The ark of safety and hope

I live in Lubbock, Texas, a city of about 250,000 people, with a major university and citizens with big hearts. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, our city has taken in 600 evacuees, and we are expecting more.

Our children are prepared to greet student-evacuees who may be attending school with them. Our universities are opening spots for other college students to continue their fall semester. Our banks and grocery stores have funds one may contribute to, our churches are opening their doors and our dehydration plant, which normally sends food internationally, is sending food for about 12 cents a meal right over the border to Louisiana. We may be 870 miles from New Orleans, but we are here with open arms.

I have a statue in my office that represents a phoenix—a mythological bird that was consumed by fire and rose, renewed, from its ashes. It reminds me that even in the midst of death, hopelessness, sorrow and heartache, there is the potential to rise above them all, above the ashes of mortality, to renewal, beauty, hope, safety, peace. Like the mythological phoenix, can we rise above the images of destruction to renewal and hope? I think we can.

My thought goes to the story of Noah in the Bible. As a child, I loved this story because it pointed to God’s provision and care. In a book my mother would read to me, there was a beautiful illustration of the ark with all the animals inside. It was comforting to look at—knowing that all were cared for.

But like most people, as I grew up I had to face events and experiences where there was destruction, death and pain. How could I feel that sense of comfort and hope I had as a child? What could I do to help others feel this comfort and hope?

That’s when I found the definition of “ark” in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. In this definition she went far beyond just a material structure of protection to defining it as “safety; the idea, or reflection, of Truth, proved to be as immortal as its Principle; . . . ”

This idea of Truth, which proved to be as immortal as its Principle, or God, good, is God’s creation, man—you and me. And as God’s idea or reflection, we have the capacity for understanding ourselves spiritually, for perceiving our being and everyone else’s as intact, perfect, safe and hopeful.

Spiritually understanding each individual’s oneness with God helps us to protect everyone, including ourselves, in times of national or international need—no matter where the destruction and desolation has occurred. Within this spiritualized consciousness, we can find the kingdom of heaven where God is at the helm, healing and renewing.

It’s there for each of us, but we have to go into this ark, this kingdom of heaven, prayerfully. Then we find that we are, in reality, safe and can have hope that all good is coming our way. How do we recognize this ark of safety and hope—this kingdom of heaven within our own consciousness? In Retrospection and Introspection, Mrs. Eddy writes, “We recognize this kingdom, the reign of harmony within us, by an unselfish affection or love, for this is the pledge of divine good and the insignia of heaven.”

Our unselfish affection and love for those taking the brunt of this hurricane and its effects must go far beyond human sympathy, although that is greatly needed. It must reach into the depths of our prayers for others in taking them into our mental ark of safety and hope and including them in our prayers—to sustain them and guide them. We can learn to spiritually understand God’s child, you and me and everyone, as under the reign of divine harmony. And we can include everyone at once under this reign.

Christ Jesus’ life provides a powerful example. He was called by Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, to come quickly because Lazarus was seriously ill. By the time Jesus arrived, four days later, Lazarus had passed on, but this delay couldn’t prevent Jesus from raising Lazarus from death.

Did Jesus wait until he arrived at Lazarus’ home before he prayed for him? I don’t think so. I believe Jesus began praying for his dear friend the minute he heard of his illness. He literally put Lazarus into the mental ark of safety and hope. This did two things: First, it kept Jesus’ thought calm and capable of rendering prayerful help, and second, it enabled him to raise Lazarus when he did arrive.

The best thing we can do for others in time of danger and concern is to put them into our own mental ark of safety and hope. To gather them up in our consciousness and include them in our prayers—prayers that point to hope in the midst of turmoil and distress. And then don’t let them go—not for one second—until peace has come upon us and them, until our consciousness is flooded with assurance of the reign of harmony.

Even if the human scene doesn’t look so hot and things seem to be slow going, we can spiritually understand our own and others’ loved ones as spiritual ideas, reflections of God, seeing and feeling the spiritual reality of safety and hope.

In The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, Mary Baker Eddy observed, “There is no door through which evil can enter, and no space for evil to fill in a mind filled with goodness. Good thoughts are an impervious armor; clad therewith you are completely shielded from the attacks of error of every sort. And not only yourselves are safe, but all whom your thoughts rest upon are thereby benefited. The self-seeking pride of the evil thinker injures him when he would harm others. Goodness involuntarily resists evil. The evil thinker is the proud talker and doer. The right thinker abides under the shadow of the Almighty. His thoughts can only reflect peace, good will towards men, health, and holiness.”

We can spiritually claim the totality of good in our consciousness, and strive to see that good in operation everywhere. Rising above the ashes of destruction, we find the renewal of hope and life, a God-ordained plan for each of His children. And the spiritual fact is that no power can withstand this divine impulsion.

As the work of restoring the Gulf Coast of the United States goes forward, people will tell of the heroism they saw in others who rescued their fellow citizens. They will tell of doing the right thing at the right time—avoiding death or lack. They will tell of the good we each have within us, of hope in the midst of fear, safety in the midst of destruction, good in the midst of evil. These stories and events aren’t just pure luck or the result of chance. They are the outcome of prayer for each other, of people turning to God, good, and including each other within spiritual consciousness to protect and guide.

We can look forward to hearing these stories and events and we can allow them to overshadow the din of mortality we’ve each faced in the wake of the hurricane. In the end, stories of the power of good will far outweigh the claims of evil, and the good they describe will live on, long after the bad memories have faded away.

Safe in the ark:

Science and Health
581:8

King James Bible
John 11:41-44