Devotional 4-12-14

Take My Mother Home

John 19:26–27

26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

Francis Hall Johnson was born in Athens, Georgia, on March 12, 1888, to Alice Sansom Johnson and William Johnson, an African Methodist Episcopal bishop.  Hall showed musical talent at an early age and studied piano. In 1910 he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in music. Hall taught violin, played in orchestras, and founded the Hall Johnson Choir which performed in films such as Lost Horizon, Dumbo, and Cabin in the Sky. In 1951 he composed his Easter cantata, The Son of Man. One of the numbers from that cantata was “Take My Mother Home”, a spiritual made famous by Harry Belafonte on his album Belafonte, recorded by RCA Victor in 1956. To hear it, go to youtube.com.

“TAKE MY MOTHER HOME” by Hall Johnson
I think I heard Him say, when He was struggling up the hill
I think I heard Him say, take my mother home
Then I'll die easy, take my mother home
I'll die so easy, take my mother home.

I think I heard Him say, when they was raffling off His clothes
I think I heard Him say, take my mother home
I think I heard Him cry, when they was nailing in the nails
I think I heard Him cry, take my mother home

I'll die this death on Calvary, ain't gonna die no more
I'll die on Calvary, ain't gonna die no more
Ain't gonna die no more

I think I heard Him say, when He was giving up the ghost
 I think I heard Him say, please, take my mother home
Please, take my mother home

For six decades I have listened to the Easter story as it was read, sung, or projected on film. All forms of the story have molded my understanding of Jesus’ sacrifice for my sake. But the four-year-old inside me who first heard Belafonte’s rendition has always pictured a tortured Mary at the base of the cross watching her son die.  The mother in me aches for Mary.

Jesus, the son of God, was crucified. I can never repay that.  The child of God that I am gets that. Jesus, the son of Mary, was crucified. I can never repay that either.  The mother that I am gets that even more.
Prayer – Heavenly Father, thank you for your son and the sacrifice you both made for me. Thank you also for all those who raised him, followed him, loved him. I owe a debt I can never repay. Amen

Information from New Georgia Encyclopedia

Becky Warren