested. The object of love to God and to our neighbor is to attain eternal life, according to this teaching of the Jewish scripture, and sanctioned by Jesus. We may love God with all our "heart, soul and strength" and yet miss eternal life. The metaphysical interpretation is that we may get very close to God in spirit, but we must see the life of God manifest in externals also before we shall compass the fullness of Being and come into its completeness in consciousness. Religion easily falls into forms and thus loses its vitality-its life-giving quality. The early Christians had the power of the Spirit and they performed miracles. But rites and ceremonies came with organizations and church buildings, and the spiritual power gradually waned. This is the history of every religious organization. The founder is inspired and fires his disciples for a time. comes a period of temporal prosperity-and spiritual decadence. Then The formalist overlooks the essence of thingshe lacks compassion or love. When life lies bleeding the priest and Levite pass by on the other side, but the quick sympathy of the untrained Samaritan. is aroused and he does the right thing from inner impulse. To lay hold of eternal life we must bind up its wounds wherever we find them, and we will find them wherever life flows, whether in man or beast. God is life, and wherever the pulse of life beats there God is. Man cannot give nor take life, but so long as he thinks he can slay the living, and proceeds to do so in man and beast, he will be at enmity with life. Those who would lay hold on "eternal life" must seek in every way to preserve the forms in which life is manifest. The wounds of Life are thus bound up. We all have life, and it is eternal life, but we do not hold that life eternally in our forms. It goes and comes. The one who enters into eternal life, as did Jesus, must lay hold on that life omnipresent and make it one with the form. This is the secret of "inheriting eternal life." So long as man continues to lose his body through death he will be in doubt as to the reality of eternal life. Eternal life means to be eternally conscious of life in its fullness. The very fact that man allows the idea to enter his mind that life can go out of his body shows that he is not in the consciousness of eternal life. He may in theory see that life is omnipresent, and reason to himself that he cannot therefore get outside of life, yet the appearance is that he lets it slip away from him. That little idea that life can even temporarily slip away will keep man out of the consciousness of eternal life. The remedy is: Lay hold on eternal life like the unconventional Samaritan. Have compassion upon the life in the bodies of every living creature, and especially in your own body. Declare life perpetually abiding in the organism. Bind up some of the wounds through which you are dissipating the life of your organism. body every day. and appetites. Robbers are at work upon your They are the lusts of the passions Drive them off and bind up the wounds. Put it in the inn of your pure thought and pay the price through "overcoming." President H. D. Barrett, of the Prison Reform Association, says that less than one per cent of the criminal population of the United States is affiliated with the liberal churches. Continuing, he says: "Liberals in religion do not profess to be holier than others, but our orthodox friends who think that 'liberal' views lead to immorality and crime may find a little food for reflection in the above fact. When orthodoxy can make a better showing it will be time to cast stones at liberals." STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD. CHARLES FILLMORE CENTRAL SECRETARIES, Kansas City, Mo., U. S. A. JESUS CHRIST, in Matt. 18:19, 20, says: "Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." We are testing this promise daily and finding it absolutely true. Jesus Christ is with us today as fully and with as great power as he ever was, and he manifests himself to all those who spiritually apprehend him. Spirit is everywhere; ignorance of the action of mind and its laws is what shuts the power of Spirit away from man. We find that when many people hold the same thought there is a unity, though they may be separated by thousands of miles, and that all who are connected with that unity are in touch with higher spiritual states, even Jesus Christ. So there has gradually grown up this Society of Silent Unity, in which thousands join every night at 9 o'clock in thinking for a few moments one thought, which is given each month in the magazine, UNITY. This we call the "Class Thought," and every member is expected to hold it at least five minutes at the beginning of the silence, in order to make the unity connection; after which, "Ask what ye will in my name, and it shall be done unto you." Certificates of membership are issued without charge to those who make personal written application for them. This work requires the time of several people at headquarters, and much free literature is distributed. To meet these expenses, we ask members to send us free-will offerings, as no charge is made for any service we render. This society has been in existence about ten years and has over 7,500 registered members. Through its ministry hundreds have been healed mentally and physically, and its power grows stronger day by day. The silent hour is 9 P. M., your local time. Geographical difference in time is not a factor in spiritual unity. Beginners usually have a great many questions to ask, and they require a course of lessons and reading. To such we recommend the "Lessons in Truth," by H. Emilie Cady; price, 75c. UNITY is our magazine, which is published monthly and contains a large amount of instruction. It should be in the hands of every member. The price of it is $1.00 per year. Where members take UNITY and the "Cady Lessons" together, we make a rate of $1.50 for both. We do not ask payment in advance. The simple request to be enrolled a member of the Silent Unity Society is all that is required to join with us. Do not expect an extended correspondence, nor even a written reply to your letter unless the case urgently demands it. We always respond in spirit and you are never neglected, although you do not hear from us by post. Address, SOCIETY OF SILENT UNITY, 1315 McGee Street, Kansas City, Mo. |