Article November 10, 1997 Issue

Glossary sheds light on angels

William Saunders

When I think about the Glossary of Science and Health, I say, "What a wealth of insight is packed into twenty-one pages!" In this chapter Mary Baker Eddy gives the spiritual sense of Bible terms, which, she says, "is also their original meaning" (p. 579).

Over the years, I have cherished the explanation of angels, which reads, "God's thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality" (p. 581). This explanation has helped me understand the numerous references to angels in the Bible, where, in many cases, they alert people to God's presence. Imagine that you are Daniel, surrounded by hungry lions. Think how comforting it would be to have an angel shut the lions' mouths! And what would the story of Jesus' nativity be without angels? An angel announced to the Virgin Mary her unique role as Jesus' mother. An angel told the shepherds about Jesus' birth. And an angel told Joseph to flee with his young family into Egypt in order to save Jesus from Herod's lethal hatred.

In my own experience, on one occasion an angel message saved me from being struck by a cyclist on a busy avenue. On other occasions these messages have kept me from doing things that would have been downright stupid.

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