["Columbia West Coast Church of the Air" talk over Columbia Broadcasting System, by Floyd C. Shank, September 22, 1940. Subject: "The Power of Spiritual Joy."]

A Christian Science period in the "Columbia West Coast Church of the Air" series was conducted from Station KARM, Fresno, California, on Sunday morning, September 22, 1940, at eight o'clock (Pacific Standard Time), by Floyd C. Shank, Committee on Publication for Northern California, with the approval of The Christian Science Board of Directors. Mr. Elroy C. Twite, Soloist, was assisted by Mr. Paul Sheldon at the organ.

The program opened with the hymn entitled, "Mother's Evening Prayer," from the Christian Science Hymnal. The words of this hymn were written by Mary Baker Eddy.

Mr. Shank then read selections from the Bible as follows: Isaiah 12:2, 3; Habakkuk 3:17, 18; John 12:44–46; 15:4, 9–11; 16:20–24; and from the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy: 548:12–15; 66:6–9, 11–14; 265:23–30; 14:12–18; 304:9–14, 16–21; 298:13–20; 262:17–23.

The program continued with a solo entitled, "How Beautiful upon the Mountains" by Flexington Harker, after which Mr. Shank read an address substantially as follows:

One who watches his mental processes during these days will discover that the first effect of fear is to lessen or take away his joy. Mere human optimism will not be found adequate to preserve his joy, nor will happiness which is based on worldly circumstances prove capable of surviving the shifting human scenes of today. Only that joy which Christ Jesus knew, and which he declared "no man taketh from you," will be found powerful enough to weather the storms of fear. This joy is purely spiritual; it is a divine characteristic, which the master Christian expressed in his life and proved to be indestructible. And he said that this, his joy, would remain in his obedient followers, and that their joy would be full. Having this assurance, can we not find great comfort in seeking a spiritual understanding of Life, through which this divine quality of joy may be expressed in our everyday living?

As was read from the Christian Science textbook a few moments ago, Christian Science teaches that "joy cannot be turned into sorrow, for sorrow is not the master of joy" (Science and Health, p. 304). Why? Because joy, spiritual joy, is real, an eternal quality of God, expressed perpetually by man. Joy is just as certainly a permanent characteristic by which God is manifested, as is goodness, or love, or wisdom, or truth, and we have the God-given power to express it. Does our power to tell the truth fluctuate with the shifting of human circumstances or changes in bodily conditions? Does our wisdom grow less because mortals are terrified by hideous developments in world affairs? Does our power to be good cease when we are confronted with temptations? No. Neither can we be dispossessed of our power to be joyful, to express spiritual joy, merely because suggestions of fear parade themselves before our thought.

Spiritual joy is an antidote for fear, and Christians today need to keep active in their lives this quality of the divine nature. We must keep joy in the foreground of our thinking by spiritualizing our thinking and living, thereby demonstrating the actual presence and supremacy of God and establishing the conviction of security.

We can do this in our daily experiences. In fact, Christian Science makes it plain that, since, in our true selfhood, we are the reflection of God, it is just as much our function and we have just as much power to express spiritual joy in our daily lives as to express honesty, or goodness, or love, or any other quality of the Divine Being. If we do this persistently, that is, express joy in order to make evident the true nature of God, instead of seeking happiness merely to satisfy our desires, we shall be successful, and effectively help to offset the weight of fear which evil would impose on mankind.

We read much at this time of so-called "fifth column" activities in national and international affairs. This term is intended to define an effort of an enemy to breed discontent and disloyalty among the loyal, by mesmerizing and influencing the unwary. Governments endeavor to defeat these subtle machinations by exposing their traitorous schemes. In the lives of individuals, evil attempts to mesmerize and undermine the morale of the spiritually unwary, through depression and fear. God's government is universal, yet reflected by individual man, and through Christian Science the hidden mental processes by which mortals have been dispossessed of their God-given ability to express His qualities in their own thinking and living are exposed.

Christians habitually sing their hymns as a means of antidoting fear and depression, and stimulating anew their hope and joy. Early in my own experience of learning the power of spiritual joy, I found myself at one time in the midst of physical suffering and mental depression and fear. The many admonitions in the Bible to sing praises to God had impressed my thought, and now I decided to test the practicality of obeying literally these commands to sing spiritual songs. The Christian Science Hymnal was among my valued books, and many of these hymns had been committed to memory; but the audible singing of them had been confined to church services. The mere repetition of the words, however, in this instance had been inadequate to heal me, and I must test the effect of literal obedience to the Scriptural rule to sing praises to God. For some ten or fifteen minutes I sang audibly these spiritual hymns, all the while consciously endeavoring to feel the gratitude and joy and praise the words expressed. At the end of that period the discordant physical and mental conditions had entirely vanished, and I was happy and well. The certain healing effect of obedience to God's Word, and the power of spiritual joy, had been demonstrated.

At times Christ Jesus prefaced his healing of the sick or the fearful by the command, "Be of good cheer!" This admonition must have been based on spiritual discernment which penetrated the outward appearance, for there would appear to be no reason to be cheerful when sick or fearful. This ability to look beyond the evidence of the senses and see the real, spiritual qualities of being—harmony, health, goodness, and joy—was developed in turn by the early disciples of Jesus, and through Christian Science is being developed by his followers in this age.

Can we not find the same joy in the face of world problems, by striving for an understanding of Life which knows no death, and by clinging faithfully to the inevitable supremacy of good? If by listening to or reading depressing news reports we find that fear is increased, then by pondering and listening to God's promises of His complete supremacy and control recorded in the Scriptures, we can renew our joy. Should suggestions of disease or evil or world catastrophe ever tempt us to be afraid, real comfort may be felt by recalling the wonderful Scriptural assurances.

Hymn No. 417 in the Christian Science Hymnal was then sung.

Mr. Shank concluded the program by reading from the sixty-third Psalm, verses one, two, five, and seven.