Pietist Passion of J. S. Bach

J. S. Bach by Haussman

   So J. S. Bach was not Mennonite, but his music has been sung in Mennonite churches for at least three centuries and will continue to shape and influence Mennonite music and church services for several more.  While I am unable to share much of the actual performance with readers of a blog such as this, a couple of ideas from Bach’s libretto did happen to stand out during this year’s performance – a couple of very touching original passages reflecting a high degree of spiritual pietism and a rather in-depth prescient study by Bach of the Postmodern concept of intertextuality.

Bach, Fusswaschung and the Mandatum

(c) Biblical Art on the WWW.

    Maundy Thursday commemorates the night Jesus prayed in the Garden, was betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter and began the Passion.  Holy Thursday is the anniversary of the Last Supper – for our purposes, the night Jesus instituted the rite of Fusswaschung or foot washing by washing the feet of his followers.

    The Roman Catholic Church celebrates the ceremony of Washing of Feet or Mandatum in the following manner “Following Jesus’ example of humble service, the presider and others wash the feet of various members of the assembly.  This act is our response to the ‘mandatum’.  Christ’s instruction in the Gospel to  humbly serve one another,” (Triduum Service Program, 21 Apr 2011).  For us this meant that four of us each staffed a chair and wash basin surrounding the baptismal fount in the central aisle of De Paul’s parish church – where only the day before we had gathered to hear a legendary performance of J. S. Bach’s St Matthew Passion brought to us by internationally renowned Soli Deo Gloria.  While Matthew’s version of the Passion does not in fact include foot washing, it does include the story of the woman and the alabaster jar of perfumed oils: