J.S. Bach’s Sunday Cantata: First Sunday after Trinity
Johann Sebastian Bach (aged 61) in a portrait by Elias Gottlob Haussmann, second version of his 1746 canvas. Bach is holding a copy of the six-part canon BWV 1076.
Johann Sebastian Bach composed weekly cantatas to accompany the Sundays and feast days of the Historic Lectionary—a cycle of Scripture readings used by Christians for centuries. This lectionary shaped the worship life of the Western Church, including Roman Catholics until the reforms of Vatican II, and remains in use today among many Lutheran congregations, including our own here at St. Thomas.
These cantatas are not merely concerts—they are sermons in music. Each one beautifully unites Scripture, sacred poetry, and hymnody, often incorporating chorales that are still sung in our services today. Bach’s music proclaims the Word of God with emotional depth and theological clarity, offering both comfort and exhortation to the faithful.
The English translation and textual notes for this week’s cantata are drawn from bachcantatatexts.org. We pray that the Word of Christ, communicated through this sacred music, strengthens your faith and prepares your heart to hear God’s Word preached this First Sunday after Trinity, June 22,
Readings for the First Sunday after Trinity
And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. 1 John 4:16-21
Jesus also said to His disciples, “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’” Luke 16:19-31
Performance Recording
English Translation
The afflicted shall eat, such that they become sated, and those who ask after the Lord will praise him. Your2 heart shall live eternally.1
What use is purple’s majesty, given that it dies away?
What use is the greatest overabundance,
Because everything that we see must vanish?
What use is the stimulation3 of idle senses,
For our body itself must [depart] from here [at death]?
Ah, how quickly it happens,
That wealth, pleasure, splendor
Make [life for] the spirit hell.4My Jesus shall be my everything.
His precious blood is my [imperishable] purple,5
He himself my very highest good,
And his spirit’s fervor of love6
My very sweetest wine of joy.God hurls [this person down] and lifts [that one] up,7 in time and eternity.8
Whoever seeks heaven in the world
Will be accursed there9 [in hell’s eternity].
But whoever survives hell here [in earth’s time]
Will be gladdened there[in heaven’s eternity].I accept my suffering with joy.
Whoever has borne Lazarus’ torments
Patiently,
The angels will take him to themselves [in heaven].10God meanwhile bestows a clear conscience,
Whereby a Christian can enjoy
A small good with great delight.
Yes, even if he [God] leads [Christians] through extended distress toward death,
Then at the end it [what God does] is, yet, done well.What God does is done well;
If right now I must taste the cup [of suffering]12
That is bitter according to my way of thinking, 13
I do not let myself yet be afraid,
Because yet at the last
I will be cheered
With sweet comfort in my heart;
There [at the last] all sorrows give way.11[Sinfonia]
Only one thing debilitates14 a Christian [frame of] mind:
When it contemplates the poverty of its spirit.
It [the mind] believes, to be sure, [in] God’s goodness
That makes all things new;15
Yet it lacks the strength
To provide to the transcendent life
The [crop] growth and the fruit [harvested for salvation].16Jesus makes me spiritually rich.
If I can receive his spirit
I will long for nothing further;
For my [material] life thrives likewise.Whoever just abides in Jesus,
[Whoever] exercises self-denial,
Such that in God’s love he might exercise belief,
Has, when what is earthly has vanished,
Discovered himself and God.My heart believes and loves.
For Jesus’ sweet flames [of love],17
From which my own [flames of love] emanate,
Coalesce upon me,
Because he gives himself over to me.Oh [welcome] poverty that no wealth equals:
When the entire world
Flees out of the heart19
And Jesus alone just rules [in our hearts]!20 18
In this way a Christian is led to God.
Grant, God, that we do not squander21 it.What God does is done well—
I will abide by this.
If distress, death, and affliction may
Drive me on the rough course [of life],
Then God will,
Most paternally,
Hold me in his arms;
That is why I just let him rule.22
(transl. Michael Marissen & Daniel R. Melamed)
Scripture References
Psalm 22:26
"The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek Him will praise the Lord. Let your heart live forever!"
Referenced in:
“The afflicted shall eat, such that they become sated, and those who ask after the Lord will praise him. Your heart shall live eternally.”
Luke 16:19–31 (The Rich Man and Lazarus)
Especially v.25: “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things… but now he is comforted and you are tormented.’”
Referenced in:
“Whoever has borne Lazarus’ torments patiently, the angels will take him to themselves [in heaven].”
1 Samuel 2:7
“The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up.”
Referenced in:
“God hurls [this person down] and lifts [that one] up, in time and eternity.”
Luke 14:11 / Matthew 23:12
“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Alluded to in the same passage as above.
Matthew 6:19–21
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth… but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Referenced in:
“What use is purple’s majesty… wealth, pleasure, splendor make life for the spirit hell.”
Philippians 3:8
“I count all things loss… that I may gain Christ.”
Alluded to in:
“My Jesus shall be my everything… He himself my very highest good.”
Revelation 7:14
“…They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
Referenced in:
“His precious blood is my [imperishable] purple.”
John 15:5
“He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
Alluded to in:
“Whoever just abides in Jesus… has, when what is earthly has vanished, discovered himself and God.”
Galatians 5:22–23
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…”
Connected with:
“His spirit’s fervor of love, my very sweetest wine of joy.”
Ecclesiastes 5:18–20
“It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor… for it is his heritage.”
Alluded to in:
“A small good with great delight.”
Romans 8:28
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God…”
Connected with:
“Yes, even if he leads through distress… at the end it is done well.”
Psalm 34:19
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”
Alluded to in:
“If right now I must taste the cup [of suffering]… I will be cheered.”
Revelation 21:4
“And God will wipe away every tear… there shall be no more death, nor sorrow…”
Referenced in:
“There [at the last] all sorrows give way.”
Isaiah 57:15
“I dwell… with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble…”
Alluded to in:
“Only one thing debilitates a Christian mind: when it contemplates the poverty of its spirit.”
2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation…”
Connected with:
“God’s goodness that makes all things new.”
Matthew 13:23
“But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit…”
Referenced in:
“To provide to the transcendent life the crop growth and the fruit.”
Philippians 4:11–13
“I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content… I can do all things through Christ…”
Alluded to in:
“If I can receive his spirit, I will long for nothing further.”
Galatians 2:20
“It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…”
Connected with:
“When the entire world flees out of the heart and Jesus alone just rules!”
John 17:21–23
“…that they all may be one… I in them, and You in Me…”
Alluded to in:
“Jesus’ sweet flames [of love]… coalesce upon me.”
Romans 8:38–39
“…nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God…”
Thematically connected with:
“That is why I just let him rule.”
Psalm 31:15
“My times are in Your hand; deliver me…”
Implied in:
“Then God will… hold me in his arms.”
Romans 12:1
“…present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God…”
Possibly alluded to in:
“Exercises self-denial… in God’s love he might exercise belief.”
Hymns We Still Sing
Lutheran Service Book 760, “What God Ordains Is Always Good”
What God ordains is always good:
His will is just and holy.
As He directs my life for me,
I follow meek and lowly.
My God indeed
In ev’ry need
Knows well how He will shield me;
To Him, then, I will yield me.What God ordains is always good:
He never will deceive me;
He leads me in His righteous way,
And never will He leave me.
I take content
What He has sent;
His hand that sends me sadness
Will turn my tears to gladness.What God ordains is always good:
His loving thought attends me;
No poison can be in the cup
That my physician sends me.
My God is true;
Each morning new
I trust His grace unending,
My life to Him commending.What God ordains is always good:
He is my friend and Father;
He suffers naught to do me harm
Though many storms may gather.
Now I may know
Both joy and woe;
Someday I shall see clearly
That He has loved me dearly.What God ordains is always good:
Though I the cup am drinking
Which savors now of bitterness,
I take it without shrinking.
For after grief
God gives relief,
My heart with comfort filling
And all my sorrow stilling.What God ordains is always good:
This truth remains unshaken.
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
I shall not be forsaken.
I fear no harm,
For with His arm
He shall embrace and shield me;
So to my God I yield me.
Text: Public domain
Translation Notes
1 Psalm 22:27.
2 “Your” refers to “the afflicted.” Such sudden changes of third-person to seond-person are common in the Hebrew Bible. The ancient Greek and Latin translations of the Bible here give not “your” but “their.”
3 “Kitzel” is apparently used here in its sense of “Reizung” (“stimulation”).
4 Going back to the eighteenth century, the phrase “jemandem das Leben zur Hölle machen” meant “to make life hell for someone.”
5 “Purple” here refers to a royal robe of that color, but also to blood. This line is proclaiming that as redemption for sin, the “king” Jesus shed his blood, which is a “purple” that will not “perish” (see line 1 of movement 2). This line is drawing on 1 Peter 1:18-19, “[Ihr] wisset, dass ihr . . . nicht mit vergänglichem Silber oder Gold erlöst seid . . . sondern mit dem teuren Blut Christi” (“You know that you are not redeemed with perishable silver or gold but with the precious [imperishable] blood of Christ”).
6 This line draws on the language of Song of Songs 8:6, which in the Luther Bibles of Bach’s day reads “Liebe ist stark, wie der Tod; . . . ihre Glut ist feurig und eine Flamme des HERRN” (“Love is strong, like death; its fervor is fiery and a flame of the LORD”).
7 This line draws on the language of Psalm 75:8, which in the Luther Bibles of Bach’s day reads “Gott ist Richter, der diesen niedriget und jenen erhöhet” (“God is [the] judge who brings this one low and lifts that one up”).
8 “Time” here refers to this world/age, and “eternity” to the next.
9 The words “hier” (“here”) and ‘dort” (“there”) are often used in Lutheran cantata poetry for the contrast between this life and the next, earth and heaven/hell, time and eternity. The “there” in line 3 refers to hell (after death), not to “the world” where one seeks “heaven” (in this life).
10 Luke 16:19-31 reports that at his death the impoverished man Lazarus, who had been tormented on earth with festering sores, was carried by angels to “Abraham’s bosom.” Being “in someone’s bosom” referred to reclining at the right of the host (i.e., the place of honor) at a meal (e.g., John 13:23). Western Christianity came to use “Abraham’s bosom” as a designation for heaven.
11 A stanza of the hymn “Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan.”
12 In biblical language, “the cup” is a metaphor for what God has to offer a person, whether positive (e.g., “the cup of consolation”) or negative (e.g., “the cup of wrath,” and “the cup of suffering”).
13 Here, “Wahn” is not exactly “delusion” (the meaning in modern German). In older German, “Wahn” was used as a synonym for “Meinung” (“opinion,” “what one thinks”), more specifically sometimes in the sense of an “unsichere Annahme” (“arguable assumption”). The idea is not that it is deluded or even wrong to judge the cup of suffering to be bitter, but that such a judgment is incomplete. In Lutheran thought, bitterness of suffering was not a bad thing—it was in the nature of things, and was good for you.
14 “Kränken” is apparently being used here in its older German sense of “schwächen” (“to weaken/debilitate”); see also line 5 of this movement.
15 The language from several biblical passages is conflated here, but the main sentiments stem from Revelation 21:5, where God declares “Siehe, ich mache alles neu” (“Look, I make all things new”). For its rhyme with “Kraft” (“strength”), “erschafft” (“creates”) is used in the cantata libretto in place of the “macht” (“makes/creates”) in Revelation.
16 “The fruit” spoken of here is the “Frucht zum ewigen Leben” (“fruit [that is harvested] unto eternal life”) of John 4:36.
17 With regard to “flames of love,” see fn. 5, above.
18 Bach’s own materials have a period at the end of this line, not a comma (and the next word, “So,” is indeed capitalized).
19 The world’s exit from the believer’s heart is a complement, in Lutheran theology, to Jesus’s entry and indwelling. A similar sentiment appears in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, in movement 65: “Mache dich, mein Herze, rein . . . Welt, geh aus, lass Jesum ein” (“Make yourself pure, my heart . . . World, get out [of my heart]; let Jesus in”).
20 Alluding to Colossians 3:15, “Der Friede Gottes regiere in euren Herzen” (“May the peace of God rule in your hearts”).
21 In this older German, “verscherzen” does not mean “to make fun of”; it is a synonym for “verschwenden” (“to squander”).
22 A stanza of the hymn “Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan.”
