VISITATION

Last week had two festivals in it–The Visitation on May 31 and The Ascension of Our Lord on June 2. Neither day was observed by any of the local Lutheran churches including my own. I grew up at a church that celebrated Ascension Day; of course the name of the church was Ascension Lutheran Church. I think I have tried once or twice to have Ascension Day services, but they were poorly attended. Nowadays even Good Friday is poorly attended so I don’t have much hope for observing the Ascension. Even most diocese of the Roman Catholic church transfer Ascension day to the following Sunday which doesn’t make much sense since the Ascension happened 40 days after Easter not 43. At my church no one asked about Ascension Day, though one person was upset that the church wouldn’t be open on Memorial Day. I have a hard time getting people to understand that the church observes the days of the liturgical calendar and not those of the civil calendar. Sometimes when Christmas Day falls on a Sunday some people want to know if services will be cancelled because it’s a holiday. Some churches actually did cancel services last time Christmas Day fell on Sunday, and I’ve seen some churches that call the Last Sunday in Advent Christmas Sunday. I suppose that’s the way things go.

As far as the Visitation (or the Visit of Mary to Elizabeth as Evangelical Lutheran Worship now calls it in its usual verbose manner), I don’t think I’ve ever had public worship on that day unless it might have happened to fall on a Sunday in a year when May 31 was after the Festival of the Holy Trinity. Fortunately the Gospel for the Visitation in also used on the last Sunday in Advent in year C of the three-year lectionary, so I get to preach on the topic at least once every three years.

The heart of the Visitation Gospel is the Magnificat, the song Mary sang. It’s something quite familiar to me since it is part of the order for Vespers, a service that was frequently used for evening services at the Lutheran Church where I was raised. I still remember it in the King James Version that we used.

My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in
God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded
the low estate of his handmaiden:
for, behold, from henceforth
all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath done to me great things;
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him
from generation to generation.
He hath shewed strength with his arm;
he hath scattered the proud
in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats,
and exalted them of low degree.
He hath filled the hungry with good things;
the rich he hath sent empty away.
He hath holpen his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy;
As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham,
and to his seed for ever.

Alright, I confess I liked the archaic word “holpen” in this version. I also liked that the Gloria Patri used to be attached to the canticle.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

In the Service Book and Hymnal as well as the Common Service Book before it, the Gloria Patri was sung at least three times in Vespers–once with the opening versicles, once at the conclusion of each psalm, and once at the conclusion of the canticle. The first half of it also appeared in the responsory after the lesson, but that was never used where I attended. There was something comforting about the repetition, like returning home after a journey.  With the Lutheran Book of Worship the Gloria Patri was dropped after the Psalm. With Evangelical Lutheran Worship it was dropped after the canticle and is sung only if Psalm 141 is sung. I believe the Gloria Patri was introduced into Christian worship as a response to the Arian heresy which denied that the Son Is truly God in the same was as the Father is God. Is it just a coincidence that the Gloria Patri is disappearing at the same time that there is a movement among some Lutherans to suppress the name of the Holy Trinity as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

In any case, this Magnificat is dear to Lutherans as it is to many Christians. Martin Luther wrote in his commentary on the Magnificat:

“The tender Mother of Christ . . . teaches us, with her words and by the example of her experience, how to know, love and praise God. For since she boasts, with heart leaping for joy and praising God, that He regarded her despite her low estate and nothingness.”

What a beautiful way to express this teaching.


May the Lord bless you on your journey and greet you on your arrival.

Wayne




Ascension Window from the building of Ascension Lutheran Church, Chicago.

The Visitation by Fra Angelico


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