July 28th: A Commemoration of J.S. Bach by Laura Potratz

Laura Potratz, LSM Associate Cantor, shares a beautifully written observation of J.S. Bach’s Cantata BWV 25: Es ist nichts Gesundes an meinem Leibe (There is nothing healthy in my body).

There is nothing healthy in my body

Today is July 28.

In the Lutheran church, today marks the commemoration of Johann Sebastian Bach. Normally the LSM community would have gathered two Sundays ago to experience one of Bach's many cantatas written for a specific Sunday in the church year. Some months ago, early in the pandemic, a friend of mine made me aware of BWV 25, a cantata called Es ist nichts Gesundes an meinem Leibe (There is nothing healthy in my body). There has never been a time in my life when the great treasury of musical heritage failed to speak, and despite the scale of the current world health crisis, this period is no exception.

This cantata was written for Bach's Lutheran church, Thomaskirche, for Sunday, August 29, 1723. For more than three years leading up to that time, there was an outbreak of bubonic plague in Marseilles, France, where about half the population had died, and the disease was spreading north. Though some 800 miles from Bach's workplace of Leipzig, he most likely would have known about a disaster of this scale. So when the appointed texts for this day included the text from Luke 17 where Jesus heals ten lepers--ten distanced, suffering, diseased people--his mind wove together the title (from Psalm 38:3), two chorale tunes (See LSB 449 and 692 or ELW 606 and 783 to satisfy your curiosity!), and poetry relating the condition of the lepers to the spiritual ailing of humanity.

Great art distinguishes itself by speaking to many generations of people. It takes no imagination to connect The whole world is just a hospital from the tenor recitative to the reality we are all living during these days. Likewise, the out-of-control desires relating to vanity and money are omnipresent in the turmoil of how we humans are treating each other and God's world.

But if the first half of the cantata expresses fear, anxiety, and suffering, the second half calls on the Great Healer for help, presence, and strength: You alone, my doctor, Lord Jesus, know the best cure for the soul. Thanks abound at the mere prospect of God's aid--before aid even arrives. We have faith and hope, even with an outcome as yet unknown.

You can enjoy hearing this cantata here and understand its words better here.

Peace and Blessings on your July 28th!