Prepare for The Sunday of the Rich Man and Lazarus (06/23)
Within the liturgy for each Lord’s day, we receive the Word of God through uniquely appointed readings, psalms, hymns, and prayers. This week we will pray the Divine Service Setting Four (audio of this liturgy). The following guide will help you to prepare to hear and sing the Propers, i.e. the varied texts and hymns for this week.
Faith Trusts in Christ for Life Eternal: When the beggar Lazarus died, he was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. For he was truly Abraham's seed. Like Abraham, he believed in the Lord, and the Lord “counted it to him as righteousness” (Gen. 15:6). The name Lazarus means “God is my help.” The unnamed rich man, on the other hand, did not love and trust in God. For he evidently cared little for the beggar at his gate. And “he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20). He who loved and trusted in possessions and prestige died and was in torments in Hades (Luke 16:19–31). Repentance and faith are worked only through Moses and the prophets--that is, the Word of God, for it points us to Christ. Only through His death and resurrection are we brought the comfort of life everlasting.
Collect of the Day: O God, on this day You once taught the hearts of Your faithful people by sending them the light of Your Holy Spirit. Grant us in our day by the same Spirit to have a right understanding in all things and evermore to rejoice in His holy consolation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Readings:
Introit: Ps. 13:1-4; antiphon: Ps. 13:5-6
Gradual: Ps. 41:4, 1
Old Testament: Gen. 15:1-6
Psalm 33:12-22 (antiphon: v. 20)
Epistle: 1 John 4:16-21
Proper Verse: Ps. 7:1
Gospel: Luke 16:19-31
Hymns:
| 696 | O God, my faithful God | O Gott, du frommer Gott | Video |
This hymn was written by Pastor Johann Heermann (1585–1647) during a most difficult time in his life, between 1623 and 1630, when he was plagued by various bodily afflictions. It is a prayer, a genuine cry of faith from the Christian’s heart, and based on the confession of God’s promised faithfulness and goodness. As a preacher he was also concerned with speaking the truth without
| 768 | To God the Holy Spirit, let us pray | Nun bitten wir | Video |
The anonymous first stanza of today’s hymn is a Pentecost carol from the thirteenth century. This stanza was mentioned twice in a sermon by 13th century Berthold of Regensburg in which he encouraged his hearers to sing this hymn in the service on Pentecost. This encouragement is remarkable since congregational singing was rarely allowed (except for Easter / Christmas carols) in Roman Catholic congregations.
The singing of this stanza remained popular in German lands. Martin Luther (1483–1546) loved this stanza and encouraged its frequent singing. In 1524 Luther was in the midst of theological conflicts with many who believed that the Spirit guided people directly — apart from, and
in contradiction to, God’s revealed Word. One of the false teachers was Luther’s former colleague at Wittenberg, Andreas Carlstadt (c. 1486–1541). Carlstadt’s primary focus was on what the Christian did, not on what Christ had done and what the Holy Spirit was doing by His Word. One of the ways Luther confronted this false theology was by this hymn’s use; Luther also added three new stanzas to focus on the true work of the Holy Spirit.
| 948 | All glory be to God alone | All Ehr und Lob | Video |
This is Luther's favorite metrical version of the "Gloria in Excelsis." It first appears in the Gesangbuch published in Wittenberg, 1543. The composer is also unknown and first appears in 1541.
| 754 | Entrust your days and burdens | Sufficientia | Video |
In Lutheran Service Book, this hymn by Paul Gerhardt is #754. In LSB the text is set to a new tune by LCMS composer, Stephen R. Johnson, a tune called
| 675 | Oh, What Their Joy | O quanta qualia | Video |
‘O Q V A N T A Q V A L I A ’ is one of a collection of hymns written by Peter Abelard. Abelard wrote not only hymns but many forms of
The hymn was written not for the annual feast of All Saints, but for the weekly feast of the Resurrection. Addressing as it does the denizens of ‘that country’, however, it is also fitting for the celebration of the saints and the coming end of the Church’s year.
| 797 | Praise the Almighty, my soul, adore Him | Lobe den Herren, o meine Seele | Video |
This hymn by Johann Herrnschmidt is a highly poetic version of Psalm 146. The 17th century tune has been
| 708 | Lord, Thee I love with all my heart | Herzlich lieb | Video | Hymn Study |
The text was written by Martin Schalling (1532–1608), a Lutheran pastor and theologian who was a disciple of the reformer Philipp Melanchthon, author of the Augsburg Confession. Martin Schalling lived during a time of intense religious strife, which reached even outside Germany and throughout Europe. As the Reformation moved forward, the Roman Catholics often fought back, countering with their own documents and creeds. At that time, Germany was composed of many small principalities and kingdoms. It was up to each individual ruler to decide on the religious confession of his territory, leading to many changes as rulers came and went. Unfortunately, these battles of words often spilled out into battles of swords, and many were killed in wars and power struggles during this time. Even if we were without religious strife, death is still a universal problem in this life, and all Christians should be able to confess the truths sung in this hymn, finding com- fort in these words.