Article April 7, 1923 Issue

"Casting away his garment"

ZOE H. CLARKE

Many who come to Christian Science seeking physical healing, regeneration, or the alleviation of sorrow, do not realize that something more than mere hope and desire is required on the part of the seeker. If we study carefully the accounts of healings performed by Jesus and by the prophets, we find that some act—obedience, submission, contrition, repentance, or self-abnegation—was required before the healing took place.

Perhaps the one desiring freedom voluntarily took the preliminary steps, as in the case of blind Bartimæus. We read: "And they came to Jericho: and as he [Jesus] went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimæus, the son of Timæus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me." Bartimæus placed himself in the position to receive healing; he was receptive of the truth, because of the humility of his thought. He did more: he persevered; and would not be restrained when those about him charged him that he should hold his peace.

When the mortal arguments of lack of time, of discouragement, of fear of the opinions of others, of inability to cope with the situation, come to restrain us or rob us of the truth, do we, like Bartimæus, cry "the more a great deal," or do we listen to the arguments of error, and thus lose the reward? He cast away his garments, and rose, and came to Jesus. We too must cast away our garments,—the covering or veil that is hiding from us the Christ-idea. We must cast aside self-will, human planning, false pride, wrong desire, whatever the "garment" or covering may be that is hiding, in belief, the spiritual truth; and as Mrs. Eddy tells us in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 391), we must "rise to the true consciousness of Life as Love,—as all that is pure, and bearing the fruits of Spirit." Then shall we hear, as did Bartimæus, the voice of Truth, saying, "Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole." And immediately we shall receive our sight; we who were blinded by materiality shall discern spiritually, and follow "Jesus in the way," or, as Paul said, "press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

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