11 December 2010

Every Given Sunday

Every Sunday is Advent
and Christmas
and Epiphany

Every Sunday is Palm Sunday
and Good Friday
and Easter

Every Sunday is Pentecost
and All Saints' Day

Every Sunday is penitential
and festive

Every Sunday is the beginning
and the consummation
of the Church's life in Christ

For on every given Sunday
the Lord comes to us with His Word and Spirit

He sends His messenger before His face to prepare His way,
preaching a Baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins

He comes to us in His Body of flesh and blood,
conceived and born of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
crucified under Pontius Pilate, dead and buried,
risen from the dead, ascended into heaven,
seated at the Right Hand of the Father,
given and poured out for us at His Table

He manifests the grace and glory of the one true God
in that human flesh and blood of His, transfigured by His Cross,
by which He also makes us partakers of His own divine nature

He enters the wilderness with us,
contends with Satan as our own dread Champion,
crucifies the old Adam in us by contrition and repentance,
and raises us from the dust of death to newness of life in Him
through His free and full forgiveness of our sins

He comes in the Name of the Lord,
upon the colt and donkey of chalice and paten,
to proclaim His death among us,
to feed us with His paschal Flesh,
to cover us and seal us with His Blood of the New Testament,
and to bring us by His Exodus through death and the grave
into His Resurrection and His Life everlasting,
into the very Holy of Holies of the Father's bosom

He pours out His Holy Spirit generously upon us,
and binds us to Himself in love, as members of His Body,
as members of one Holy Communion in Him,
our Husband and our Head

Every given Sunday

Every week
of every Season

Every Year of Our Lord,
until He comes in power and great glory
to judge us righteous by His Cross and Resurrection
and He brings us into the biggest Sunday of all:
the eternal Eighth Day of His Kingdom

3 comments:

Pastor Peasant said...

Thank you, Rick. Excellent, as always.

Pastor K.C. Dehning said...

Marvelous! Absolutely marvelous! Well said, Rick! May I have your permission to share this with the members of the congregations I serve - with proper attribution, of course?

Rev. Rick Stuckwisch said...

Thank you, brothers. I appreciate your kind and encouraging words.

Brother K.C., you are welcome to use my words with your congregation. I count it all joy when anything I say or write is able to serve the confession of Christ.

A blessed Advent to one and all.