Responsive Reading: Luke 18 : 9-14 • Luke 5 : 24 • Luke 15 : 10

9.     And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

10.     Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

11.     The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

12.     I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

13.     And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

14.     I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

24.     The Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins.

10.     Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

1. Isaiah 55 : 7

7     Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

2. Psalm 51 : 10, 13, 16, 17, 19 (to ,)

10     Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

13     Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

16     For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

17     The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

19     Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness,

3. Proverbs 3 : 1, 3, 11 (despise), 12

1     My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

3     Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

11     …despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction:

12     For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

4. I John 2 : 1 (And)-3

1     And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

2     And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

3     And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

5. Matthew 22 : 37 (to said), 37 (Thou)-40

37     Jesus said … Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38     This is the first and great commandment.

39     And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40     On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

6. Matthew 23 : 13, 23 (ye pay), 28, 37 (thou), 39

13     But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

23     …ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

28     Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

37     …thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

39     For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

7. Luke 7 : 37-40 (to 1st .), 44 (Seest)-48

37     And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,

38     And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

39     Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

40     And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee.

44     Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

45     Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.

46     My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

47     Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

48     And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

8. Titus 2 : 11-14

11     For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

12     Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

13     Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

14     Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

9. I John 1 : 5-9

5     This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

6     If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

7     But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

8     If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9     If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10. James 4 : 7 (to 1st .), 8, 10

7     Submit yourselves therefore to God.

8     Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

10     Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

11. Matthew 5 : 8

8     Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

1. 18 : 1-5

Atonement is the exemplification of man's unity with God, whereby man reflects divine Truth, Life, and Love. Jesus of Nazareth taught and demonstrated man's oneness with the Father, and for this we owe him endless homage.

2. 19 : 6-11, 17-24

Jesus aided in reconciling man to God by giving man a truer sense of Love, the divine Principle of Jesus' teachings, and this truer sense of Love redeems man from the law of matter, sin, and death by the law of Spirit, — the law of divine Love.

Every pang of repentance and suffering, every effort for reform, every good thought and deed, will help us to understand Jesus' atonement for sin and aid its efficacy; but if the sinner continues to pray and repent, sin and be sorry, he has little part in the atonement, — in the at-one-ment with God, — for he lacks the practical repentance, which reforms the heart and enables man to do the will of wisdom.

3. 23 : 4-5

The atonement requires constant self-immolation on the sinner's part.

4. 2 : 5 (the)-7

…the desire which goes forth hungering after righteousness is blessed of our Father, and it does not return unto us void.

5. 4 : 3-9, 12-16

What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds. To keep the commandments of our Master and follow his example, is our proper debt to him and the only worthy evidence of our gratitude for all that he has done.

The habitual struggle to be always good is unceasing prayer. Its motives are made manifest in the blessings they bring, — blessings which, even if not acknowledged in audible words, attest our worthiness to be partakers of Love.

6. 40 : 25-26 (to Master)

Our heavenly Father, divine Love, demands that all men should follow the example of our Master … .

7. 597 : 5-11 (to 1st .)

The great Nazarene, as meek as he was mighty, rebuked the hypocrisy, which offered long petitions for blessings upon material methods, but cloaked the crime, latent in thought, which was ready to spring into action and crucify God's anointed. The martyrdom of Jesus was the culminating sin of Pharisaism.

8. 592 : 27-28

Pharisee. Corporeal and sensuous belief; self-righteousness; vanity; hypocrisy.

9. 362 : 1-7

It is related in the seventh chapter of Luke's Gospel that Jesus was once the honored guest of a certain Pharisee, by name Simon, though he was quite unlike Simon the disciple. While they were at meat, an unusual incident occurred, as if to interrupt the scene of Oriental festivity. A "strange woman" came in.

10. 363 : 8-9 (to .), 21 (and)-26

Did Jesus spurn the woman? Did he repel her adoration? No! He regarded her compassionately.

…and so brought home the lesson to all, following it with that remarkable declaration to the woman, "Thy sins are forgiven."

Why did he thus summarize her debt to divine Love? Had she repented and reformed, and did his insight detect this unspoken moral uprising?

11. 364 : 8-12, 16-19, 25-28

Which was the higher tribute to such ineffable affection, the hospitality of the Pharisee or the contrition of the Magdalen? This query Jesus answered by rebuking self-righteousness and declaring the absolution of the penitent.

Here is suggested a solemn question, a question indicated by one of the needs of this age. Do Christian Scientists seek Truth as Simon sought the Saviour, through material conservatism and for personal homage?

On the other hand, do they show their regard for Truth, or Christ, by their genuine repentance, by their broken hearts, expressed by meekness and human affection, as did this woman?

12. 40 : 8-12

Divine Science adjusts the balance as Jesus adjusted it. Science removes the penalty only by first removing the sin which incurs the penalty. This is my sense of divine pardon, which I understand to mean God's method of destroying sin.

13. 447 : 30 (A)-7

A sinner is afraid to cast the first stone. He may say, as a subterfuge, that evil is unreal, but to know it, he must demonstrate his statement. To assume that there are no claims of evil and yet to indulge them, is a moral offence. Blindness and self-righteousness cling fast to iniquity. When the Publican's wail went out to the great heart of Love, it won his humble desire. Evil which obtains in the bodily senses, but which the heart condemns, has no foundation; but if evil is uncondemned, it is undenied and nurtured.

14. 240 : 27-4

In trying to undo the errors of sense one must pay fully and fairly the utmost farthing, until all error is finally brought into subjection to Truth. The divine method of paying sin's wages involves unwinding one's snarls, and learning from experience how to divide between sense and Soul.

"Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth." He, who knows God's will or the demands of divine Science and obeys them, incurs the hostility of envy; and he who refuses obedience to God, is chastened by Love.

15. 323 : 6-9

Through the wholesome chastisements of Love, we are helped onward in the march towards righteousness, peace, and purity, which are the landmarks of Science.

16. 324 : 4-6

The purification of sense and self is a proof of progress. "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."

17. 21 : 4-5

This is having our part in the at-one-ment with Truth and Love.