Christ
the Life of All the Living Lutheran Service Book #420
Matthew27:33-46; 1 Corinthians 15:57;
Isaiah 55:5; 1 Peter 2:24
Christ the life of all the living,
Christ the death of death, our foe,
Who Thyself for me once giving
To the darkest depths of woe;
Through Thy suff’rings, Death, and merit
I eternal life inherit.
Thou-sand, thou-sand thanks shall be,
Dearest Jesus unto Thee.
Today, more than on any other
day of the year we remember our mortality. Adam, created by the hand of God, in
His own image, from the dust of the ground is cursed to return to the soil from
which he came. The earth is now cursed because of Adams’ fall. Thus, we face up
to the cold, hard reality that we are nothing by dust and ash. “For dust thou art. And unto dust shalt thou
return.” Genesis 3:19
Yet out of the dust comes hope. Christ, the life of
all the living dies the death we deserve. From the ashes, with repentance and faith we,
like Adam, rise to live a new life. God has
put enmity between the seed of the woman and the serpent. He will crush his
head. The serpent can only strike at His heel. The first Adam brought death and
destruction to this earth. The Second Adam; Christ our Savior, has triumphed
and brought restoration to this broken world. A new heaven and a new earth will
come, according to His design.
Lent begins today with Ash Wednesday. With ashes of
repentance. And with the hope of life out of the ashes. Lent continues as we
see the Lord Jesus in His suffering, humiliation, agony, and bloody sweat and
at the cross where He took our sins unto Himself. That great exchange – God’s
mercy and forgiveness purchased at the cross of His own Son! Through the
suffering and death of Jesus, we merit forgiveness and inherit life eternal.
Thanks be to God for this great exchange.
Almighty
and everlasting God, You despise nothing You have made and forgive the sins of
all who are penitent. Create in us new and contrite hearts that lamenting our
sins and acknowledging our wretchedness we may receive from You full pardon and
forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns
with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.[1]
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