What wondrous love is this!

That Christ should come in bliss

to bear the heavy cross for my soul… (The New Century Hymnal, #223, P.D.)

              If asked, I suspect most people could name a favorite Christmas carol. It might be the triumphant Joy to the World, or the candlelit memories of Silent Night, or maybe just for fun, Rudolph. Whatever it may be, it seems everyone has a favorite Christmas carol, or two or three.

              But how about a favorite song of Lent? A “Lenten Carol” if you will. In all my years, I have never come to Easter Sunday and had someone tell me, “I can’t believe we never sang Beneath the Cross of Jesus at all this Lent!”

              If asked, What Wondrous Love is This is one of my favorite songs of Lent and Holy Week. The hymn note says that it is an anonymous folk hymn and first appeared in print around 1843. The tune, which funny enough comes from an old ballad about the infamous pirate Capt. Kidd, fits perfectly for me the emotional tone of the season of Lent. It is somber and reflective and, for me anyway, sets the mood for the season.

              It is the final verse (in our hymnal) that I often find myself singing this time of year. And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be, and through eternity I’ll sing on…

              The power brokers of the world thought they had silenced Jesus, once and for all. The burden of that heavy cross was their reminder that you can’t beat Caesar. But, on Easter morning, God said, “Hold my coffee.” The tomb was empty. And the message of love proved more powerful than Caesar’s cross.

              When this old world starts getting me down, sometimes I will start to sing What wondrous love is this, and I will remember how God’s love is more powerful than even death. Yes, what wondrous love, indeed.