Once He came in blessing, All our sins redressing;
Came in likeness lowly, Son of God most holy;
Bore the cross to save us; Hope and freedom gave us.
(LSB 333:1)
One can easily become trapped in the memories of the past: regrets over what we "could-a, should-a, would-a" done. Regrets which leave us feeling depressed or defeated. One might also be driven only by our expectations of what our future could or should be. An unhealthy focus on either the past or the future can distort how we live in the here and now.
When that happens, we turn to what our Lord says in the very last chapter of scripture, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." Jesus is our past. Jesus is our present. Jesus is our future.
During each week of Advent, our LWML devotion will focus on one stanza of the Advent hymn "Once He Came in Blessing," (LSB 333). Each stanza focuses on one aspect of Jesus as our "beginning and end."
This week, our hymn draws our attention to the past. "Once He came in blessing, / All our sins redressing." To be a baptized, blood-bought child of God, means to recognize what He has already done for us in the past. "For us men and for our salvation [He] came down from heaven," we confess in the Nicene Creed.
Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, left the glory of heaven. He left the right hand of His Father. He wrapped Himself in the lowliness of our fallen, mortal nature; He, who alone is the Son of God most holy. Nearly 2,000 years in the past, he bore the cross to save us. Because He did, we have hope and freedom. Not just in some hazy, hoped-for future, but right now. In this present moment.
When we focus on our own personal past, we are left with regret and resentment. When we focus on what God has done for us in the past, we are moved to a true "Thanksgiving," that Eucharistic life which is lived in grateful response to what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus Christ, we give you praise and thanks, for you have come into this world come us "for us and our salvation." During this Advent season, grant that we might live lives of Thanksgiving - not just for "health and strength and daily food," but for all that you have done for us in the past... all that you will do in the future... all that you make possible for us to enjoy: right here, right now. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the King of the Universe: the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, our past, present, and future. Amen.
Rev. Robert Boehler
Pastor, St Mark’s Lutheran Church, Yonkers
Bronx Westchester Zone Pastor
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