“Oh, Love, How Deep,” verse 1 (ELW 322)
Devotion
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 mortals' sake!
It is indeed beyond all thought and fantasy, as our hymn suggests, that God through Jesus would not only enter into our world as it is, but also as we are. That God would slip into a mortal form, a human body, vulnerable to the dangers of the world and the violence of humanity. And God did so out of a radical love for both the world and humanity—a love that would surpass the depth, breadth and height of sin, suffering and death.
We know this to be true, of course, through the story of Jesus and where this season of Lent is ultimately leading us. But we also know the reality of sin, suffering and death, for we have experienced them in our own bodies. We have felt their shame and ache. And when we are encompassed by them and lost in their darkness, our knowledge cannot save us. Thank God we don’t have to save ourselves. Thank God that our salvation has come through this Jesus.
Prayer
Loving God, strengthen us in our faith that your love is deeper and broader and higher—that we are never beyond your reach. Amen.