Oh, Love, How Deep (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 322)
1 Oh, love, how deep, how broad, how high,
Beyond all thought and fantasy,
That God, the Son of God, should take
Our mortal form for mortal’s sake!
2 He sent no angel to our race,
Of higher or of lower place,
But wore the robe of human frame,
And to this world himself he came.
3 For us baptized, for us he bore
His holy fast and hungered sore;
For us temptation sharp he knew;
For us the tempter overthrew.
4 For us he prayed; for us he taught;
For us his daily works he wrought,
By words and signs and actions thus
Still seeking not himself, but us.
5 For us by wickedness betrayed,
For us, in crown of thorns arrayed,
He bore the shameful cross and death;
For us he gave his dying breath.
6 For us he rose from death again;
For us he went on high to reign;
For us he sent his Spirit here
To guide, to strengthen, and to cheer.
7 All glory to our Lord and God
For love so deep, so high, so broad;
The Trinity whom we adore
Forever and forevermore.
Text: Thomas á Kempis; Music: English ballad; Public Domain
Devotion
The text of “Oh, Love, How Deep” recounts Jesus’ incarnation from birth to ministry to death and resurrection, but it doesn’t stop there. In stanza six, after singing the resurrection, we proclaim Jesus’ ascension, and we celebrate Pentecost—that God sent the Holy Spirit to “guide, strengthen, and cheer.” And, fortunately, for us, the Holy Spirit’s coming was not one and done. God continually sends the Holy Spirit to work among us, to remind us of all of the things that God has suffered for us: birth, hunger, temptation, betrayal, pain, death. In the seven-stanza version of this hymn, “for us” occurs 13 times. There is no doubt in the singer’s mind why Jesus came to earth. We remember Jesus’ passion not to wallow in guilt or shame, not to fixate on our unworthiness. We follow the path of Holy Week, remembering the suffering of Jesus to practice gratitude, rejoicing that we are God’s children, heirs with Christ. We give thanks that God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Prayer
Oh God, you have suffered for us, with us, and because of us. Prepare me to hear the stories of Jesus’ passion and resurrection with renewed understanding. Amen.