Eastertide #1:

Man of Sorrows

(Isaiah 53:3)

We began our Easter Service singing “Man of Sorrows What a Name.” I cried. Others thought it an odd, even depressing hymn to kickoff Easter Sunday. Why didn’t we sing “Up From the Grave He Arose”? Something more triumphant. Maybe so, but “Man of Sorrows,” a 19^th century hymn, worked for me.

During these first few days of Eastertide, I’ve spent my morning fire time with Isaiah’s Servant Songs. I figured that’s where “Man of Sorrows” must be found. Sure enough, there it was in the fourth Servant Songs: “A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. …Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.”

I’ll have to tell our new worship minister that I like his Easter hymn choice. I have a feeling he may need some encouragement. Easter Morning is not Easter Morning without Good Friday, and Good Friday is not good without Easter Morning. As the third Servant Songs puts it, “He who vindicates me is near.” The Resurrection is God’s vindication of his Good Friday Suffering Servant.