Article March 19, 1949 Issue

It is important to be sensitive to good alone. A pupil learns this as harmony displaces discord at school

ENTERTAINING ANGELS

FAITH HOLMES HYERS

Hospitality has an ancient and honorable tradition. It has been practiced since primitive man shared his first shelter with another. In Hebrews we read (13:1, 2): "Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."

Today's hostess looks forward to the entertainment of cherished guests as one of the joys of home making, and she willingly expends much time and thought in preparation for her invited guests. Now, although we may not all be in the position of inviting guests into a well-furnished home, every one of us constantly entertains transient or habitual thought guests. It is our privilege, we are taught in Christian Science, to welcome and entertain ideas which make us happier, holier, and more useful members of the human family.

To entertain, according to a dictionary, signifies "to keep, hold, or maintain in the mind with favor; ... to harbor; cherish." It is in this sense that we seek to entertain angels, or as Mary Baker Eddy defines them in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 581), "God's thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality."

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