Pastor’s Corner

“Come, Lord Jesus.”

P: As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He Comes.
C: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. (DS II, LSB pg. 179)

During this past month we have been saying the above portion of liturgy every week. How fitting that during this past Sunday, the First Sunday of Advent, we also spoke these words. These words seemed to be a little more significant during the Season of Advent. Advent is that time of year we remember Jesus once came as a baby in the flesh and will come again as King of Kings.

How important we pray, “Come, Lord Jesus.” I find that to be one of the most concise prayers we Christians can pray, and should pray, because we know without a shadow of a doubt Jesus will indeed come again. And since we know Jesus will keep His Word and come again, we should pray this prayer as often as possible. We should pray, “Come, Lord Jesus”. Why? Because we need Jesus to come back. We desperately need Him to come back and fulfill His work of redeeming all of creation through the resurrection of the dead. We need Him to come back because life itself can be very hard for us Christians. So, when we are in the hospital, we should pray, “Come, Lord Jesus.” When we are wrestling with temptations of the flesh we should pray, “Come, Lord Jesus.” When we are in a funeral home staring down at a loved one we are not ready to let go of, we should pray from the deepest depths of our souls, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

Jesus will answer this prayer for you. We do not know the exact day or hour, but we do know He will answer it. In many ways, Jesus has also answered this prayer already. We speak these words in church right after hearing the Words of Institution; words that promise Jesus is physically present among us. And one day, our Lord will be among us. But He won’t come to us physically in bread and wine. He will come to us physically in the flesh when He returns. As Jesus promised in Revelation:

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” 17 The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come . . . 20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:16-20)