The Triumph of Spirit

Duncan Sinclair

The whole of Christendom celebrates in some form or other the birth of Christ Jesus, for there is not a single Christian worthy of the name who does not realize something of the debt of gratitude the entire world owes to him who is honored by the name of Saviour. The Bethlehem babe was the child of promise—of prophecy. Through long years the Jewish people had looked for his coming; and it had been the hope of many a woman of their race that she should be the one favored of God to give birth to him who would redeem Israel. And when in the fullness of time Jesus was born of Mary, the event was heralded by the star in the east, and heaven itself proclaimed it in angelic song.

Now the Jews of Jesus' day, as a whole, did not in the slightest degree comprehend the mission of the Master. They were materially-minded and worldly; their religion they had molded to suit their lack of spirituality; and they were a down-trodden people, suffering unjust persecution under the tyrannical heel of Rome. Their worldly-mindedness, their lack of spirituality, blinded them to the spiritual truths which Jesus taught; and they saw nothing to rejoice over or to emulate in the "man of sorrows," notwithstanding the numerous gracious healing and saving works he did among them in accordance with his teachings. The Jews of Jesus' time looked not for a Saviour who would deliver them from the yoke of their own materiality, but for one who would deliver them from servitude under the Roman emperor.

The humble Nazarene did not deliver his nation from the yoke of Rome in the way it would have liked. He did not even stir them up against the empire: that was not his mission. Jesus' aim went far beyond the freeing of any particular people from the rule of any other people; it extended even to the complete releasing of all men from the bondage of matter or the material senses. And no one was ever equipped as he for this great work. John the Baptist recognized the fact; for after Jesus' baptism in Jordan, was there not heard, as Matthew relates, "a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"?

Christian Science makes perfectly clear the nature of the entire mission of Jesus the Christ. And this it is enabled to do because it reveals the divine Principle which Jesus understood so marvelously and demonstrated so wonderfully in the healing of disease and sin, and in the overcoming of so-called material law. What is this divine Principle, an understanding of which is so potent and so illuminating? Divine Principle is God, whom the Master called the Father. Jesus' understanding of God endowed him abundantly with the graces of Spirit; and with this understanding he was equipped to see the needs of his fellow-men and to meet them, just as Christian Science is doing to-day. With his knowledge of God, Spirit, he perceived the value of spirituality and saw the degradation of materiality; and his whole effort was so to reveal divine Truth, so to kindle in men's hearts a love for divine Truth, that they would turn from material sensuousness with loathing, and live spiritually.

Christian Scientists rejoice in the revelation of Christ Jesus, and continue the battle between Spirit and matter he waged so courageously. Mrs. Eddy writes on page 56 of "Retrospection and Introspection," "War is waged between the evidences of Spirit and the evidences of the five physical senses; and this contest must go on until peace be declared by the final triumph of Spirit in immutable harmony." The "heavenly host" praised God, saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men," as they announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds. But peace, absolute and perfect, individual and general, will be consummated only when Christ, Truth, reigns supreme in the consciousness of all, and material sense has been entirely subdued by the perfect spiritual idea.

When the Christmas season comes round each year, Christian Scientists find their thoughts turning very reverently and very lovingly to the great Way-shower. They thank God for his message of peace and good will and healing. They are grateful for the example Jesus has set mankind in the highest morality, recognizing that the purity of his life in every direction was the outcome of his spirituality, itself the result of his enlightened understanding of Spirit, God. And they are thankful, beyond words to express, that through the Christ, Truth, he so grandly demonstrated throughout his earthly life, he finally overcame for himself the belief of death. Our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, says in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 45): "Our Master fully and finally demonstrated divine Science in his victory over death and the grave. Jesus' deed was for the enlightenment of men and for the salvation of the whole world from sin, sickness, and death." Christian Scientists rejoice in the Master's spiritual triumph; and Christian Science is enabling them to prevision the final victory of the whole human race over sin, disease, and death.

Duncan Sinclair

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Editorial

The Fullness of God

December 22, 1928

Contents

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit