Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Rochester, Pennsylvania
Henry Doktorski, III
July 26, 2015 – 9th Sunday after Pentecost
Guest Soloists: Sigbert Brauch, tenor; Karen Baker, contralto
In today’s readings, Second Kings describes how the prophet Elisha, the successor to Elijah, performed a miracle by feeding one hundred men with only twenty loaves of barley and an unspecified number of fresh ears of grain. The Psalmist declares, “You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing.” Ephesians reminds us, “the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine.” And finally, Mark describes how Jesus fed 5,000 people with only five barley loaves and two fish.
Our Hymn of the Day, “By Your Hand You Feed Your People” with lyrics by Susan R. Briehl and music by Marty Haugen, reminds us that the Master, in the form of the Holy Eucharist, feeds his people: “Christ’s own body, blessed and broken, cup o’erflowing, life outpoured, given as a living token of your world redeemed, restored.”
Marty Haugen (b. 1952) is a prolific American composer of liturgical music, whose works have become especially popular with Lutheran and Roman Catholic congregations. He holds a B. A. degree in psychology from Luther College and an M. A. degree in pastoral studies from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He composed the music for twenty hymns in our own “Evangelical Lutheran Worship,” including popular favorites such as “Shepherd Me, O God,” “We Walk By Faith,” “Healer of Our Every Ill,” and “Gather Us In.”
I met Marty Haugen at a National Association of Pastoral Musicians convention in Pittsburgh about fifteen years ago. I recall he is a very energetic man. You can hear a lovely arrangement of “By Your Hand You Feed Your People” by Marty Haugen on YouTube:
Scripture
2 Kings 4:42-44
Psalm 145: 10-18
Ephesians 3: 14-21
John 6:1-21
Music & Hymns
| Prelude | Leaning on the Everlasting Arms (Elisha Hoffman/ Anthony J. Showalter) |
| Gathering | LBW 412 Sing to the Lord of Harvest |
| Hymn of the Day | ELW 469 By Your Hand You Feed Your People |
| Offertory | My Jesus, I Love Thee (William R. Featherston/Adoniram J. Gordon) |
| Communion | When Peace, like a River (Horatio G. Spafford/Ville du Havre/Philip P. Bliss) |
| Sending | ELW 546 To Be Your Presence |
Sources
Holy Bible, New Revised Standard Version (Zonderfan: 1989)
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship (Augsburg Publishing House: 1978)
WOV: With One Voice (Augsburg Fortress: 1995)
W&P: Worship & Praise Songbook (Augsburg Fortress: 1999)
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship (Augsburg Fortress: 2006)
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org
Hymnary.org: http://www.hymnary.org
GIA Publications: http://www.giamusic.com