Responsive Reading: Ephesians 3 : 14-21

14.     For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

15.     Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

16.     That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

17.     That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

18.     May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

19.     And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

20.     Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

21.     Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.

1. Luke 1 : 26-28 (to :), 31-35, 37

26     And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

27     To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

28     And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee:

31     And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

32     He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

33     And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

34     Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

35     And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

37     For with God nothing shall be impossible.

2. Luke 2 : 1, 3-11, 40

1     And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

3     And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4     And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5     To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6     And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7     And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8     And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9     And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10     And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11     For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

40     And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

3. John 2 : 1-11

1     And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:

2     And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.

3     And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.

4     Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

5     His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

6     And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.

7     Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

8     And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.

9     When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,

10     And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.

11     This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

4. John 9 : 1-7

1     And 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.

4     I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

5     As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

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.

5. Philippians 2 : 1, 2, 5-11

1     If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,

2     Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

5     Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6     Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7     But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8     And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

9     Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10     That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11     And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

1. 18 : 3-12

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. 29 : 32-25

Jesus was the offspring of Mary's self-conscious communion with God. Hence he could give a more spiritual idea of life than other men, and could demonstrate the Science of Love — his Father or divine Principle.

Born of a woman, Jesus' advent in the flesh partook partly of Mary's earthly condition, although he was endowed with the Christ, the divine Spirit, without measure. This accounts for his struggles in Gethsemane and on Calvary, and this enabled him to be the mediator, or way-shower, between God and men. Had his origin and birth been wholly apart from mortal usage, Jesus would not have been appreciable to mortal mind as "the way."

Rabbi and priest taught the Mosaic law, which said: "An eye for an eye," and "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed." Not so did Jesus, the new executor for God, present the divine law of Love, which blesses even those that curse it.

As the individual ideal of Truth, Christ Jesus came to rebuke rabbinical error and all sin, sickness, and death, — to point out the way of Truth and Life. This ideal was demonstrated throughout the whole earthly career of Jesus, showing the difference between the offspring of Soul and of material sense, of Truth and of error.

3. 539 : 27-4

The divine origin of Jesus gave him more than human power to expound the facts of creation, and demonstrate the one Mind which makes and governs man and the universe. The Science of creation, so conspicuous in the birth of Jesus, inspired his wisest and least-understood sayings, and was the basis of his marvellous demonstrations. Christ is the offspring of Spirit, and spiritual existence shows that Spirit creates neither a wicked nor a mortal man, lapsing into sin, sickness, and death.

4. 26 : 28-32

Our Master taught no mere theory, doctrine, or belief. It was the divine Principle of all real being which he taught and practised. His proof of Christianity was no form or system of religion and worship, but Christian Science, working out the harmony of Life and Love.

5. 473 : 6-17

Christ came to destroy the belief of sin. The God-principle is omnipresent and omnipotent. God is everywhere, and nothing apart from Him is present or has power. Christ is the ideal Truth, that comes to heal sickness and sin through Christian Science, and attributes all power to God. Jesus is the name of the man who, more than all other men, has presented Christ, the true idea of God, healing the sick and the sinning and destroying the power of death. Jesus is the human man, and Christ is the divine idea; hence the duality of Jesus the Christ.

6. 51 : 19-27

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. The motives of his persecutors were pride, envy, cruelty, and vengeance, inflicted on the physical Jesus, but aimed at the divine Principle, Love, which rebuked their sensuality.

7. 52 : 1-8

From early boyhood he was about his "Father's business." His pursuits lay far apart from theirs. His master was Spirit; their master was matter. He served God; they served mammon. His affections were pure; theirs were carnal. His senses drank in the spiritual evidence of health, holiness, and life; their senses testified oppositely, and absorbed the material evidence of sin, sickness, and death.

8. 40 : 25-28, 31-7

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.

The nature of Christianity is peaceful and blessed, but in order to enter into the kingdom, the anchor of hope must be cast beyond the veil of matter into the Shekinah into which Jesus has passed before us; and this advance beyond matter must come through the joys and triumphs of the righteous as well as through their sorrows and afflictions. Like our Master, we must depart from material sense into the spiritual sense of being.

9. 52 : 19-28

The "man of sorrows" best understood the nothingness of material life and intelligence and the mighty actuality of all-inclusive God, good. These were the two cardinal points of Mind-healing, or Christian Science, which armed him with Love. The highest earthly representative of God, speaking of human ability to reflect divine power, prophetically said to his disciples, speaking not for their day only but for all time: "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also;" and "These signs shall follow them that believe."

10. 55 : 21-26

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.