“Oh, Love, How Deep,” verse 6 (ELW 322)
Devotion
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.
Our reflections this past week have centered on humiliation and exaltation: we saw Isaiah and the psalmist endure humiliation by putting their hope in the Lord. We saw Jesus endure the strange juxtaposition of humiliation and exaltation as he went to his death in Jerusalem. And in Philippians, we saw how Christ took on our sufferings so that we might, through God’s grace, be exalted with Christ.
The second half of verse six of our hymn tells us that our exaltation with Christ is not the end; rather, it is the beginning. Exalted with Christ through his resurrection, Jesus has sent us his Spirit "to guide, to strengthen, and to cheer." While we can enjoy the promise that we are exalted with Christ, we are exalted but for one purpose: to serve our neighbors. In exaltation Christ has sent us the Holy Spirit so that we might do the unexpected: enter back into humiliation to bring God's word of hope to those who suffer.
Prayer
Lord, as we enter into the darkness of Holy Week, remind us that we are exalted with Christ, and in that exaltation we are free to enter fearlessly into the suffering of the world to bring your word of hope. Amen.