Behold the rose of Sharon

The prophet Isaiah sees beyond human seeing. His vision takes our breath away as he describes a desert (or solitary place) transformed: blooming with beauty and perfumed like a rose: 

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God. (Isa 35:1,2)

Chapter 2 of this month's book, Song of Solomon, mentions the "rose of Sharon": 

I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. (Song 2:1)

A little research tells us that this flower was almost definitely not a rose, but was probably some sort of lily. (The Hebrew translated in the King James Version as "rose" - chavatzelet - may have referred to a crocus or a lily.) 

Various sources tells us that some varieties of hibiscus are now identified as Rose of Sharon.

In his famous novel The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck names one of his characters "Rose of Sharon" (said as Rosasharn). 

Many writers consider the Rose of Sharon to be a symbol of the Christ. Sue H. Mims has a lovely article titled "A Holy Purpose", (April 22, 1911 Christian Science Sentinel) which includes this passage: 

"...behold the 'rose of Sharon', the Christ-idea, sending out the fragrance of Spirit and filling earth with its celestial balm."

This reminds me of a verse in Mary Baker Eddy's poem "Christ My Refuge" - 

And wake a white-winged angel throng
Of thoughts, illumed
By faith, and breathed in raptured song,
With love perfumed.
(Hymn. 253:2)

Julie Swannell

A union of hearts

Mary Baker Eddy included a whole chapter on the subject of Marriage in her work Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Here's one idea from that chapter: "Marriage should signify a union of hearts." 

The other day I read the most beautiful account of how a husband prayed for his wife. The story is related by Fujiko Signs in her article God is our refuge (Christian Science Sentinel dated 25 October 2010). The article has the by-line: A Christian Science practitioner shares how her friend prayed when his wife was facing a serious operation.

Fujiko writes: At times, a medical diagnosis may seem to have more power than anything else. It can be overwhelming to the patient, family, friends, and perhaps even the extended community he or she belongs to. But what if we look to and trust the fact that we that we have a refuge that's reliable and safe, powerful and trustworthy? In fact, God, being unconditional Love, cannot approve, create, or support such labels as incurable disease.

The woman's husband wrote: ... The doctor explained to my wife, her sister, and me that the only treatment he could recommend was surgical removal. He said the operation itself was very dangerous and difficult, but my wife expressed her desire to go through with the operation at this early stage.

He continued: I was confident that she would be healed through prayer, but I kept thinking about how she might be risking her life by going through a very dangerous operation. At this point, I remembered the story of the disciples asking Jesus, "Who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered that none of them had sinned--it was for the works of God to be made manifest in the blind man (see John 9:1-3). This passage suggests that it was God's work that healed the blind man. As my spiritual reasoning deepened, I reached the understanding that God's presence and love would be shown to us. With that, I could respect and agree with my wife's courageous decision.

...I continued to pray to know with certainty that my wife was made in the image and likeness of God, and I knew that "man is incapable of sin, sickness, and death" (Science and Health, p. 475).

During the operation, this man read the chapters "Prayer" and "Footsteps of Truth" from Science and Health, and afterwards, while still at the hospital, the chapter "Science of Being".

The operation revealed no trace of disease.

Thinking about this lovely story this morning led me to open Song of Solomon, where I found chapter 6 verse 3: "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine".

We all belong to God.

Julie Swannell

Intern at Longyear?

The latest email from Longyear Museum has an article by Tessa Parmenter, Why Intern at Longyear?, dated August 19, 2026.

I find this a very interesting concept.  Students become part of the staff while they learn and do the work of the Museum along with the staff for a period.  

The article finishes with these points for hopefuls to consider:

Match your interests: Take a deep dive into a particular area or take on a range of projects with any of the following Longyear Museum departments:

• Collections cares for, catalogs, and organizes the museum’s rich trove of photographs, artwork, books, artifacts, and documents.

• Historic Houses manage and welcome visitors to eight homes in which Mrs. Eddy lived, sharing the story of her life and work as a teacher, healer, and writer.

• Development oversees fund-raising, membership, and outreach.

• Finance works on budgets, accounting, and other business operations of the museum.

• Research, Publications, and Communications highlights new findings and museum happenings through books, magazines, online articles, videos, and social media outreach.

• Visitor Services hosts visitors and manages the museum store, including product development, sales, inventory, and display.

• Facilities takes care of the buildings and grounds at the museum, and at the historic houses.

• IT maintains Longyear’s computer systems and online information storage and retrieval.

Joyce Voysey

Ed. What a rich variety of fields the museum covers. This list indicates the range of skills needed: certainly not a one or two person enterprise. I particularly liked this from the article: "high-quality work comes from high-quality workers who thrive in a fast-paced environment".