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Noah and the Ark -- an object LessonWho doesn't love the story of Noah and how he gathered his family and pairs of animals into an ark where they were safe during a mighty flood? According to Biblical chronology, Noah was Adam's 7th great grandson. Mary Baker Eddy refers to the story of Adam and Eve as an allegory. If Adam's history is an allegory for the human mind, must not all his progeny, including Noah, be considered in the same light? I got a hint of this while studying the Glossary in Science and Health, and found that her definition of Noah confirmed it. "NOAH. A corporeal mortal; knowledge of the nothingness of material things and of the immortality of all that is spiritual." (SH 592:22) In this definition, a record of his human history is not even mentioned, only his mental condition. She implies that, as a mortal, he was not particularly special or different from us, but that his humanity had outgrown its belief in mortality. He knew that God consciousness secured his existence, safety, and immortality. Typically, however, there are several other vantage points from which to view Noah's story. Historians and archaeologists say there is written and physical evidence of an ancient flood, and that wood timbers at the foot of Mount Ararat hint at the outline of an ark. Their purpose is merely to determine the historical validity of the Biblical record. To the religionist he is regarded as a patriarch and a prophet of superior intellect and high calling who heard the words of the Lord, built a wooden ark according to a divine plan, and saved his family and the world's animal species. To the self-serving moralist, it may appear that Noah was self-justified in refusing to help his fellow man. "Save yourself, and let everyone else die. They deserve it. Look at all the horrible things they are saying and doing to one another." Mary Baker Eddy recognized in Noah what the historians, religionists, and false moralists had overlooked, an allegory assuring us of our unseverable spiritual connection, "I am with you alway" (Matt 28:20). Christ teaches us not to be swamped by a deluge of passions and the certainty of death. If we are to be lifted up above the deluge of chaos and fear of this world, we must acknowledge that what was true for Jesus is true for us also, "This is my beloved son" (Matt 17:5). Christ beckons us, "Learn of Me! Prove Me ? Build upon what I have taught you." We must all patiently persevere in our own ark building. "ARK. Safety; the idea, or reflection, of Truth, proved to be as immortal as its Principle; the understanding of Spirit, destroying belief in matter." (SH 581:8) According to the allegory, the ark is our safe haven, our home. We must seal its joints with deluge-proof pitch -- "... absolute consecration of thought, energy, and desire" (SH3:16). Trouble cannot reach us here; the door is shut. Hymn 148 in the Christian Science hymnal confirms, "The storm may roar without me, My heart may low be laid; But God is round about me, And can I be dismayed?" No, we cannot! Why not? Like Noah, we have confirmation of our permanent divine connection. To the Christian Scientist there is no material history, no deluge, and no material building project. The people who were left out of the ark were not drowned. They represent evil and earthly thoughts. The animals, which were similarly presented in Genesis 1, stand for the orderly gradations of thought that constitute man as his wholeness is accounted for. The male and female of Gods' creation stands for compound, whole spiritual qualities, for there is one God/Son. The ark was spiritually designed with no rudder because its purpose is not to travel anywhere, just rise above the deluge of aggressive mortal thoughts. The humble olive tree stood firm, rooted as it was, below the waters of human events until harmony prevailed and the flood subsided. Then it bloomed forth with fresh green shoots, the prize of patience and temptation overcome. The dove, as a symbol of Christian Science, corresponds to heaven-born aspirations, which fly above the deluge of human events prophesying our certain ascension. Mount Ararat is the Rock, Christ ? the unmovable Truth that stands as a bulwark against the proud wave. The rainbow promise confirms that we are always at the center and circumference of radiant being. Center means Mind focused, the focal point of intelligence. Circumference is the all-encompassing embrace of divine Love. The bow, dividing light into its component colors signifies understanding the substance of the light -- "... Let there be light: and there was light" (Genesis 1:3). "We cannot fathom the nature and quality of God's creation by diving into the shallows of mortal belief. We must reverse our feeble flutterings - our efforts to find life and truth in matter - and rise above the testimony of the material senses, above the mortal to the immortal idea of God. These clearer, higher views inspire the Godlike man to reach the absolute centre and circumference of his being." (SH 262:9) The story of Noah is universal. He knew that overcoming the appearance of sin or fear is an individual one. We must each demonstrate our refuge amidst the storm. No peoples, doctrines, priests, or human codes can save us. Every thought in our seemingly physical surroundings and human experience needs to be purified -- translated back into Spirit. For example, we look at a flower and say it is beautiful, but the beauty is not in the flower. Who or what gave us the cognition to know that it is beautiful? Beauty is the substance of Soul, and the beautiful things around us are spiritual beauty faintly seen. As our knowledge of Soul grows, physical evidence becomes more beautifully expansive. Matter does not need healing. The mental distortion, which is causing the dis-ease loses its hold on us as we build our ark. As our understanding of God grows, the details of Noah's experience takes on individual spiritual significance. Noah remained united with his One Father/Mother. His ark was his stalwart Love-connection that buoyed him safely above the mental storm of human events. Detach the physical evidence of Noah, as recorded in Genesis, and we are left with a figure of ascended living. It is said that the flood or baptism by water did not wipe out the criminal elements of the world, but this is not so. When Mind is understood to be all-action and all-substance as Noah demonstrated, the harmony of Soul is found maintaining its peace above the ocean of a mortal's mind; the human ego, vengeance, chaos, threats, war, guilt, disappointment, passion, judgement, persecution, death, limitation, organization, and separation cannot reach us because they do not exist in the Mind that is God -- our Mind. The allegory of Noah is accurate and complete according to Christ's standard, and the historical notions and human opinions of the flood are insignificant by comparison. In conclusion, recognize in this allegory the universal message of Noah. Noah is you! The cloud of witnesses against the Comforter presence, which is Divine Science, would overwhelm, if possible, the trumpet-call of Truth. You alone must sever your connection with the worldly minded. Even human logic cannot save you. Enter into your ark and shut the door. Allow nothing to penetrate your Christ armor. Keep your eye single, focused on the only saving source. The world of evil beliefs will neither acknowledge the benefits of your buoyed-up thought nor miss you. Know that "I am still [that is, present and at peace] with thee." (Psalms 139:18). "Meet every adverse circumstance as its master" (SH 419:16). Truth alone must convince evil to withdraw itself. Christ causes sin to recede from consciousness until there is no more sea, no separation between my Lord and me. "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you," (II Cor. 6:17) Declare for yourself, "I am alive and present, secure in Spirit, for the kingdom of harmony is mine. Consecration has opened the windows of heaven, and the dove of reassurance reveals me as I am, grounded on the Rock, Christ -- above the insistence of mortal power, passion, tragedy, and woe. In my ark of divine safety and fullness, the deluge of distractions is unattended and unknown. With the understanding of Science, growth
is spontaneous and perpetual. George Denninger © |
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