Responsive Reading: Psalm 103 : 1-5, 22

1.     Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

2.     Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

3.     Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

4.     Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

5.     Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

22.     Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul.

1. Psalm 25 : 1, 6-8

1     Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

6     Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving kindnesses; for they have been ever of old.

7     Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord.

8     Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.

2. John 9 : 1 (as)-3, 6-8, 10, 11

1      …as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

2     And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

3     Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

6     When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,

7     And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.

8     The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?

10     Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened?

11     He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.

3. John 13 : 1, 3-17

1     Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.

3     Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;

4     He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.

5     After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

6     Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?

7     Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.

8     Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

9     Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

10     Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.

11     For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.

12     So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?

13     Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.

14     If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.

15     For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

16     Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.

17     If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

4. John 19 : 1, 2, 6-11, 14-19

1     Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.

2     And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,

6     When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.

7     The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

8     When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;

9     And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.

10     Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?

11     Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

14     And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!

15     But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Cæsar.

16     Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.

17     And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:

18     Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.

19     And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.

5. Romans 5 : 8 (God), 10, 11

5     God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

10     For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

11     And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

1. 18 : 1-12

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. His mission was both individual and collective. He did life's work aright not only in justice to himself, but in mercy to mortals, — to show them how to do theirs, but not to do it for them nor to relieve them of a single responsibility. Jesus acted boldly, against the accredited evidence of the senses, against Pharisaical creeds and practices, and he refuted all opponents with his healing power.

2. 19 : 6-11, 17-28

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. Those who cannot demonstrate, at least in part, the divine Principle of the teachings and practice of our Master have no part in God. If living in disobedience to Him, we ought to feel no security, although God is good.

3. 22 : 11-14, 23-27, 30-31

"Work out your own salvation," is the demand of Life and Love, for to this end God worketh with you. "Occupy till I come!" Wait for your reward, and "be not weary in well doing."

Final deliverance from error, whereby we rejoice in immortality, boundless freedom, and sinless sense, is not reached through paths of flowers nor by pinning one's faith without works to another's vicarious effort.

Justice requires reformation of the sinner. Mercy cancels the debt only when justice approves.

4. 23 : 1-11

Wisdom and Love may require many sacrifices of self to save us from sin. One sacrifice, however great, is insufficient to pay the debt of sin. The atonement requires constant self-immolation on the sinner's part. That God's wrath should be vented upon His beloved Son, is divinely unnatural. Such a theory is man-made. The atonement is a hard problem in theology, but its scientific explanation is, that suffering is an error of sinful sense which Truth destroys, and that eventually both sin and suffering will fall at the feet of everlasting Love.

5. 48 : 10-16

Remembering the sweat of agony which fell in holy benediction on the grass of Gethsemane, shall the humblest or mightiest disciple murmur when he drinks from the same cup, and think, or even wish, to escape the exalting ordeal of sin's revenge on its destroyer? Truth and Love bestow few palms until the consummation of a life-work.

6. 29 : 1-6

Christians must take up arms against error at home and abroad. They must grapple with sin in themselves and in others, and continue this warfare until they have finished their course. If they keep the faith, they will have the crown of rejoicing.

7. 45 : 6-21

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. Paul writes: "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the [seeming] death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." Three days after his bodily burial he talked with his disciples. The persecutors had failed to hide immortal Truth and Love in a sepulchre.

Glory be to God, and peace to the struggling hearts! Christ hath rolled away the stone from the door of human hope and faith, and through the revelation and demonstration of life in God, hath elevated them to possible at-one-ment with the spiritual idea of man and his divine Principle, Love.

8. 228 : 25-32

There is no power apart from God. Omnipotence has all-power, and to acknowledge any other power is to dishonor God. The humble Nazarene overthrew the supposition that sin, sickness, and death have power. He proved them powerless. It should have humbled the pride of the priests, when they saw the demonstration of Christianity excel the influence of their dead faith and ceremonies.

9. 8 : 20-30

Praying for humility with whatever fervency of expression does not always mean a desire for it. If we turn away from the poor, we are not ready to receive the reward of Him who blesses the poor. We confess to having a very wicked heart and ask that it may be laid bare before us, but do we not already know more of this heart than we are willing to have our neighbor see?

We should examine ourselves and learn what is the affection and purpose of the heart, for in this way only can we learn what we honestly are.

10. 21 : 1-14

If Truth is overcoming error in your daily walk and conversation, you can finally say, "I have fought a good fight ... I have kept the faith," because you are a better man. This is having our part in the at-one-ment with Truth and Love. Christians do not continue to labor and pray, expecting because of another's goodness, suffering, and triumph, that they shall reach his harmony and reward.

If the disciple is advancing spiritually, he is striving to enter in. He constantly turns away from material sense, and looks towards the imperishable things of Spirit. If honest, he will be in earnest from the start, and gain a little each day in the right direction, till at last he finishes his course with joy.