Going Home
What is it about the word "home" that causes so much nostalgia? One of my favorite hymns is the beloved Amazing Grace by John Newton. Most every person has a favorite verse of that old hymn. Mine is this one, the last line always chokes me up:
Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come.
'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
Antonin Dvorak's 9th symphony, more commonly known as the New World Symphony contains the movement Largo. That movement gave rise to a spiritual entitled Going Home. The beauty of that spiritual is always overwhelming. I just listened to it on YouTube. My mother used to sing a gospel song with the line, "Lead me gently home, Father." I remember another old gospel song with the phrase, "Come home, come home, it's suppertime." I could go on with other examples, but I hope this is enough to have piqued your emotions.
Where is home? Is it the place where we grew up at our mother's knee? Is it the place where we raised our families? Some people say it is heaven, a place beyond the stars where one finds eternal rest. It probably includes all of these, or maybe none of these. I suspect that home is a place deep in our psyche. It is a place where we find security, peace, and calmness. It is where we find a balm for our ills. For me it is where I find God.
We know when we're not at home, and we know when we are home. Personally, I stray from home again and again. I am like the prodigal son who strayed to a far country. When I am gone, I long for home. Like the prodigal, I am always amazed when I find the grace that is always awaiting me at home. Thomas Wolfe wrote the book, You Can't Go Home Again. Wolfe may have been right. After experiencing the far country, home is always different when we return. However, the one constant that I always find is that Amazing Grace awaiting me when I return home.
May the path that you travel lead you home tonight. God bless you all. - The Old Professor
Copyright © Jay D Weaver - July 11, 2008
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