You Can Be a Healer July 25, 2011 Issue

Our occasional series on how people have nurtured their public practice of Christian Science healing.

Lights leading to the practice

David Horn—Raleigh, North Carolina, US

The following hymn, written in 1871 by Philip Bliss, was inspired by a sermon he heard:

Brightly beams our Father’s mercy from His lighthouse
evermore,
But to us He gives the keeping of the lights along the shore.
Let the lower lights be burning! Send a gleam across the wave!
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman, you may rescue, you
may save.

The preacher told of a ship trying to enter Cleveland harbor on a dark stormy night. The captain saw the harbor lighthouse, but it was late, and the lower lights along the shore (from windows of private homes) had gone out. Trying to navigate without these lower lights, he missed the narrow channel, and his ship was dashed against the rocks. “Brothers and sisters,” said the preacher, “the Master will take care of the lighthouse. Let us keep the lower lights burning.”

As I approached the harbor of Christian Science practice, the “lower lights” were burning brightly, thanks to many faithful Christian Scientists.

The first light appeared in childhood when I became ill and was unable to eat for several weeks. A Christian Science practitioner was praying with me, and at one point she asked, “David, what do you want me to do for you?” I replied, “I want you to know every truth you know.” Apparently she did, for the next day I felt hungry, and soon my weight returned to normal.

A second light appeared a few years later when my parents let me attend Christian Science summer camp. A Christian Science teacher agreed to pay all my expenses, on the condition that her gift be secret. She believed giving in secret relieves human obligation and lets God reward the giver in His own way. She paid my expenses for six summers, until I became a counselor.

Each summer helped me grow spiritually, and to love God more, but I still wasn’t particularly confident in applying the spiritual concepts I was learning. You might say I didn’t feel like a “good” Christian Scientist. So imagine my surprise when a fellow camper, from whom I hadn’t heard in 50 years, recently said she thought I had already been a practitioner as a lad at camp. I assumed she had confused me with someone else, but she said, “No, there was a seriousness and sweetness about you, even as a boy.” This proves others may see us in the practice of Christian Science healing long before we think we’re ready. Let’s not be the last ones to find out!

Others may see us in the practice long before we think we’re ready. Let’s not be the last ones to find out.

Another light along the shore was a librarian at The Mother Church Reading Room in Boston. As a high school senior, I visited to read the weekly Christian Science Bible Lesson. On the way out, I purchased a copy of The Christian Science Journal. As the librarian opened the cash register, I suddenly felt 100 percent certain that Christian Science was true. I can’t quite explain why, but I credit the thought of the librarian for this life-changing moment. Her clear spiritual thinking must have had an effect. That librarian did more than give me correct change; she correctly changed my life.

Eventually the newfound fervor faded, and a few years after college I confided to Dad that Christian Science demanded a lot of discipline—and I wasn’t sure it was worth the effort. By that point, the teacher who had given me summer camp had passed away, so Dad revealed her secret. I was astonished. How could anyone be so generous, and seek nothing in return? There was no way to thank her, except to remain a student of Christian Science, and so I did, out of gratitude for her example.

Another bright light appeared a few years later, when I worked for The Christian Science Monitor in Boston. An older lady in our office was a practitioner, and the young employees often chatted with her. One night we worked late, and I mustered the courage to ask her, “Is there some secret code to Christian Science? I read Science and Health, but it seems confusing.” She nodded and said, “When you read it, just remember, everything is mental.” The book makes this fact clear, but her love and patience helped me realize it and unlock deeper meanings.

The warmest light along the shore was Primary class instruction in Christian Science. For 12 days I was cherished as a perfect, spiritual idea of God. There were no surprises during class, just confirmations that my grasp of Truth was correct. 

Even with all these guiding lights, my approach to the harbor of public practice took time and dedication. When the first patient called back to say her badly injured leg was completely healed overnight, I confess I was surprised. At that time, I thought I worked for God. Later, as I gained “experience,” I believed I worked with God. Today, I pray for enough humility to simply watch God work. 

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