Editorial December 19, 1931 Issue

Qualifications of Readers

Violet Ker Seymer

Mrs. Eddy's substitution of the Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lessons for personal sermons in the Christian Science churches has a deep significance. The Lesson-Sermon, which is compiled from the Bible and from the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, excludes human opinion and man-made doctrines, insures pure and consistent teaching, provides for individual study, and promotes unity throughout the Christian Science organization.

Of those individuals who are privileged to read the Lesson-Sermon in churches, Mrs. Eddy writes, in part, in Article III, Section 1, of the Church Manual: "They must keep themselves unspotted from the world,—uncontaminated with evil,—that the mental atmosphere they exhale shall promote health and holiness, even that spiritual animus so universally needed." Here our Leader places a great responsibility on all Readers. Each Sabbath service should be to them a holy, spiritual experience. Through vigilance, fidelity, and earnest love of good demonstrated in their daily lives, Readers in Christian Science churches can come to their posts rich in the harvest of the week's overcoming, the week's dominion, spiritually confident and joyous because they have been faithfully proving the healing power of Truth for themselves and others. In selecting their moderate recreation, they will see the duty of cultivating simple, innocent tastes, and of avoiding all that might becloud the spirituality to which they are especially pledged in their sacred office as Readers. Even Jesus, God's anointed, said, "For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth."

We may assume, then, that the preparation on the part of Readers which is also referred to in the above-quoted By-Law not only demands that a suitable time should be apportioned to the study of the Lesson-Sermon, but also implies the need of a daily preparation and purification of thought, desire, and general outlook. "The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord." The consciousness must be pure which is to give effective utterance to the healing word of Truth. The Readers must be heart and soul with what they are reading. They must mentally stand in the true Church.

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