Nunc Dimittis, Post-Communion Collects, and Benediction:
Departing in Peace
I.
As one of the four Lucan Canticles, the “Song of Simeon” (Latin incipit: Nunc Dimittis), has always enjoyed broad appreciation within the devotional piety of the church. From Luke’s Gospel, we hear tell of a righteous and devout man named Simeon, a man who is waiting for the consolation of Israel, a man who is hanging by a promise. The Lord had promised that Simeon would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ and, in Jesus, God makes good on his promise. Forty days after giving birth, Mary brings the child Jesus to the temple to present him to the Lord. Simeon takes the child into his arms and sings his song: “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.” With these words, Simeon commits himself, body, soul, and all things, into the hands of the Lord. He can depart, that is, die, in peace because he holds in his hands the one who has the power over death, namely, Jesus. This babe of Bethlehem is the savior of mankind, a light for the Gentiles and the glory of Israel. With this simple song, faith triumphs over fear and life conquers death.
In the Divine Service we are united with Simeon in heart and voice. We are one in song and we are one in seeing the salvation of God. In the Lord’s Supper we hold in our hands the very Body and Blood of Christ, the promised Savior of the world, who gives us forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. Having received this great gift, we too, like Simeon, can depart in peace. We can leave the service, indeed, we can leave this life, knowing that whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s and nothing can separate us from him—not sin, not the devil, and not even death itself. As such, the Christian Divine Service is very much a preparation for dying, a dress rehearsal for death. Hermann Sasse once wrote that Christians go to the Lord’s Supper as if to death, so that when they go to death they go as if to the Lord’s Supper— in faith and joy. Sadly, by and large, Christians no longer know how to prepare for the Lord’s Supper and consequently they no longer know how to prepare for death. Far too many mourn without hope, filled with inconsolable fear rather than an unconquerable faith. If we are to change this, the Nunc Dimittis is the starting point.
As far as the history of this canticle is concerned, the Nunc Dimittis was originally used as an evening canticle in the services of Vespers and Compline, however, fairly early on we also see its use in the Sunday Divine Service as evidenced by the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom in the East. In the West it was not as widely used, following the western penchant for simplicity. During the time of the Reformation only a smattering of church orders include it, for example, the Strassburg order (1525), the Döber Nürnberg order (1525), and the Swedish Mass of Olavus Petri (1531). Among the Lutheran churches, the Nunc Dimittis didn’t enjoy popular usage until the 19th century in America. The obvious source of this development is one Wilhelm Löhe, a founding father of the Missouri Synod. In 1844 Löhe published his Agende für christliche Gemeinden des lutherischen Bekenntnisses, which included the Nunc Dimittis sung in German as a post communion canticle. In 1853 when Löhe published the second and expanded edition of this church agenda he again included the Nunc Dimittis with the rationale that it was used among the most ancient Lutheran liturgies as a post communion canticle. Following Löhe’s direction, every LCMS hymnal since 1889 has included the Nunc Dimittis as a post communion canticle. Lutheran Service Book includes three distinct texts of the Nunc Dimittis. Settings one and two make use of the translation given by the International Consultation on English Texts (ICET). Setting three uses the translation from the 1888 Common Service. Setting four uses a paraphrase composed by Edwin Ryden and Stephen Starke. The tunes for the Nunc Dimittis in settings one and two were composed by Richard Hillert and Ronald Nelson respectively. The tune in setting three hails from a Gregorian melody in use already in the Pomeranian church order of 1535. The tune in setting four is a Finnish folk tune that originated in the town of Kuortane.
II.
Having sung the Nunc Dimittis, the congregation moves to a section of closing verses and responses which culminate in the Post-Communion Collect. The act of praying after receiving the Body and Blood of Christ is an ancient practice that hails back to at least the fourth century. The most ancient post-communions collects usually exhibit a dual focus: on the one hand, giving thanks for God’s forgiveness, life, and salvation and, on the other hand, asking blessing for the people who have received. In Luther’s reform of the mass, he opted to standardize the otherwise highly varied post-communion collects of the Middle Ages. Additionally, he purified the Post-Communion Collect of all references to sacrifice as he had with the canon of the mass generally.
The standard Post-Communion Collect that he composed for the German Mass has been preserved to this day as the standard collect after communion in the Lutheran liturgy. Though Lutheran Service Book gives three options, the first is Luther’s:
“We give thanks to you, almighty God, that you have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore you that of your mercy you would strengthen us through the same in faith toward you and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ…”
Luther’s collect nicely gathers together a prayer of thanks acknowledging God’s gift in the Supper and a prayer of blessing asking God to grant “faith” toward God and “fervent love” toward our neighbor. In this way Luther rightly divides Law and Gospel such that God is given his due in faith and the neighbor is given his due in love.
The second option given in Lutheran Service Book is taken from the 13th century English Sarum rite:
“O God the Father, the fountain and source of all goodness, who in loving-kindness sent your only-begotten Son into the flesh, we thank you that for his sake you have given us pardon and peace in this sacrament, and we ask you not to forsake your children but always to rule our hearts and minds by your Holy Spirit that we may be enabled constantly to serve you; through Jesus Christ…”
This collect takes on a uniquely trinitarian form. It acknowledges the Father as the fount and source of all good, the Son as the incarnate and vicarious victim for our sins, and the Holy Spirit as the one who rules and governs our hearts enabling holy service. Likewise it incorporates a beautiful petition for God, who has blessed us in the Supper, to continue to bless us all our lives long.
The third option given in Lutheran Service Book is taken from the Hymnal Supplement 1998:
“Gracious God, our heavenly Father, you have given us a foretaste of the feast to come in the Holy Supper of your Son’s body and blood. Keep us firm in the true faith throughout our days of pilgrimage that, on the day of his coming, we may, together with all your saints, celebrate the marriage feast of the Lamb in his kingdom which has no end; through Jesus Christ…”
This collect incorporates a distinctly eschatological or end-times focus. The Supper is cast as a “foretaste” of the feast to come. Our life is described as a “pilgrimage” which acknowledges that we are not yet at home with the Lord in the new creation. Our hope is couched entirely in “the day of his coming” where we will join the church triumphant in victory. Seasonally, this very much aligns with the final days of Trinity and All Saints.
The three options given in Lutheran Service Book all serve as a wonderful conclusion to the reception of the Supper. Though seasonal variation is certainly a good practice, one would not want to rotate every week. Consistency allows the congregation to be saturated in the language and meaning of the collect and enables true meditation.
III.
The service concludes with the congregation blessing the Lord (Benedicamus) and the Lord blessing the congregation (Benediction). The form of blessing has varied over the church’s history from very simple to more elaborate. The most simple would be something to the effect of, “May the Lord bless us!” (Latin: Benedicat nos Dominus), as evidenced by the early Roman liturgies. Slightly more grand and trinitarian, “May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Following Psalm 67, Luther offers, “God, even our own God shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.” However, the most elaborate and most common today follows Luther’s suggestion in his German Mass to use the benediction of Numbers 6, “The LORD bless you and keep you, the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the LORD look upon you with favor and give you peace.”
This latter benediction is called the Aaronic Benediction because it is the benediction that Aaron as the High Priest would place on the people at the end of the Old Testament daily Divine Service. This benediction formed the only verbal portion of the entire service. Nothing else was said and as such it was a highly significant liturgical moment. Theologically, with this benediction the High Priests would put the most holy name of God on the people whereby he would dwell among them, sanctify them, and give them health and life. The promise of God in the Old Testament stands to this day such that whenever the Aaronic Benediction is used, God’s name is placed on the people and thereby he is made present among us, sanctifies us, and blesses us in body and soul. This word of blessing, as with the word of creation, is an effective word. The speaking of the blessing gives the blessing. It is not a case of “mere words” but a solemn gift of the Gospel. With this gift, God gets the last word and we end where we began, with God’s name and blessing upon us.
Rev. Philip D. Bartelt
Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd
The Eve of St. Valentine, 2025
