"She turned herself"

HILDEGARD KRÜGER

How many blessings we owe to our revered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, who through her pure vision of the truth gave us the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures"! By the inspired explanations of Christian Science contained therein, the Bible is being opened to us, and we are learning to grasp its spiritual import. The words we had so often read and heard without understanding now appear in a new light. Every incident recorded in the Old or the New Testament contains a valuable lesson, leading us to the recognition of God as the only Life.

In the twentieth chapter of John's Gospel we find the wonderful experience of Mary, who on the resurrection morn was first to arrive at the sepulcher and to see that the stone had been taken away. She ran to "Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved," as John recounts, to tell them what had happened, saying, "They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him." Peter and the other disciple then came to the tomb to convince themselves that it was empty, and returned home again; but Mary remained. She had listened understandingly to the Master's teachings, and this enabled her, while looking into the sepulcher, to perceive angels, "God's thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect" (Science and Health, p. 581). She then heard the question, "Why weepest thou?" Still yearning for the one she deemed lost she answered, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him."

But the Master whom she loved was with her, even then. She saw him standing there; but she did not recognize him. Again she heard the question as to the cause of her sorrow, this time from him whom she supposed to be the gardener. Hoping that her questioner might know how she could regain what seemed to be lost, she answered, "Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away." Then, we read, "Jesus saith unto her, Mary." So much love was expressed in his appeal that it had the power to arouse her from her dream of grief. "She turned herself"! She turned away from the empty sepulcher and suddenly recognized how groundless had been her sorrow; for she saw before her the risen Lord! She recognized him as the Master, who had overcome death, thus demonstrating the nature of eternal life. She could speak only the one word, "Rabboni"! With what happiness she would have held him, that he should not disappear again! But Jesus prevented her, saying, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father." She was not to interfere with him, for not yet had he risen to the full height of his demonstration. He therefore lovingly said to her, "Go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." In her Message to The Mother Church for 1902 (p. 8) our Leader writes, "The ego, or I, goes to the Father, whereby man is Godlike." Mary gladly delivered the Master's message, and his resurrection from the grave wrought for her also a resurrection from material beliefs to a higher understanding of spiritual being.

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