Nunc Dimittis

The text of the Nunc Dimittis is taken from the Song of Simeon in Luke 2:29-32, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” The Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he would not taste death until he saw the promised Messiah (Luke 2:26). When Jesus was born and brought to the temple, Simeon took him up in his arms and sang this canticle, declaring that he was ready to die in perfect peace because he had beheld the salvation of the whole world in the infant Christ.

The Nunc Dimittis is a most fitting canticle to sing after receiving the Lord’s Supper. Although we do not see Christ in human flesh with our eyes as Simeon did, the Holy Spirit works in us to behold Him with the eyes of faith to see that Jesus is truly present in His body and blood on the altar to bring us the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. Just as Simeon took up the infant Jesus in his arms, so we too have touched Christ in the eating and drinking of His body and blood. We therefore confess along with Simeon and the whole Church that we are ready to face death because we have seen the Lord’s salvation. We are at peace with God because Christ has covered us with His righteousness, and we are at peace with one another because Christ has knit us together as His body, the Church.

The Nunc Dimittis is a relatively new addition to the Divine Service. There is some evidence that it was sung in the Mozarabic Rite in ancient Spain, but it was more commonly used in the early and medieval churches as a canticle in the Office of Compline, a late evening prayer service (LSB p. 253). It began to appear in a few Lutheran orders of the Divine Service in the sixteenth century, but it did not gain widespread popularity until Wilhelm Löhe included it in his Agenda in 1844 for Lutheran churches in America.

Some settings of the Divine Service in theLutheran Service Bookinclude an alternate post-communion canticle, “Thank the Lord.” This text is drawn from the Psalms and calls upon us to give thanks to God for His wondrous works among us, namely, the incarnation and passion of our Lord, and our reception of Christ’s body and blood in the Sacrament. Our joyous gratitude to God prompts us to proclaim His wonderous deeds to all people that they too might be brought to saving faith in Christ.

The Distribution

The Words of Our Lord and the Distribution together form the high point of the Service of the Sacrament. The Words of Our Lord proclaim the Gospel—Jesus’ very body and blood given and shed for the forgiveness of sins. The Word of Christ makes the Sacrament what it is, but it would be of no benefit unless it was given to us in the Distribution, for Christ Himself says, “Take, eat,” and “Drink of it all of you” (Matthew 26:26-29). If Christ’s body and blood are not distributed for the people to eat and to drink, then the Lord’s Supper is no longer a Sacrament but a sacrifice or an object of devotion.

Scripture does not prescribe a specific manner in which to receive the Lord’s Supper, so practices are often left to local custom. As with the entire Divine Service, all should be done decently and in good order, with reverence and humility as we approach the altar of God. It is proper to examine oneself and prepare one’s heart and mind to receive the Sacrament (1 Corinthians 11:28). Confession and Absolution is part of this. There are also prayers inside the front cover of the Lutheran Service Book that can be prayed quietly before and after receiving communion. Luther’s “Christian Questions with Their Answers” for those who intend to go to the Sacrament are also provided on p. 329.

The rubric in the LSB states that the pastor and those who assist him receive the Sacrament first and then distribute Christ’s body and blood to the congregation (p. 199). The practice of the pastor communing himself first began in the ancient Church and was retained by Luther. This echoes the Old Testament practice of the Levites (the priests) having atonement made for them before carrying out their priestly responsibilities for the people (Numbers 8:20-22). The LSB provides two forms for the pastor to speak when distributing the Lord’s body and blood (p. 199). Both emphasize Christ’s true presence in the Sacrament and proclaim the Gospel personally to each communicant. It is fitting to respond, “Amen,” thereby confessing that what we receive is truly Christ’s body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine.

Hymns and Psalms have been sung during the Distribution since at least the fourth century. Singing allows the congregation to focus their devotion on Christ and not be overly distracted by the movement of people coming and going from the altar. Hymns sung during this time carry forward the Gospel reading for the day and reflect on the Gospel as we receive Christ’s gifts in the Sacrament.

Agnus Dei

Agnus Dei is Latin for “Lamb of God.” The text is drawn from John 1:29, where John the Baptist points his disciples to Jesus and says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” By calling Jesus the Lamb of God, John calls to mind several passages from the Old Testament which find their fulfillment in Christ. On the Day of Atonement, one goat was sacrificed for the people while their sins were laid upon a second goat to be cast out into the wilderness as the scapegoat (Leviticus 16). Perhaps more prominently, the Passover lamb, which was to be a lamb without blemish, was sacrificed for the Passover meal and its blood sprinkled on the doorposts as a sign that death had already entered that house and so could not enter again (Exodus 12). Finally, the prophet Isaiah pointed to the Suffering Servant as a lamb led silently to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:6-7). Christ Jesus, the true Paschal Lamb, is the fulfillment of all the prophecies and sacrifices of the Old Testament—the one and only sacrifice for the sin of the world whose blood was poured out for many and is now given to us with His body to eat and to drink in the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26:28).

The Agnus Dei made its way into the Western Church by the end of the seventh century and has remained associated with the Eucharist ever since. Having heard the Words of Our Lord spoken over the elements and the declaration that Christ Himself is our peace with God, the Church now joins together in song to confess that Christ, the Lamb of God, is truly present in the Sacrament. The Agnus Dei is a threefold prayer directed to Christ specifically as He is present on the altar under the bread and wine which we are about to receive.

In the Kyrie and Gloria in Excelsis earlier in the service, we sang of Christ’s salvific work and begged for God’s mercy to be shown to the world, the Church, and ourselves. That prayer now takes concrete shape as we plead for God’s mercy and peace to be given to us in Christ’s body and blood. It is only through God’s mercy, having been sprinkled with Christ’s blood and buried into death with Him in our Baptism (Romans 6:4), that we can approach the altar of God and live. The Agnus Dei connects us to the whole Church triumphant, the saints in heaven who sing the eternal song of praise, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain” (Revelation 5:12). Heaven descends to earth in this foretaste of the feast to come as Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, gives to us the peace which only He can give—the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation.