O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

LSB #450

v. 1: O sacred Head, now wounded, With grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded With thorns Thine only crown.
O sacred Head, what glory, What bliss, till now was Thine!
Yet, though despised and gory, I joy to call Thee mine.

v. 7: Be Thou my consolation, My shield, when I must die;
Remind me of Thy passion When my last hour draws nigh.
Mine eyes shall then behold Thee, Upon Thy cross shall dwell,
My heart by faith enfold Thee. Who dieth thus dies well.

The focus of most people in our world is to live a good life. That means as many things as there are people, I suppose. But that is not what God wants most for you. That doesn’t mean you won’t have a good life. Maybe you will, maybe you won’t. But far more important to God than you living a good life is that you die a good death - or as the hymnwriter put it, who dieth thus dies well. A good death is to die with faith in Christ and thus live well not just for 80 or 90 years here on this earth, but to live well forever. It is Jesus’ sacred head, now wounded, that provides that life for us. So when your last hour draws nigh - be it from coronavirus, old age, accident, or whatever - it is Jesus’ passion that will console and comfort you. He died your death to give you life. He paid for your sins so you are forgiven. He rose from the dead and will pull you up from the grave, too. With that faith, you can both live and die now in peace and joy. And with that faith, you will both die well and then live well. Well, and forever.