Cicely Tyson and Blessed Assurance

                                                                The Trip to Bountiful 

1 Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!  O what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of the Spirit, washed in Christ's blood.

  This is my story, this is my song, praising my Saviour all the day long;

this is my story, this is my song, praising my Saviour all the day long.

                              Voices United 337

 We hear about the deaths of just about everyone anymore, the famous, the infamous, and those who never achieved fame. It doesn't really matter where they resided or how out of the spotlight they have been for a period of time, the word gets out there. Often we discover that individuals have led exceptional and influential lives within their fields of endeavour, even when we thought we had an inkling of their careers. Such was the case with actor Cicely Tyson, who died a few days ago at age 96. 

Tysons's screen work came to prominence with a film called Sounder in the early 1970's. She was deeply respected by her peers and those in subsequent generations because of the dignity she brought to roles which featured Black women. She was almost passed over for some of her early films because she was considered too beautiful to be believable. She was seen as a trailblazer and tributes poured in after her death, as age 96, just a few days ago. 

                                                      Cicely Tyson with then husband Miles Davis 

Tyson was interviewed a number of times just before her death because her autobiography Just As I Am had just been published and she was promoting it. She was asked about her perspective on death in a couple of those interviews, including one on CBC radio's Q, and she commented that she wasn't afraid of death because it was something she knew nothing about. 

Still, Tyson was a person of faith, and in the Q interview she requested that the hymn Blessed Assurance rather than Just As I Am be played at the conclusion. It was one of her mother's favourites, and a dedication to her mother and the hymn is on a pew in the church she attended.“To Mother — Blessed Assurance.” When we experience "blessed assurance" we may overcome the fear of death, even though we can't predict the future. Cicely sang Blessed Assurance in a Broadway revival of the play The Trip to Bountiful, and audiences sang along. It's a wonderful image. I'm rather dubious about heavenly choirs,but I hope there is one in which Cicely and her mother are singing together.