To 'hold crime in check'

Recently, I was called to jury service. I went willingly, but with a sense that I was simply fulfilling my civic duty. Beyond that, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

But later as I reflected on my experience, I realized the lessons I learned went far beyond the understanding I gained from being a part of the judicial process—as important as that is.

My service lasted only one day because the defendant changed his plea from innocent to guilty just before the final step of jury selection took place. The judge later told us that the defendant saw the prospective jurors and realized the evidence the jury would hear would undoubtedly lead to a guilty verdict. He even confessed to another crime, unsolved up to then. The judge expressed gratitude that because we met our jury obligation, justice was served—and we were dismissed.

During that day, it was difficult at times not to feel sorry for the defendant—to follow the firm instructions to remain objective. But as I began to pray for guidance, it occurred to me that I did not have to see him as a guilty or innocent man, or one to be pitied. I could do what Christ Jesus did, wherever he was and whoever he was with—I could think of this man as at one with his Father-Mother, God.

Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science, explains this line of prayer in her primary work, Science and Health with Key to Scriptures: “Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God’s own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick” (pp. 476–477 ). In this case “sickness” could symbolize any discord or inharmonious activity in someone’s experience.

I knew that if I followed Christ Jesus’ lead, I would not be tempted to make a personal, human judgment. Rather, I could trust this individual to God, divine Love. Because of this, the confession did not come as a surprise to me.

Another lesson grew out of the moments just before the judge told us of the change in verdict. I had begun to feel restless and frustrated with the thought that I had not spent the hours waiting for jury selection as productively as I could have. Knowing my real duty was to continue praying, I began flipping through the Bible Lesson from the Christian Science Quarterly that I had studied that morning. The subject was “Are Sin, Disease, and Death Real?” and this statement caught my eye: “This conviction, that there is no real pleasure in sin, is one of the most important points in the theology of Christian Science. Arouse the sinner to this new and true view of sin, show him that sin confers no pleasure, and this knowledge strengthens his moral courage and increases his ability to master evil and to love good” (Science and Health, p. 404 ).

I knew that if I followed Christ Jesus' lead, I would not be tempted to make a personal judgement.

It gave me a sense of peace to know that the teachings of Christian Science are available for everyone to discover that there’s no real pleasure in sin and that it is natural to gain through moral courage the ability “to master evil and to love good.” But it was not until the next morning that I realized the depth of the lessons I was learning.

Elsewhere in Science and Health we read: “... those who discern Christian Science will hold crime in check. They will aid in the ejection of error. They will maintain law and order, and cheerfully await the certainty of ultimate perfection” (p. 97 ). I’m quite sure I was not the only one praying during the day. But I was grateful to be led to discern Christian Science—discern how to apply the laws of God to every human situation as the master Christian, Christ Jesus, taught us to do.

What was I learning?

• The confession indicated crime was being held in check—uncovered and stopped—and error ejected.

• I learned that holding crime in check is not just about knowing that God’s man cannot commit crimes; it’s also about knowing that God’s man cannot have crimes committed against him or her.

• Law and order were maintained when members of the group obediently fulfilled their civic duty and supported the judicial system.

When Christ Jesus forgave the adulterous woman he made a comment to the people who wanted to stone her: “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12 ). I was glad that early on I was able to follow Christ Jesus by “be[holding] in Science the perfect man,” because as Jesus taught, this leads to seeing “that the kingdom of God is intact, universal, and that man is pure and holy” (Science and Health, p. 477 ). Or to say it another way, beholding the true identity of ourselves and each other brings us to the “certainty of ultimate perfection”—to the realization of the spiritual fact that in God’s kingdom there are no victimizers and therefore no victims.

Knowing this spiritual fact allows me to pray to know that even when someone seems to be on a path of darkness that causes him or her to stumble, I can trust that the light of the Christ is revealing the truth of being by gently leading thought out of darkness into the power of the love that God is pouring out to all His children. The power of divine Love comforts while hidden sins are revealed. Love arouses thought to understand there is no pleasure in sin and strengthens moral courage, which increases one’s ability to master evil and to love good. Love shows the way to forgive and to be forgiven. It leads us all to the realization of righteousness, peace, and purity.

This experience was particularly meaningful to me in light of an alarming homicide that recently took place in our neighborhood. Members of our branch church immediately began a prayer watch—taking specific times of the week to pray to hold crime in check and to know that we can expect the certainty of ultimate perfection, not just for the neighborhood close at hand, but for our global neighborhood as well. My designated “watch time” was the morning of the day I reported for jury duty.

Thinking back to my original motive, which was simply to fulfill my civic duty, I realize that as a student of Christian Science I should have known better. I should have known that I would experience something higher than just a “day in court.” Whenever we pray to discern how to apply the laws of God to earthly challenges—as Christ Jesus did—we will be led to higher ways that we would never foresee without the Christ, which reliably leads and directs everyone, every day.