“A Charity Broad Enough To Cover the Whole World’s Evil”

Mrs. Eddy once said that we could read the Sermon on the Mount every Sunday, because it is so important. What do we learn from the Sermon on the Mount? We do not judge others, and that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. These are rules and laws of the universe, and when we follow them, we are happy, healthy, and well; when we don’t, we’re miserable. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ, and that is the truth about God’s creation.

In Mrs. Eddy’s article “Taking Offense,” found in Miscellaneous Writings, she said “with a charity broad enough to cover the whole world’s evil, and sweet enough to neutralize what is bitter in it.” I have often asked myself, do I have that charity that is broad enough to cover the whole world’s evil and sweet enough to neutralize what is bitter in it? That’s quite a challenge! Think about it — if we could get into that wonderful state, just to wrap this world in love, it would do tremendous good.

I thought of Gilbert Carpenter, who worked in Mrs. Eddy’s home. He said that in the evenings, Mrs. Eddy would sit out on her porch swing, and she would pray for the world. He said when he would go out to say good night to her, that the love that radiated from her was so overwhelming, it would bring tears to his eyes. He knew what she was doing. She was giving that love that was broad enough to cover the whole world’s evil, and sweet enough to neutralize what is bitter in it.

This is what our watches are about, to neutralize the bitterness in this world so that people feel the love of God. It is a tremendous healing power; and as we do this, it is as if we bring everything back into focus, back to what God has created.

Some of what we see on the news is certainly not what God created; it has no part in it. I am so grateful that there were students in Mrs. Eddy’s home, and that she taught them how to pray, how to watch, how to handle the weather; and they taught others in turn.

When people talk about practitioner help, this is what it’s all about. I learned from my practitioner, and my practitioner learned from her practitioner; it’s an apprenticeship of how to do the healing work. It is an amazing, wonderful thing that God has given to us all, this practice of Christian Science.