Lutheran Pulpit: 2024

Once, Now, and Future Coming of Jesus
St. John's Lutheran Church & Atonement Lutheran Church
Second Wednesday in Advent
Sermon on “Once He Came in Blessing” (LSB 333)

In the Name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today’s meditation is on the Hymn “Once He Came in Blessing”, found in the Lutheran Server Book, Hymn 333. The Hymn was written in 1544, during the Reformation. The author of the hymn is credited to Johann Horn, a Bishop and leading figure of the Bohemian Brethren that is in today’s Czech Republic.

Johann Horn had no formal theological education but read many of Martin Luther’s writings that were translated into Czech, especially Luther’s writings on worship and sacrament. In 1522 Johann was part of a group that traveled to Wittenberg to meet Martin Luther to discuss doctrinal issues. Johann supported Martin Luther’s view on the Lord’s Support, as can be seen in this Hymn.

The Hymn “Once He Came in Blessing” originally had 9 stanzas. When the Hymn was translated into English, by Catherine Winkworth, only stanzas 1, 2, 3, and 9 were translated. When the Hymn was added to our current hymnal (LSB), stanzas 1 and 4 were practically left unaltered, while stanzas 2 and 3 are translations and combinations from different sections of the original Hymn, that Catherine did not translate. The result is a Hymn that shows Christ coming to use in the past, present, and future.

Now let us examine the stanzas of this Hymn. And we begin with the first stanza.

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.

This stanza reminds us that the Advent season is a time to prepare ourselves for the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We do this by recalling the time that Jesus had already come to us, as a babe in Bethlehem. This small innocent, perfect child would grow up to redeem God’s people back to God. He did not do this by fighting and winning great battles – as some thought He might. Or through some deft political maneuvers. No, Christ redeemed us by taking on our sins, and our guilt, and being the atoning sacrifice. Christ did this because we are unable to atone for our own sins.

Think of it like making a meringue. Now to make meringue, you take egg whites, not the egg yolks, and sugar, and whip or beat them together until the mixture becomes thick and creates what is called soft peaks. When you are making a meringue, you don’t want any egg yolk in the egg white and sugar mixture, not even a drop. A single drop of the egg yolk in the egg white and sugar mixture will prevent the mixture from forming soft peaks, thus ruining the meringue. And this is how we are. We are tainted, and corrupted with sin, and because of that, we are unable to atone for our sins.

To fix the meringue mixture, you need an outside source to reach into the egg white and sugar mixture and remove the egg yolk that is tainting the mixture. Now the egg white and sugar mixture can form soft peaks. So too with us. The only way for us to be forgiven, to atone for our sins, is through the loving mercy of God’s only Son, Jesus Christ. Who reached into our lives and removed the taint and corruption of our sins. Now, through Christ’s atoning work on the cross, we are freed from our sins.

Let us now move on to the next stanza.

Now He gently leads us;
With Himself He feeds us
Precious food from heaven,
Pledge of peace here given,
Manna that will nourish
Souls that they may flourish.

Stanza 2 tells us of Christ coming to us today. Like a shepherd, who feeds his flock by going to one field and then to another. Our heavenly shepherd, Christ Jesus, leads us not to different fields, that will not satisfy our hungry souls. No, Christ led us to a rich and bountiful field full of His grace, mercy, and peace. This field is overflowing with God’s love for us. In this field, Christ leads us and is with us in what we call Worship.

Now I am sure you have heard this analogy before that faith is like planting a seed and you need water and fertilizer to help the plant grow. This analogy shows a fundamental truth about faith. But you cannot use just any water and fertilizer to grow a plant. You need the right water and the right kind of fertilizer. The water used cannot be stagnant or polluted; such stagnant water may cause the plant to become sickly and prone to disease. You need the right kind of fertilizer to give the growing plant its proper nutrition, or the plant will be thin and stunted and will never grow to its full height. And this is the importance of Worship for our human soul.

Worship is where God feeds and nourishes His people. In Worship, Christ feeds His people through the preaching of His Word and through His Sacrament, of body and blood. And like the analogy with the meringue. Worship is a place where God can reach into our lives today. Worship is the place where Heaven and Earth meet, O’ for a brief moment. Worship is a foreshadowing of our ultimate union with Christ in His second Advent.

And what does this Hymn say about Christ’s second Advent?

Soon will come that hour
When with mighty power
Christ will come in splendor
And will judgment render,
With the faithful sharing
Joy beyond comparing.

Stanza 3 points us towards Christ’s second coming, His second Advent. Unlike Christ’s first Advent, where God emptied Himself and humbled Himself and took on human form. In Christ’s second Advent, God will come to us with mighty power and great glory. And as we confess in the Nicene Creed: “And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.”.

Christ’s second Advent will terrify the unbelieving heart. Much like a child would fear their father’s punishment, when the child is caught “red-handed” breaking into the cookie jar – I know I was scared. So will the unbelieving heart be scared, for they will be caught “red-handed” in their sins. Knowing that God was waiting for them to turn from their evil deeds and seek after God’s love and forgiveness in Christ’s death and resurrection.

But we have no fear for we believe in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection and have had our sins forgiven. Christ’s second Advent is not a time of fear but a time of great joy and celebration. We need not fear the judgment of God, for our sins are washed away by the sacrificial blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Through His blood, we are cleansed and made right in the sight of God. For us, Christ’s second coming will be the time when we will be united with Him in “Joy beyond comparing”.

Finally, the Hyman concludes with.

Come, then, O Lord Jesus,
From our sins release us.
Keep our hearts believing,
That we, grace receiving,
Ever may confess You
Till in heav’n we bless You.

Stanza 4 ends the hymn not with a doxology, a praise to God, but a simple prayer. The prayer is asking for Christ to come to us, both today and for His second Advent. We pray for Him to release us from our sins that separate us from the love of God. And to keep our hearts in Christ Jesus. We pray for God to keep us in His grace, mercy, and peace, through Christ Jesus’ saving work on the cross. We continually confess Christ in Worship, through the teaching of His Word and through His Holy Sacraments. Until we are joined with Him in heaven.

May this hymn of blessing encourage you in your faith. Knowing that Christ has come to us to forgive us of our sins. Know that Christ still comes to us today in the preaching of His Word, in prayer, in reading the Bible, and in His Holy Sacraments. And know that Christ will come again in glory to gather all those who believe in His name. We will be gathered into His Heavenly Kingdom, the Kingdom that has no end. And we will be with Him in unending joy and peace.

Amen.

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