Church building and the "second coming"

Chapter 3 has me thinking of the Manual provision for organizing churches.  I had only recently taken new note of the fact that the By-law states, “A member of this Church who obeys its By-laws and is a loyal exemplary Christian Scientist working in the Field, is eligible to form a church in conformity with Sect. 7 of this Article, and to have church services conducted by reading the Scriptures and the Christian Science textbook.”  One member!  Of course, this came to mind because of Paul’s statement, “I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth.”  (verse 10)

But that one member has to gather about him/her a Journal-listed practitioner and “sixteen loyal Christian Scientists, four of whom are members of The Mother Church.”

 The thought I had recently about this was, is it always necessary for one person to be sort of in charge of the church; to do the mothering, so to speak.

 

Chapter 4 gave me a tiny insight into the coming of the Christ, the return of Christ.  Ever since Jesus was crucified and rose from the grave and ascended people have looked for a Second Coming.  At first this second coming was expected very soon after the ascension.  After a couple of thousand years, the Christ came in the form of the Comforter promised by Isaiah, Christian Science.  (Note: The Christ had already come to Isaiah’s thought, hadn’t it?)  However, not everyone, or every Christian denomination accepted that it was the return of the Christ.

The Jews think that the Messiah has not yet come, the majority of Christians believe that the Christ has not yet returned.

But the coming of the Christ is to each individual, like Paul says, “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.” (I Cor. 4:5)  There is no need for a return of the man Jesus for the Christ to come to each individual.  Indeed man already has “the Mind which was also in Christ Jesus.”

 Hymn 34 of the Christian Science Hymnal comes to mind –

Hymn 34

Marion Susan Campbell

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Arr. from W. A. Mozart

Christ comes again with holy power,

To lift our blinded eyes to see;
The sick are healed, the sinner blest,
As on that eve in Galilee.

Once more the lonely heart is fed.

Who dwells with Love hath perfect ease,
Faith, hope, and joy are with us all;
Great are companions such as these.

 The weak and thirsty are refreshed,

Again each empty cup is filled;
The tender Christ is here to bless,
And all the storms of earth are stilled.

In Truth there is no pain or death

Nor any shades of coming night;
The promise of our God still stands:
At eventide it shall be light.

Wikipedia says (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Creed): Most English versions of the Nicene Creed in current use include the following statements: "...he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. ... We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come."

The Bible says: "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory" Col.3:4.

All of that reasoning came through a little thought about the words, “until the Christ come.”

Joyce Voysey