Eva-Maria Hogrefe

The rattlesnake and the dove

While I was living on a ranch in South Dakota, some of our neighbors told us that the area was infested with rattlesnakes. But I never saw one. One day I asked a rancher how that could be, and he said, "You know, you are a danger to them. And they hide from danger." That made sense. Not exposing themselves to danger.

There are effective ways to pray about protection from danger. In the Bible, for example, Jesus said to his disciples, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves" (Matt. 10:16). I think of this as meaning we need to be wise first, before we can be harmless to ourselves and others. And I have asked myself, "What is the wisdom of a serpent?"

Maybe one thing it means is not exposing oneself to danger. And perhaps at the root of this kind of wisdom and safety is the idea of not adopting or relying on mistaken notions about God, humanity, or the world at large. We can be wise enough to recognize a mistaken notion for what it is—a mistake. Then we can let our love for God and our respect for His creation show what is true.

Jesus' words to his followers—and that includes his followers today—point out how to deal more effectively with terrorism and random destruction, beginning with individual thoughts. That is, we can choose not to surrender to or react to thoughts of fear. I think it's fear that lies behind a terrorist's act, and that it's also fear that makes us react so helplessly to it. Fear brings doubt as to the presence and power of God, who is our source of intelligence.

If I believe that a frightening concept is the correct one, I am fooled. And if I'm fooled, I'll be confused, and confusion perpetuates fear. But once I gain a true concept of God and His child, intelligence is at work, and to the degree that I accept the truth, fear and confusion will disappear. When that happens, I experience the power of divine Mind, which is our God. Then I feel reassured and am able to see how whatever is frightening me really only challenges me to think more intelligently about everything. That includes understanding God as my origin, good as my cause — and isn't that really what defines you and me? With God as our source and creator, we really are "harmless as doves." Realizing that fact is a kind of prayer and communication with God that can make me feel incapable of seeing myself or others, or even world situations, in a context of fear.

Last fall I received a call asking me to pray for a man who was on business in the Washington, D.C., area. The infamous snipers had been randomly killing people at that time. This man was battling what so many of us are struggling with right now — the fear of random evil. My prayer for him was directly inspired by the insights I had gained from those words of Jesus quoted earlier. Our prayer together healed that man's paralyzing fear, and he was able to continue his activities in Washington with alertness and a feeling of peace.

We need to be wise first, before we can be harmless to ourselves and others.

The Sentinel's founder once wrote, "The demands of Wisdom are for love, the food and raiment of the soul,"(In My True Light and Life, Mary Baker Eddy Collections, p. 231). Each one of us needs this spiritual food. People who are confused and do harmful things to others, are harming themselves, too. I'm sure that if we include them in our prayers, we will be helping them, because if they are even just for a moment receptive to divine intelligence—the Mind that is God—the mistaken notions that are harming them and controlling them can disappear. Maybe even in the twinkling of an eye.

From the March 10, 2003 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel

Adapted from a Sentinel Radio interview.

Eva-Maria Hogrefe