The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-09-08
MOTHER OF CHRIST
SUBJECT OF SERMON
Rev. Dickinson, Jr., at The
S0uthside Baptist
DAY OF CRUCIFIXION
Jesus Left His Mother in Johns Care.
Influence of Mother Has Much to
Do With the Life of the
World

tist church yesterday at both the morn
ing and evening service. In the even
ing he delivered beautiful and elo-
quent sermon on "The Mother of
Christ" taking his text from John
19;2627. which reads as follows: "When
Jesus therefore saw his mother and the
disciple standing by. whom he loved, he
saith unto his mother, Woman. behold
thy son. Then saith he to the disciple,
Behold thy mother And from that hour
that disciple took her unto his own
home"
The Rev. Dickinson spoke In part as
ffollows
1T was the day of the cross. Jesus
had been delivered up to the chief
priests. He had faced PLATE and Herod
He had been scourged Barrabas,
robber was free; Jesus of Nazareth,
was on the way to Calvary to be cru
clfied. Around him was guard Of
soldiers who Knocked and a mob who
! jeered and yelled They led him to a
rock called the skull, and nailed him
to cross. II was about the third hour
of the day In the morning Bslow the
cross the soldiers gambled for the seam
less robe of the Savior. And the mob
howled and gnashed their teeth like
hungry wolves. AHA! Thou that would
| save others, now save thyself," they
cried. Gradually the crowd wearies and
scatters. Only here and there little
whispering groups remain. The day
wakes to its greatest heat
The stiffness of death falls on the
Irnlx ut if1fa alu. t..r
groans from the crosses. Close to the
cross stood one pitful group, in the
center of which was Mary the mother
of Jesus. All Who can know the suf-
fering of this poor mother She stood
there silently weeping as the sword of
anguish was slowly driven through her
soul. She looked on through tear
stained eyes with a throbbing and
ansuished heart. She saw the precious
blood dripping from his hands and his
feet and triekling down from his thorn
cut brow. She saw his head fail on his
| breast from weakness, and vet she
could not gently take it in her hands
and wipe the sweat of death from tho
brow She watched him gasp ,,ith pain
as part after part of his outstretched
body was seized with the cramp, and
yet she could not change his position
| or so much as move one of his blood
stained hands. Her gentle life seemed
to be buried at the cross Suddenly
| through the silence there sounds the
words: Woman. behold thy son. son
behold thy mother Jesus turned
his mother over to John and left her in
his charge, and from that day John took
her into his own home.
Night Comes On
! But strange thing happened The
sun was beginning to fade, and the light
was getting DINNER. 1t became black
as night An earthquake shook the
surface of the earth. The veil of th.
temple was torn to pieces. Jesus bowed
his head and died on the cross John
turned toward his home leading by the
| hand the weeping mother of Jesus. How
| strange had it all been from the very
| first, She remembered how the Holv
Spirit had told her of the incarnation
which was passing on within her own
BODY. She remembered the night in the
manger at Bethlehem, how she first
held to her bosom the little infant. how
! she listened through the hours to the
throbb1ng of the heart and the soft
breathing of this God given life. how
the wise men came brin ging presents
ana telling of wonderful star in the.
| SKY. she remembered how the child
grew in wisdom and in stature, and so
different from other children was he.
She remembered the passover al
Jerusalem, when the lad was l2 how
| they had started home, then missed the
child, and returned to search for him
| to find him in the temple talking with
the wise men. She remember ed how
mt h t, FOR
why hast thou dealt with us like this !?
Behold, We have been searching for
thee. sorrowing.' Then the strange an
swer, How is it that you sought me
! Do you not know that | must pe about
my Fathers house,? She remembered
how he OF a sudden left home and went
about teaching and healing and doing
many wonderful things how great
crowds followed him from place to
place; how she had followed him down
TO Jerusalem, only to see him nailed L,
cross. None knew better than she
his spotless innocence. None could
know better than she the deptb of
goodness and the uncomfortable love he
had for all She knew that there was
none like him. Yet she saw him nailed
to a cross, and the end apuarently
reached. SO we have before us one Of
the saddest pictures in all history. the
picture of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
at the cross.
The Word Mother"
zone of the dearest words in language
Is mother. What memories and asso-
Citations does the word mother bring
to our souls? Napoleon was once asked
What is the greatest need of the
French nation? He hesitated a moment
and then said, The greatest need of the
French nation is mothers The life OF
IA nation Is wrapped up in mothers The
dearest and most sacred spot on earth
is home. Around it are the most sa-
cred associations, about 1t cluster tn.
sweetest memories. The love centering
around the homelife is the nearest we
can get In this world to Heaven The
homes of our country are so many
streams pouring themselves into the
great current of moral and social life.
If the home is pure, all is pure. / have
a friend, a ministerial student at the
Louisville seminary. who while in bath
ing on the beach at Old Point Comfort,
in Virginia, went too far out from the
shore. and came near drowning The
high tide came up while he was un-
awares. He could not SWIM but by
sheer courage and exertion OF will he
managed to keep up until the lifesavers
reached him. The mistake he made
was in going too far out from the shore.
There are many of us today ding the