020117 – Seek Kingdom of Heaven – Ten Virgins
[See Mis. 341:21 – 343:9 – Mrs. Eddy’s interpretation of this parable; also My 346:29-2]
Mis. 341:29
We learn from this parable that neither the cares of this world nor the so-called pleasures or pains of material sense are adequate to plead for the neglect of spiritual light, that must be tended to keep aglow the flame of devotion whereby to enter into the joy of divine Science demonstrated.
Hymn 398
Ye servants of the Lord,
Each in his office wait,
Observant of His heavenly word,
And watchful at His gate.
Let all your lamps be bright,
The golden flame burn clear;
The signal cometh through the night;
The bridegroom draweth near.
O, happy servant he,
In watchful service found;
He shall his Lord with rapture see,
And be with honor crowned.
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THE HOLY BIBLE
Matt. 23:1, 2; 25:1-13 [KJV]
Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Matt. 5:6, 5, 3 [KJV]
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Luke 7:36-40, 44-48 [NLT]
One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat. When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. . . . When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”
Then [Jesus] turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume. “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, . .. [for] she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Prov. 4:18-22 [KJV]
The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
Prov. 8:34-35 [KJV]
Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord.
Matt. 9:20-22 [KJV]
Behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
Ps. 18:25-26, 28, 30, 32 [KJV]
With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; … For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. … As for God, his way is perfect: … It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
Ps. 119:105-106 [KJV]
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
Luke 12:31-32, 35-37, 44 [NLT]
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else . . . It gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom. Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded . I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns.
Mark 14:32-41 (NLT]
They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.” He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
Then he returned and found the disciples asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Then Jesus left them again and prayed the same prayer as before. When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open. And they didn’t know what to say.
When he returned to them the third time, he said, “Go ahead and sleep. . . the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.“
1 Thessalonians 5:5-8 (NLT)
[Y]ou are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.
II Tim. 2:20-21 [KJV] 22-25 [NLT]
In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work. Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.…. don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth.
Ephesians 6:18 (NLT)
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
I Pet. 5:2-4 [NLT]
Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.
Matt. 5:14-16 [KJV]
Ye are the light of the world. . . . Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
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SCIENCE & HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES, by Mary Baker Eddy
SH 347:14
Christ, as the spiritual or true idea of God, comes now as of old, preaching the gospel to the poor, healing the sick, and casting out evils. Is it error which is restoring an essential element of Christianity, — namely, apostolic, divine healing? No; it is the Science of Christianity which is restoring it, and is the light shining in darkness, which the darkness comprehends not.
SH 582:17
Bridegroom. Spiritual understanding; the pure consciousness that God, the divine Principle, creates man as His own spiritual idea, and that God is the only creative power.
SH 592:25
Oil. Consecration; charity; gentleness; prayer; heavenly inspiration.
SH 1:6
Prayer, watching, and working, combined with self-immolation, are God’s gracious means for accomplishing whatever has been successfully done for the Christianization and health of mankind.
SH 270:23-24
Meekness and charity have divine authority.
SH 28:9-11
While respecting all that is good in the Church or out of it, one’s consecration to Christ is more on the ground of demonstration than of profession.
SH 261:32-5
Good demands of man every hour, in which to work out the problem of being. Consecration to good does not lessen man’s dependence on God, but heightens it. Neither does consecration diminish man’s obligations to God, but shows the paramount necessity of meeting them.
SH 4:27-30
Audible prayer can never do the works of spiritual understanding, which regenerates; but silent prayer, watchfulness, and devout obedience enable us to follow Jesus’ example.
SH 333:19-23
Throughout all generations both before and after the Christian era, the Christ, as the spiritual idea, — the reflection of God, — has come with some measure of power and grace to all prepared to receive Christ, Truth.
SH 325:30-15
When first spoken in any age, Truth, like the light, “shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.” A false sense of life, substance, and mind hides the divine possibilities, and conceals scientific demonstration.
If we wish to follow Christ, Truth, it must be in the way of God’s appointing. Jesus said, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also.” He, who would reach the source and find the divine remedy for every ill, must not try to climb the hill of Science by some other road. All nature teaches God’s love to man, but man cannot love God supremely and set his whole affections on spiritual things, while loving the material or trusting in it more than in the spiritual. We must forsake the foundation of material systems, however time-honored, if we would gain the Christ as our only Saviour. Not partially, but fully, the great healer of mortal mind is the healer of the body.
SH 698:22-7 FRUITAGE
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
This has been proven to me in every way. When Christian Science came to me, I was a wreck, physically, mentally, and financially; but since the reading of Science and Health turned my thought toward the light, I have found that, as far as I am willing to receive the word and live it, all comforts are supplied me. I am especially grateful for the spiritual help. I know that things which I did and thought last year I would not do or think this year, and am satisfied. Through the careful and prayerful study of Science and Health I have been lifted from sickness to health, from sorrow to peace, from lack to plenty, and, the most beautiful of all, from darkness to light. — Seattle, Wash.
SH 446:25-27
Not human platitudes, but divine beatitudes, reflect the spiritual light and might which heal the sick.
SH 504:23
The rays of infinite Truth, when gathered into the focus of ideas, bring light instantaneously, whereas a thousand years of human doctrines, hypotheses, and vague conjectures emit no such effulgence.
SH 577:22 (only)
All who are saved must walk in this light.
SH 362:1-7
It is related in the seventh chapter of Luke’s Gospel that Jesus was once the honored guest of a certain Pharisee, by name Simon, though he was quite unlike Simon the disciple. While they were at meat, an unusual incident occurred, as if to interrupt the scene of Oriental festivity. A “strange woman” came in.
SH 363:26-28, 10
She bathed his feet with her tears before she anointed them with the oil. Knowing what those around him were saying in their hearts, especially his host, — that they were wondering why, being a prophet, the exalted guest did not at once detect the woman’s immoral status and bid her depart, — knowing this, Jesus rebuked them with a short story or parable. He described two debtors, one for a large sum and one for a smaller, who were released from their obligations by their common creditor. “Which of them will love him most?” was the Master’s question to Simon the Pharisee; and Simon replied, “He to whom he forgave most.” Jesus approved the answer, and so brought home the lesson to all, following it with that remarkable declaration to the woman, “Thy sins are forgiven.”
SH 367:10
This is what is meant by seeking Truth, Christ, not “for the loaves and fishes,” nor, like the Pharisee, with the arrogance of rank and display of scholarship, but like Mary Magdalene, from the summit of devout consecration, with the oil of gladness and the perfume of gratitude, with tears of repentance and with those hairs all numbered by the Father.
SH 364:17-19, 32-6
Do Christian Scientists seek Truth as Simon sought the Saviour, through material conservatism and for personal homage? Did the careless doctor, the nurse, the cook, and the brusque business visitor sympathetically know the thorns they plant in the pillow of the sick and the heavenly homesick looking away from earth, — Oh, did they know! — this knowledge would do much more towards healing the sick and preparing their helpers for the “midnight call,” than all cries of “Lord, Lord!”
SH 98:31-5
The way through which immortality and life are learned is not ecclesiastical but Christian, not human but divine, not physical but metaphysical, not material but scientifically spiritual. Human philosophy, ethics, and superstition afford no demonstrable divine Principle by which mortals can escape from sin; yet to escape from sin, is what the Bible demands.
SH 47:31-4
During his night of gloom and glory in the garden, Jesus realized the utter error of a belief in any possible material intelligence. The pangs of neglect and the staves of bigoted ignorance smote him sorely. His students slept. He said unto them: “Could ye not watch with me one hour?”
SH 324:13
Be watchful, sober, and vigilant. The way is straight and narrow, which leads to the understanding that God is the only Life. It is a warfare with the flesh, in which we must conquer sin, sickness, and death, either here or hereafter, — certainly before we can reach the goal of Spirit, or life in God.
SH 230:4
if sickness and sin are illusions, the awakening from this mortal dream, or illusion, will bring us into health, holiness, and immortality. This awakening is the forever coming of Christ, the advanced appearing of Truth, which casts out error and heals the sick. This is the salvation which comes through God, the divine Principle, Love, as demonstrated by Jesus.
SH 367:17
A Christian Scientist occupies the place at this period of which Jesus spoke to his disciples, when he said: “Ye are the salt of the earth.” “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” Let us watch, work, and pray that this salt lose not its saltness, and that this light be not hid, but radiate and glow into noontide glory.
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Hymn 183
Make haste, O man, to do
Whatever must be done;
Thou hast no time to lose in sloth,
When all to Truth must come.
The useful and the great,
The thing that never dies,
The silent toil that is not lost,—
Set these before thine eyes.
Up, face the task and work;
Fling ease and self away;
This is no time for thee to sleep;
Up, watch, and work, and pray.
Hymn 172 or #1 in the Newest Supplement
Lift up thy light, O man, arise and shine,
Steadfast while loud the storms of life assail;
Immortal ray of that great Light divine,
‘Gainst whose all-power no tempest shall prevail.
Hold high thy lamp above earth’s restless tides,
Beacon of hope to those who watch afar.
Falsehood and fear shall pass, but Truth abides;
Thine be the splendor of her deathless star.
Should the world’s sin and sorrow round thee rave,
Pierce thou the dark with Truth’s undaunted ray,
Send out its light of joy to help and save,
That more and more shines to the perfect day.
Mis. 341:21 – 343:9
The parable of “the ten virgins” serves to illustrate the evil of inaction and delay. This parable is drawn from the sad history of Vesta, — a little girl of eight years, who takes the most solemn vow of celibacy for thirty years, and is subject to terrible torture if the lamp she tends is not replenished with oil day and night, so that the flame never expires. The moral of the parable is pointed, and the diction purely Oriental.
We learn from this parable that neither the cares of this world nor the so-called pleasures or pains of material sense are adequate to plead for the neglect of spiritual light, that must be tended to keep aglow the flame of devotion whereby to enter into the joy of divine Science demonstrated.
The foolish virgins had no oil in their lamps: their way was material; thus they were in doubt and darkness. They heeded not their sloth, their fading warmth of action; hence the steady decline of spiritual light, until, the midnight gloom upon them, they must borrow the better-tended lamps of the faithful. By entering the guest-chamber of Truth, and beholding the bridal of Life and Love, they would be wedded to a higher understanding of God. Each moment’s fair expectancy was to behold the bridegroom, the One “altogether lovely.”
It was midnight: darkness profound brooded over earth’s lazy sleepers. With no oil in their lamps, no spiritual illumination to look upon him whom they had pierced, they heard the shout, “The bridegroom cometh!” But how could they behold him? Hear that human cry: “Oh, lend us your oil! our lamps have gone out, — no light! earth’s fables flee, and heaven is afar off.”
The door is shut. The wise virgins had no oil to spare, and they said to the foolish, “Go to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.” Seek Truth, and pursue it. It should cost you something: you are willing to pay for error and receive nothing in return; but if you pay the price of Truth, you shall receive all.
“The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light;” they watch the market, acquaint themselves with the etiquette of the exchange, and are ready for the next move. How much more should we be faithful over the few things of Spirit, that are able to make us wise unto salvation! Let us watch and pray that we enter not into the temptation of ease in sin; and let us not forget that others before us have laid upon the altar all that we have to sacrifice, and have passed to their reward. Too soon we cannot turn from disease in the body to find disease in the mortal mind, and its cure, in working for God. Thought must be made better, and human life more fruitful, for the divine energy to move it onward and upward.