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
So deep, so high, so broad is God’s love, says verse seven of our theme hymn, “Oh, Love, How Deep.” In other words, it’s an all-encompassing love. Deeper, higher, and broader than we can possibly imagine. There is really nowhere that cannot be reached by God’s love, as much as we might question just how far God’s love will go and just how expansive God’s love truly is. And on this Holy Saturday, that nowhere even includes a tomb barricaded by massive stones meant to keep love at bay. That love itself overcomes death is not only the promise of Easter morning but also the meaning of Easter living. Easter is not just a Sunday but an everyday certainty that in our acts of love, all that which leads to death can be defeated. We participate in the resurrection not only as a future promise but in our present pledge of life for all.
Prayer
Dear God, your love knows no bounds and cannot even be held back by death. Help us to love and live in ways that life abounds. Amen.