Charles Brammall farewells a mighty voice.
He of the mellifluous, honeyed, euphonious voice, actor James Earl Jones starred in such classics as “Hunt for Red October”; he was the voice of Darth Vader in “Star Wars”, and Mufassa in “Lion King”.
Jones died in Sep last year, aged 91, of complications from Type 2 Diabetes.
He was a Godfearer/believer.
He recorded a reading of selected Bible passages, in which he also said these things:
*”My greatest honour came when (I) recorded the New Testament on tape.”
*“The fullness of joy is to behold God in everything.”
*”Do not store up riches for yourselves here on earth. Instead, store up riches for yourselves in heaven, for your heart will always be where your riches are”
-Once a soldier, an Army Chaplain, one of Jone’s mentors, helped him understand who God was:
“He helped guide me to the Author of the Scriptures, and find abundant life… I thanked God for all the Chaplain’s help and friendship”. (Gotta love Chaplains!
)
-Also grandfather’s kindness and heart for mentorship came from his strong faith, which Jones witnessed every Sunday morning:
“He… had a prodigious amount of energy. He even built a church to please Grandmother, a fervent worshiper of the Lord,…
All sorts of people were invited to our little church; white, black and American Indian(sic) came together…”
-But he soon stopped going to Sunday school.
-When Jones was 14, he met Professor Donald Crouch, an English teacher who loved the written and spoken word:
“(He) was a tall, lean man with gray hair; English was his favorite subject, poetry his deepest love. He’d been an associate of Robert Frost’s.”
-Crouch never forced his opinion on his students but was open about his belief that purpose is found in God:
“He never pushed anything at me… he just wanted all his students to wake up. He never even pressed us with religion but figured if we did wake up we would find God, find our calling and, in so doing, find life.”
Is he in glory now?
-What part of Christendom did Jones hail from?
Roman Catholicism.
Prayers:
Our gracious God and loving Heavenly Father,
Please let all parts of Christendom place themselves under the supreme authority of your Word, written and Living.
May we always bring credit to Your name only, and nothing else.
Amen
Dear Heavenly Father,
Please help us never to be distracted from the utter centrality of Jesus’ death, and its substitutionary, penal, and atoning nature. Also its complete sufficiency, on its own, to secure our rescue.
In His almighty name,
Amen.
Dear God,
Thank You for the mentors You give us- Chaplains, teachers, and ministers. Spouses, youth group leaders, and parents and grandparents. Sunday school teachers, Bible study leaders, and siblings.
You have generously surrounded us with “so great a cloud of witnesses”.
For the sake of Your merciful name,
Amen.
Image: James Earl Jones. Image Credit: Eva Rinaldi/Flickr/Wikimedia