My Song is Love Unknown (ELW 343, verse 5)
5 In life no house, no home
my Lord on earth might have;
in death no friendly tomb
but what a stranger gave.
What may I say? Heav’n was his home
but mine the tomb wherein he lay.
Devotion
Written by Samuel Crossman in 1683, our theme hymn for Lent is a Good Friday hymn. The British band, Coldplay, based their 2005 hit “A Message” on this hymn. Their message? “You don’t have to be on your own.” Yet when we feel crummy about ourselves, shame takes over and we go into hiding.
For us to be free again takes more than an explanation. It takes an exchange. That’s what Martin Luther called Christ’s self-emptying on the cross—“The Happy Exchange.” As Luther writes in a prayer:
“Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, just as I am your sin. You have taken upon yourself what is mine and have given to me what is yours. You have taken upon yourself what you were not, and have given to me what I was not.”
The hymn puts it this way:
“My song is love unknown, my Savior’s love to me,
Love to the loveless shown that they might lovely be.”
Prayer
Lord Jesus, help us to know that because of the depth of your love we don’t ever have to be alone, or on our own. In love you have taken my shame and given me your own life and freedom. Amen.