Halloween, a sort of mish-mash of pagan customs and a
derivative of a Christian holiday in celebration of the dead has come and gone in the United States. Children in costumes impersonate and take on
the character of ghosts, angels, superheroes and monsters, going door-to-door looking for treats..
I still remember how years ago, as a young and impressionable
youngster, I wanted to dress as the Frankenstein Monster. I was transfixed during, and frightened long after
seeing, the movie version of author Mary Shelley’s story of Dr. Victor Frankenstein
who created a monster from body parts. He was obsessed by the desire to create a man
using body parts from cadavers and giving it life.
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| FRIGHTENING MONSTER MOVIE |
We shivered in our seats as the strange Doctor and his
assistant went to cemeteries at night, secretly dug up graves, scavenged body
parts and then reassembled them in the scariest castle and the most frightening
environment imaginable to a young boy.
In the years since that
time, I have often thought that in some fashion we, today, still try to achieve
what Dr. Frankenstein dreamed of. What
seemed so eerily outlandish and impossible those years ago are now becoming
possible. Medical science has witnessed the development of artificial replacements
for body parts including legs, arms, hip and knee joints, even growing skin tissue
and manufacturing replacement hearts. While these
dedicated doctors may not be visiting cemeteries to harvest parts, they do use
cadaver bones for grafting and organs donated by thoughtful givers upon their
death, to be given to fortunate recipients.
For many who are in need of these new techniques, the
replacement of defective or injured body parts with working replacements must
be a wonderful blessing. So many people today are enjoying freedom and relief
as the result of these technological advances.
But it is well, while being grateful for the progress made, to also
be aware of what life is really all about and not to dwell too much on the body
as the key to happiness.
As Dr. Frankenstein discovered, seeing life as merely a
collection of body
parts, an “assembled” material body without a "soul" or reflection if the Spirit, can backfire. The spiritual essence of the real man is not seen by the eye. While his own creation, a huge ugly
creature, was not at all attractive and had a disastrous end, even a beautiful body, perfectly
proportioned, all parts running smoothly, though we all may desire that,
doesn’t insure happiness, success and joyful existence. We too must beware of creating a “Monster”, the belief that happiness is found in the material body.!!
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| EACH HEART CRIES OUT FOR LOVE AND MEANING |
As usual, the Holy Bible gives guidance. It is incredible that a record two thousand years old can still guide us today. With his deep insight, and
understanding the need to see through the seeming physical attributes of man, Jesus
of Nazareth said: “Take
no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet
for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the
body than raiment? (1)
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his
stature? “(2)
His understanding of man as spiritual, a reflection of God
expressing in a tangible way God’s love, tenderness, goodness, intelligence, peace and joy, none
of which are physical, took him to a higher plane. His own pure thought, uplifted and reflecting
God’s perfection, healed and restored the body through a spiritual
understanding of reality.
In her Bible Companion book, Science and Health with Key to
the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy counsels: “If we look to
the body for pleasure, we find pain; for Life, we find death; for Truth,
we find error; for Spirit, we find its opposite, matter. Now reverse this
action. Look away from the body into Truth and Love, the
Principle of all happiness, harmony, and immortality. Hold thought
steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring
these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your
thoughts.” (3)
Maybe a better way of thinking of the body then is as a
“delivery vehicle” for spiritual qualities such as love, tenderness, caring and sharing. We can appreciate the body parts as
implements to heal, to serve others as we look beyond the “Monster of Self”, and
begin seeing body parts as spiritual tools, avoiding the constant “taking
thought for our body” as the source of life and happiness.
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| HELPING HANDS - REACHING OUT |
We can start by asking, “Are my hands helpful to others?
Are my arms embracing others in Love?
Are my eyes seeing the good, the pure and the beautiful or are
they critical and judgmental?
Are my feet running to help another?
Are my ears hearing God’s direction and guidance in that “still,
small voice”?
Is my heart the center of love?
Do I live and move and breath the atmosphere of Spirit?
As found in Isaiah, "Cease ye from man,
whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted
of?" (4)
This loved hymn spells it out!!
Take
my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord,
to Thee.
Take
my moments and my days,
Let
them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take
my hands, and let them move
At
the impulse of Thy love.
Take
my feet, and let them be
Swift
and beautiful for Thee.
Take
my voice, and let me sing
Always,
only, for my King.
Take
my lips, and let them be
Filled
with messages from Thee.
Take
my every thought, to use
In
the way that Thou shalt choose.
Take
my love; O Lord, I pour
At
Thy feet its treasure store.
I
am Thine, and I will be
Ever,
only, all for Thee. (5)
1.) Matthew 6:31
2.) Matthew 6:27
3.) Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
– Mary Baker Eddy p 260
4.) Isaiah 2:22
5.) Christian Science Hymnal 324