"Blessed is He who comes" (Ps. 118:26).
This time of year (the end of one Church Year and the beginning of another) we intensify our anticipation of the coming of Christ on the Last Day. And soon we will celebrate Christmas and His coming from heaven the first time. We speak, therefore, of the "first" and "second" comings of Christ.
But there are, all together, three comings. A third coming of Christ is His coming in Holy Communion. The three go together. What they have in common is the true bodily coming of Christ.
It is helpful, though, to put things in order and so to refer to the "past," "present," and "future" comings.
Past = His conception, birth, life, words, actions, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension.
Present = Holy Communion.
Future = "He will come to judge the living and the dead" (Apostles' Creed).
He came. He comes. He will come.
We keep a right and balanced faith when we put our trust in Christ and hold each of His comings in equally high regard. No coming is greater or less than the others.
Yet, the present coming in Communion plays a special role in that it touches both the past and future and joins them together. Listen for this (if you have the chance) in the Communion liturgy. It looks both back and forward, even as it accents the forgiveness of sins delivered right here and now.
He camecomeswillcome!
Rejoice greatly that our King comes to us in such a marvelous threefold way!
