The Lutheran church enjoys a long tradition of identifying one “Hymn of the Week” for every Sunday of the church year. Such a hymn should reflect the unifying theme of the service, and is intended to be sung on that Sunday every year. In this series, Pastor Nathanael Mayhew gives us a brief overview of the Hymns of the Week for the coming month.
The Season of Epiphany (continued) As we have already begun to see this year, the seasons of the church year do not coordinate with the beginning and ending of months. In the month of February, we continue in the season of Epiphany, which is often called “Christmas for the Gentiles.” The Sundays in Epiphany highlight the revelation of God’s glory and salvation in the person of Jesus, Who came as the Savior for all people.
- February 2 This Sunday is the Fourth Sunday in Epiphany. Here we are comforted by the nature of the true God. We see His love and compassion for sinners, even through the adversities that we face in life. The hymn “Seek Where Ye May to Find a Way” (TLH 383; LSB 557) beautifully reinforces this theme. This hymn is a challenge to anyone to find a “god” like the Lord, the true God, and Jesus as our only Savior. It also serves as a reminder to the Christian not to forget or take for granted the salvation that is found in Jesus alone.
- February 9 The Season of Epiphany concludes with the festival of Transfiguration. This Sunday we hear about the miraculous transformation of Jesus as He was glorified in the presence of three of His disciples. The fifteenth-century Latin hymn “Oh, Wondrous Type! Oh, Vision Fair” (WS 720; LSB 413) is a poetic retelling of Jesus’ Transfiguration and its implications both then and now. The liturgical color for Transfiguration is white.
The Season of Pre-Lent The Transfiguration of Jesus marks a significant pivot point in Jesus’ ministry. At this point in His ministry Jesus “set His face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51) and began to speak to His disciples about His coming death and resurrection. Many church calendars contain three Sundays between Epiphany and Lent. This Pre-Lent “season” helps prepare us to contemplate God’s work of salvation in the suffering and death of Jesus. These three gesima Sundays serve as a countdown to the beginning of Lent. The first of these Sundays is called Septuagesima. This word comes from Latin and simply means “seventy days.” Sexagesima means “sixty days” and Quinquagesima means “fifty days.” In this way, these three Sundays count us down to Easter and give us an approximate idea of how many days we have left until the celebration of our Savior’s resurrection. Remember, these weeks are not Lent. They are time to prepare for Lent. For this reason, the liturgical color for these Sundays is green.
- February 16 Septuagesima Sunday is the first Sunday of “Gesimatide.” We reflect on what we deserve because of our sin, as well as God’s rich and abundant grace which gives us what we do not deserve. The hymn “Salvation unto Us Has Come” (TLH 377; LSB 555) by Paul Speratus wonderfully summarizes the Biblical teaching on man’s sin and God’s grace in Christ.
- February 23 On Sexagesima Sunday our focus shifts to the mercies of God and serves as a warning for us not to harden our hearts against the Lord and His grace. The hymn for this Sunday is “May God Bestow on Us His Grace” (TLH 500; LSB 823,824). This hymn is Martin Luther’s metrical summary of Psalm 67, which has been called the Missionary Psalm. While this hymn is found in the Missions section of our hymnal, it serves as a reminder of all that we have received from the Lord (stanza 1), that the Lord is coming again to judge all people (stanza 2), and that God works through His Word to bless us and keep us in the faith. May God’s gracious kingdom come to all people through faith.
May the Lord bless your worship this month.
is a pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Mankato, Minnesota.