J.S. Bach’s Sunday Cantata: Third 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 Third Sunday after Trinity, July 6, 2025!
Readings for the First Sunday after Trinity
Introit - Psalm 25:1–2a, 5b, 15, 20; antiphon: vv. 16, 18
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame.
You are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.
My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.
Collect of the Day
O God, the protector of all who trust in You, without whom nothing is strong and nothing is holy, multiply Your mercy on us that, with You as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Old Testament - Micah 7:18–20
18Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.
19He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities under foot.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.
20You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and steadfast love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers
from the days of old.
Gradual - Psalm 55:22a, 16, 18a
Cast your burden on the Lord,
and he will sustain you.
I call to God, and the Lord will save me.
He redeems my soul in safety.
Epistle - 1 Peter 5:6–11
6Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Verse - Psalm 18:1–2a
Alleluia. I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer. Alleluia.
Gospel - Luke 15:1–32
1Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear [Jesus]. 2And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
3So he told them this parable: 4“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
8“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
11“There was a man who had two sons. 12And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
17“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
25“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”
Performance Recording
BWV 21 - English Translation
Sinfonia
I had much grieving in my heart; but your [my God’s] consolations restore my soul (Psalm 94:19).
Sighs, tears, grief, distress,
Anxious yearning, fear and death
Gnaw at my constricted heart;
I feel misery, pain (Psalm 116:3).How is it that you, my God,
In my distress,
In my fear and dismay,
Have turned yourself from me entirely (Psalm 22:1)?
Ah, do you not know your child?
Ah, do you not hear the lamenting
Of those who are
Linked to you by covenant and faithfulness (Exodus 2:24)?
You were my delight
And have become cruel to me (Job 30:21);
I seek you in all places;
I call and cry for you (Psalm 77:1–3);
Yet my “woe and ah”
Now looks as though it were entirely unknown to you (Lamentations 3:8).Streams of salted tears (Psalm 42:3),
Floods, rush forth constantly.
Storm and waves harm me,
And this tribulation-filled sea
Will weaken me of spirit and life;
Mast and anchor will break;
Here I sink to the seabed;
There [I] peer into the jaws of hell [and see]:
Streams of salted tears (Psalm 69:1–2; Jonah 2:3–6).Why do you sadden yourself, my soul, and why are you so restless within me? Wait for God; for I will yet thank him, because he is the help/salvation of my countenance, and my God (Psalm 42:5, 11; 43:5).
SOUL
Ah, Jesus, my rest,
My light, where are you tarrying (John 11:21)?
JESUS
O soul, see, I am with you (Matthew 28:20).
SOUL
With me?
Here [it] is indeed pure night (Isaiah 50:10).
JESUS
I am your faithful friend,
Who also keeps watch in the darkness,
Where there are pure rogues (John 10:11).
SOUL
Break in, then, with your luster
And light of consolation (Luke 1:78–79).
JESUS
The hour is already coming,
When your contest’s victory wreath
Will be a sweet restorative to you (2 Timothy 4:7–8).SOUL
Come, my Jesus, and restore,
And gladden with your gaze,
This soul that shall die
And not live,
And in its misfortune-cavern
Entirely decay (Ezekiel 37:11–14).
I must constantly hover in grief;
Yes, ah yes, I am lost [from salvation] (Psalm 31:10).
No, ah no, you hate me (Lamentations 3:1–3).
Ah, Jesus, fill me with sweetness of soul and heart.
Come, my Jesus, and restore
Me with your gaze of grace.
JESUS
Yes, I come and restore
You with my gaze of grace;
Your soul, it shall live
And not die (Psalm 118:17);
Here, out of this wound-cavity [in my rib],
You shall inherit
Healing/salvation through [my blood,] this juice of the grape (John 19:34; Matthew 26:27–28);
No, ah no, you are chosen [for salvation] (Ephesians 1:4).
Yes, ah yes, I love you (Jeremiah 31:3).
Escape, you worries; disappear, you pain.
Yes, I come and restore
You with my gaze of grace.Be now again at peace, my soul, for the Lord does good unto you (Psalm 116:7).
How do heavy worries help us,
How does our “woe and ah” help us?
How does it help, that every morning
We bemoan our affliction (Lamentations 3:23–24)?
We make our cross-bearing and suffering
Only greater by the sorrow (Matthew 6:34).
Do not think in the heat of your oppression
That you are forsaken by God (Isaiah 49:14–15),
And that God may seat in the bosom [of Abraham—heaven]
Him who [on earth] dines in constant good fortune (Luke 16:19–31).
The ensuing time changes many things
And sets to each his limit/lifespan (Ecclesiastes 3:1–2).Gladden yourself, soul; gladden yourself, heart;
Escape now, grief; disappear, you pain (Isaiah 35:10).
Transform yourself, weeping, into pure wine;
My groaning will now be, to me, a shouting [for joy] (Psalm 30:5, 11).
The purest candle[light] of love, of consolation,
Burns and flames in [my] soul and breast,
So long as Jesus consoles me with heavenly delight (Revelation 21:4).The lamb that is slain is worthy to take might and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and praise and adulation. Adulation and honor and praise and power be to our God from eternity to eternity. Amen, hallelujah (Revelation 5:12–13)!
(transl. Michael Marissen & Daniel R. Melamed)
Scripture References
Hymns We Still Sing
Lutheran Service Book 750, “If Thou But Suffer God To Guide Thee”
If thou but trust in God to guide thee
And hope in Him through all thy ways,
He’ll give thee strength, whate’er betide thee,
And bear thee through the evil days.
Who trusts in God’s unchanging love
Builds on the rock that naught can move.What can these anxious cares avail thee,
These never-ceasing moans and sighs?
What can it help if thou bewail thee
O’er each dark moment as it flies?
Our cross and trials do but press
The heavier for our bitterness.Be patient and await His leisure
In cheerful hope, with heart content
To take whate’er thy Father’s pleasure
And His discerning love hath sent,
Nor doubt our inmost wants are known
To Him who chose us for His own.God knows full well when times of gladness
Shall be the needful thing for thee.
When He has tried thy soul with sadness
And from all guile has found thee free,
He comes to thee all unaware
And makes thee own His loving care.Nor think amid the fiery trial
That God hath cast thee off unheard,
That he whose hopes meet no denial
Must surely be of God preferred.
Time passes and much change doth bring
And sets a bound to ev’rything.All are alike before the Highest;
’Tis easy for our God, we know,
To raise thee up, though low thou liest,
To make the rich man poor and low.
True wonders still by Him are wrought
Who setteth up and brings to naught.Sing, pray, and keep His ways unswerving,
Perform thy duties faithfully,
And trust His Word; though undeserving,
Thou yet shalt find it true for thee.
God never yet forsook in need
The soul that trusted Him indeed.
Text: Public domain
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