Responsive Reading: Hebrews 9 : 11-15

11.     Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

12.     Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

13.     For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:

14.     How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

15.     And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

1. Matthew 4 : 23

23     And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

2. Matthew 5 : 1, 2, 7

1     And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

2     And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

7     Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

3. Matthew 12 : 1 (Jesus)-13

1     Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.

2     But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.

3     But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;

4     How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?

5     Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?

6     But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.

7     But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

8     For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

9     And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:

10     And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.

11     And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?

12     How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

13     Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.

4. Mark 1 : 39-42

39     And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.

40     And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

41     And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.

42     And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

5. Luke 10 : 25-37

25     And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

26     He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

27     And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

28     And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

29     But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

30     And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

31     And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32     And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

33     But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

34     And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

35     And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

36     Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

37     And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

6. Matthew 26 : 17-20, 26-28

17     Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?

18     And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.

19     And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.

20     Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.

26     And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body

27     And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

28     For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

7. Romans 12 : 1, 2

1     I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2     And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

1. 241 : 19-22

The substance of all devotion is the reflection and demonstration of divine Love, healing sickness and destroying sin. Our Master said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

2. 4 : 5-9

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.

3. 25 : 22-31

Though demonstrating his control over sin and disease, the great Teacher by no means relieved others from giving the requisite proofs of their own piety. He worked for their guidance, that they might demonstrate this power as he did and understand its divine Principle. Implicit faith in the Teacher and all the emotional love we can bestow on him, will never alone make us imitators of him. We must go and do likewise, else we are not improving the great blessings which our Master worked and suffered to bestow upon us.

4. 27 : 22-27

Jesus sent forth seventy students at one time, but only eleven left a desirable historic record. Tradition credits him with two or three hundred other disciples who have left no name. "Many are called, but few are chosen." They fell away from grace because they never truly understood their Master's instruction.

5. 135 : 26-32

Christianity as Jesus taught it was not a creed, nor a system of ceremonies, nor a special gift from a ritualistic Jehovah; but it was the demonstration of divine Love casting out error and healing the sick, not merely in the name of Christ, or Truth, but in demonstration of Truth, as must be the case in the cycles of divine light.

6. 54 : 1-4, 13-17

Through the magnitude of his human life, he demonstrated the divine Life. Out of the amplitude of his pure affection, he defined Love.

In witness of his divine commission, he presented the proof that Life, Truth, and Love heal the sick and the sinning, and triumph over death through Mind, not matter. This was the highest proof he could have offered of divine Love.

7. 51 : 19-24

His consummate example was for the salvation of us all, but only through doing the works which he did and taught others to do. His purpose in healing was not alone to restore health, but to demonstrate his divine Principle. He was inspired by God, by Truth and Love, in all that he said and did.

8. 40 : 25-30

Our heavenly Father, divine Love, demands that all men should follow the example of our Master and his apostles and not merely worship his personality. It is sad that the phrase divine service has come so generally to mean public worship instead of daily deeds.

9. 487 : 25-2

The Apostle James said, "Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works." The understanding that Life is God, Spirit, lengthens our days by strengthening our trust in the deathless reality of Life, its almightiness and immortality.

This faith relies upon an understood Principle. This Principle makes whole the diseased, and brings out the enduring and harmonious phases of things. The result of our teachings is their sufficient confirmation.

10. 32 : 15-27

"As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, Drink ye all of it."

The true sense is spiritually lost, if the sacrament is confined to the use of bread and wine. The disciples had eaten, yet Jesus prayed and gave them bread. This would have been foolish in a literal sense; but in its spiritual signification, it was natural and beautiful. Jesus prayed; he withdrew from the material senses to refresh his heart with brighter, with spiritual views.

11. 35 : 19 (Our baptism)-29

Our baptism is a purification from all error. Our church is built on the divine Principle, Love. We can unite with this church only as we are newborn of Spirit, as we reach the Life which is Truth and the Truth which is Life by bringing forth the fruits of Love, — casting out error and healing the sick. Our Eucharist is spiritual communion with the one God. Our bread, "which cometh down from heaven," is Truth. Our cup is the cross. Our wine the inspiration of Love, the draught our Master drank and commended to his followers.

12. 33 : 27 (Christians)-17

Christians, are you drinking his cup? Have you shared the blood of the New Covenant, the persecutions which attend a new and higher understanding of God? If not, can you then say that you have commemorated Jesus in his cup? Are all who eat bread and drink wine in memory of Jesus willing truly to drink his cup, take his cross, and leave all for the Christ-principle? Then why ascribe this inspiration to a dead rite, instead of showing, by casting out error and making the body "holy, acceptable unto God," that Truth has come to the understanding? If Christ, Truth, has come to us in demonstration, no other commemoration is requisite, for demonstration is Immanuel, or God with us; and if a friend be with us, why need we memorials of that friend?

If all who ever partook of the sacrament had really commemorated the sufferings of Jesus and drunk of his cup, they would have revolutionized the world. If all who seek his commemoration through material symbols will take up the cross, heal the sick, cast out evils, and preach Christ, or Truth, to the poor, — the receptive thought, — they will bring in the millennium.

13. 55 : 16-26

My weary hope tries to realize that happy day, when man shall recognize the Science of Christ and love his neighbor as himself, — when he shall realize God's omnipotence and the healing power of the divine Love in what it has done and is doing for mankind. The promises will be fulfilled. The time for the reappearing of the divine healing is throughout all time; and whosoever layeth his earthly all on the altar of divine Science, drinketh of Christ's cup now, and is endued with the spirit and power of Christian healing.