THE GOSPEL LESSON Luke 23:24-26,32-34
THE COVENANT LESSON Jeremiah 31:31-34
SERMON "The Covenant of Grace: Jeremiah's Story"
Worship Notes
In today's worship, we continue our journey in Lent to deepen our covenantal relationship with God. The liturgical color for the season is purple. Each Sunday in Lent, we will explore an aspect of God's covenant with creation. This covenant is not only vertical, but also includes a horizontal dimension emphasizing how our relationship with God is reflected in how we relate to one another. Each Sunday in Lent, we will also reflect on one of the last words of spoken by Jesus from the cross. This we do to remember that our Lenten journey culminates in the crucifixion on Good Friday, which this year will be observed in a single worship service involving all Madison's Presbyterian congregations. These seven last words of Christ will be the basis for this joint Good Friday Service of Tenebrae, which will also include the music of Mozart's Requiem.
Our worship begins and ends today with pieces drawn from Mozart's collection of "Church Sonatas" or "Epistle Sonatas." The church sonatas offered in the prelude (KV 67 and KV 68) and the offertory (KV 144) were composed in 1772. The church sonata offered in the postlude (KV 224) was composed in 1776. These works clearly demonstrate Mozart's composition style, which is void of almost any distinction between sacred and secular music. These short instrumental pieces, which are scored for two violins, cello, and organ, were designed to transition between the reading of the Epistle and Gospel lessons in the Mass. As an organist, Mozart typically would have improvised music on the organ for this purpose. However, an Epistle Sonata offered a variation for use when stringed instruments were available. The short length of these sonatas is not unintentional as the Archbishop was very strict about the length of the Mass. In 1776, Mozart wrote to his friend Padre Martini concerning the Archbishop's directive that "...a Mass, with the whole Kyrie, Gloria, Epistle Sonata, Offertory or Motet, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei, must last no more than three-quarters of an hour..." Mozart's Requiem, which will be part of our Good Friday Service of Tenebrae, is itself a relatively short setting of the mass form.
