21. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither worship in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

22. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

Men worship in mountains, buildings, temples, and such places as are built of earthly material. Not knowing the truth, they believe that these places are more sacred than others; yet they cling to the illusion that the Father, who is their God, dwells in some far-off heaven. They believe that the praise and the service they give Him, which is but from the lips, will satisfy the Father and that He will give them salvation in return for this service.

But the hour cometh, the time will come when they will awaken; when they will know that the service which they give on the mountain or in some material temple is not acceptable to the Father, and that it will not give them salvation.

They will awaken to the truth that not what comes from the mouth, no matter how beautiful the words, gives man salvation, but that, as the mind awakens to the truth and begins to understand, we must do like the Father, in order to become like the Father.

When this understanding, this awakening of the mind, takes place, "the hour" has come. Then will man begin to think of the Father and the Father's works. He will seek for the method that the Father makes use of in creation, in order that he, in daily life, may be true to the same method and the same principle. He will learn that, if he wishes to construct the true temple, the Temple of Solomon, it is necessary for him not only to have faith, not only to believe in the doctrine, not only to praise God with the lips, but that it is imperative for him to think constructive thoughtsthoughts that will construct, that will build, the temple. He will learn that it is necessary for him to transform his desires even, into such quality as is conducive to permanency in temple structure; that, in his relations with men in the

practical affairs of life, he must exemplify the Divine Law in its various demands. For only such desires and such thoughts and such a life will insure for him a temple wherein the Father may take up his abode.

To do the works of the Father, through a life of true service to others, is the highest worship of the Father. To manifest the Law of Love and Good-will and Justice and Mercy, in the affairs of life, in every avenue of material interests this it is to do the works of the Father, this it is to build the temple of Solomon.

When the building of the temple is completed that is, when the desires and the thoughts, the motives and the purposes, have been so transfigured into the Christ Ideal of character that the body (which is the temple) has become pure, then, Illumination of Soul takes place. The Christ appears, man has become the Son of God.

23. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

To worship the Father with the lips merely, is not true worship of Him. Such worship is simply of the mindmind that has not even become awakened, mind that is still ignorant enough to fancy that the all-wise Father may be deluded into thinking that we love Him, even though we do things contrary to his standards.

The only way to worship the Father in spirit and in truth. is to become like Him in character and in deeds. In order to become like Him, we must renounce desires of the flesh; we must encourage only the desires that come from the soul. The divine spark of the soul, coming from God, is therefore like Him; and, when we live according to the Divine Law, the soul may be developed into a center of conscious, dynamic activities in harmony with the Law.

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

Time and again has Jesus taught that man is the temple of the living God, and that the Father dwells therein. When man lives according to the Divine Law, his soul becomes a center of divine potencies and activities. His temple is then the true temple of Solomon, the temple of Wisdom. He that dwelleth therein is the Father. For the temple hath been builded for Him; and the fires, the Vestal Fires, or fires of purity, burn upon the altar; and the incense, the prayers of the soul and true praise, rise on high. This is true worship of the Father. It is worship in spirit and in truth.

LESSON FIFTEEN

According to our works, so shall be the wages that we will receive.

St. John 4:25-36.

25. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.

The Messias, the Christ, can be found only within the temple of the living God; for "he and the Father are one." The Messias comes to all those who first believe in the Divine Law, and then obey the Divine Law. Through their faith and consequent works, do they purify the temple; they cast out the money changers and the sellers of merchandise; they free the temple from the taint of evil thoughts and evil desires. According as they do this, does the Christ come and tell them all things. For the voice of the Christ is the voice of conscience; and the voice of the purified conscience speaks truth.

26. And Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

The woman of Samaria had awakened to the truth. She had found the Christ. She had heard the voice of the Christ speak to her, and tell her all things.

The history of the woman of Samaria is the history of a soul, as oriental symbolism teaches it. It is the soul, which, in the past, has been living according to the desires of the flesh; the soul, which, at one time, knew no other desire than to gratify the senses. But the mind awakens. She goes to the well to draw the waters. She listens to the Awakened Mind, and believes that which the Awakened Mind, or her own enlightened self, instructs her. Through obedience, she frees herself from the desires of the carnal self; she transmutes, or changes; these desires into a longing for truth and the higher worship; through this change, this Higher Alchemy, this transmutation, this building, she finds the Christ, and knows the Voice that speaks to her.

27. And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?

Even those who would follow the Christ fear to be seen talking with those of ill repute. They fail to consider one's obligation to help those who have fallen by the wayside. They forget that it is the duty of the Son of man to help all those less fortunate than himself, and that the shepherd is not satisfied until every sheep is within the fold. Though ninety and nine are safe within the fold, and only one is lost in the hills, yet the true shepherd will leave them all, and go to seek that which is lost; and the ninety and nine cannot be perfectly happy with the shepherd until the last one is also with them.

It is the same with humanity under the Divine Law. So long as there is one soul that dwells in darkness, that long is it impossible for the others to dwell in perfect peace. For the duty and the mission of the soul that has become illuminated is to be of service to those not so fortunate. Service is the keystone of the most glorious temple that can be dedicated to the living God. It is the keystone that holds together the arch.

28. The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,

29. Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

When the soul has become awakened, it is like a man that remembers all things he has ever done. It is the Book of Records; upon it is written every deed, every thought, and every desire of his life.

The Awakened Soul is the Christ. The Voice of the Christ is the awakened and purified conscience. It holds before us everything of the past in order that we may free ourselves from the past through service to the children of men.

30. Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. 31. In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.

32. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.

33. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?

34. Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

To do the work of the Father is food to the soul, just as material fruits are meat to the body. To work in the vineyard of the Father, gives strength and nourishment to the soul. The greater the work that we do, the greater will be the benefits to the soul.

There is material food and there is spiritual food. We must give to the body that which belongs to the body, and to the soul that which belongs to the soul. The food of the soul is found in service, and in obedience to the will of the Father; for, only through sowing, shall there be reaping.

35. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh

harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

There is no special time of sowing, there is no special time of reaping. Every day, every hour, every minute is time for the sowing. Every minute in the day can we hold a