Editorial May 18, 2020 Issue

The good that can never be canceled

Larissa Snorek

As I write this, almost everything in the city where I live has been shut down, and my family and I are on day 22 of staying in our home for social distancing. A friend on social media joked, “2020 is canceled.” As a collective sense of normalcy fades, and many feel it is being replaced by a palpable sense of anxiety, so much of what I hear from people is how vulnerable they feel in the face of this pandemic. The pervasive uncertainty and increased isolation are being offset, however, by a profound love for others and desire for connection. Still, questions loom about how this will end.

Christian Science prayer is especially applicable at this moment because it always begins with an expected end—one that is beyond what the physical senses perceive. Not with a specific form of an answer—no one knows yet exactly what form the resolution of this crisis will take—but with the substance of an answer: that goodness will ultimately prevail. Christian Science explains that underlying this is an understanding of the consistent availability of the Christ-power, the divine impetus that animated Jesus and enabled him to heal, including contagious disease. Jesus showed the world how to live and practice spiritual truth—the reality of Truth, or God.

As we pray and seek to practice and live this same spiritual truth, we’re more aware, by contrast, of our current thinking, whether it leans toward peace or agitation, calm or fear and doubt. Even when it feels as though we’re being overcome by uncertainty, the spiritual fact is that we’ve never been outside of the certainty of God’s divine love. Even when we’re feeling overwhelmed by emotional struggle, the spiritual truth is that harmony is invulnerable as the law of God. And spiritual truth can never be canceled—reversed—by human circumstances. As we turn to the stillness where we feel God’s presence, the Christ-power brings its immediate divine impetus to us, as it supported Jesus years ago, and this fills us with peace. The Discoverer of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, emphasized the importance of being awake to current challenges while at the same time anchoring thought in spiritual truth that uplifts and heals.

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