A Dixie Carpetbagger

A country song and an old hymnal– connected to the casual observer by only a shared verse.  To a person who’s been in that dark moment when they saw the lonely valley in front of them, they become intertwined– one feeds on the other, and their meanings blend.  One is mourning the loss of loved ones to the grave, the other mourning the loss of a loved one to the wanderings of the heart.  The outcome of both losses is the same, though– “… we’ll never meet anymore / ‘Til we gather in heaven’s bright city / Far away on that beautiful shore…”

Note: If you haven’t already, go visit Lance’s YouTube channel. The man has a true gift for music.

I grieved my Lord from day to day,
I scorned His love so full and free,
And though I wandered far away,
My mother’s prayers have followed me.

Refrain:
I’m coming home, I’m coming home,
To live my wasted life anew,
For mother’s prayers have followed me,
Have followed me the whole world through.

O’er desert wild, o’er mountain high,
A wanderer I chose to be;
A wretched soul, condemned to die,
Still mother’s prayers have followed me.

He turned my darkness into light,
This blessed Christ of Calvary!
I’ll praise His name both day and night,
That mother’s prayers have followed me.

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One of the verses that ties to this hymn is… touching to me.  “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.” (2 Timothy 1:5)  I can imagine Timothy reading this letter and reflecting back on his mother and grandmother, tearing up a bit as he did so.  I know I did while reading that verse, and reading the words of the hymn.  Oh, thank You, Lord, that mother’s prayers have followed me…

Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,
But the church of Jesus constant will remain.
Gates of hell can never ’gainst that church prevail;
We have Christ’s own promise, and that cannot fail.

To the Work

To the work! To the work! We are servants of God;
Let us follow the path that our Master has trod;
With the balm of His counsel our strength to renew,
Let us do with our might what our hands find to do.

Refrain

Toiling on, toiling on,
Toiling on, toiling on,
Let us hope and trust,
Let us watch and pray,
And labor till the Master comes.

To the work! To the work! Let the hungry be fed;
To the fountain of life let the weary be led;
In the cross and its banner our glory shall be,
While we herald the tidings, “Salvation is free!”

Refrain

To the work! To the work! There is labor for all;
For the kingdom of darkness and error shall fall;
And the love of our Father exalted shall be,
In the loud swelling chorus, “Salvation is free!”

Refrain

To the work! To the work! In the strength of the Lord,
And a robe and a crown shall our labor reward,
When the home of the faithful our dwelling shall be,
And we shout with the ransomed, “Salvation is free!”

Refrain

He, Who bore all pain and loss
Comfortless upon the cross,
Lives in glory now on high,
Pleads for us, and hears our cry;
Alleluia!

Many churches in the American South still hold traditional sunrise services in cemeteries as a sign of recognition that Jesus no longer lay in the tomb on Easter morning. The service starts early in the morning and is timed so that the attendants can see the sun rise when the service is going.  — Wikipeda, “Sunrise Service”

——–

Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.

– Luke 24:1-9, KJV

——–

There are bad weeks, and there are bad weeks.  For a certain carpenter from Nazareth, the events leading up to Good Friday (April 3, 33 AD) could be considered the latter.  Having entered Jerusalem to great fanfare the Sunday before (Palm Sunday), Jesus ended the week crucified by the desires of the corrupt officials He had preached against.

One of the Good Friday passages that ties in with Easter morning is John 19.  In the fifth verse, Jesus is brought before Pilate and the court, and Pilate presents Jesus with the introduction “Behold the man!”  The Latin for this is “ecce homo,” which is the title Ciseri used for this painting:

One of the messages of Easter morning is that each of us must personally “behold this man.”  We can do as Pilate did, and judge without preconception, or we can do what the members of the crowd did, and allow our personal biases and actions to determine our position.  Either way, we must choose.

But the most powerful message of Easter morning is the message of hope.  Hope in the form of communion with God, since the veil has now been torn down, and hope of life beyond, since He who was dead is now alive– for evermore.  For those who now seek the Master, remember that “He is not here, but is risen.”  Amen.