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The Kyrie Eleison

By Pr. Lisa Rygiel

Jo Moss is a prolific reader and often sends gems my way that she thinks I may be able to use someday.

This article is one she ran across back in November and sent to me for my e-formation fodder folder. It was written by Pr. Danielle Miller, Senior Pastor at Advent Lutheran Church located in NYC. It was part of a series entitled The Who, What, Where and Why of Worship.

It is about the Kyrie Eleison, a part of our worship to which we may not have paid much attention. The article gives us good reason to pay attention. “It is the prayer we pray when we do not know how to pray.” And these days, that seems often.

In our worship, we sing Kyrie eleison meaning Lord, have mercy. Traditionally this is sung, "Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy." Versions can differ but the essence of the prayer is intact. The kyrie eleison, commonly known as the kyrie, has been sung in different ways for thousands of years. The words bridge us to the larger body of Christ, throughout time and place. There is something about using the same words as the saints and sinners who have gone before that connects their pleading with ours. It is a prayer that binds us not only with God but also to everyone who has thrown themselves on the mercy of God's grace.

King David wrote in Psalm 51, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.” Even David, the golden child of Israel, had to depend not on his own merit but on the unfailing grace and forgiveness of God. “In the presence of God we implore, plead for, cry out for deliverance, salvation, wholeness and mercy. Like David (Psalm 51), Bartimaeus (Mark 10:47-48) or the dauntless Canaanite woman (Matt. 15: 22) kyrie eleison allows us an unrestrained ritual cry to God for a situation with which we don't know how to cope. (Dan Benedict)”

It is the prayer we pray when we do not know how to pray.

Kyrie eleison can get lost in the shuffle of our worship service. We are so used to it that we sometimes forget to take a step back and really think about what we are saying. But when we do take that moment to think about the words, to begin that kyrie eleison in the deepest parts of ourselves and let it spring forward, consuming our guilt as it spews out of our lips...in those moments we can truly understand its power.

Have mercy on us Lord. Have mercy on us Christ. Have mercy on us Lord.

Jan. 18, 2026, 2nd Sunday After Epiphany
10 a.m. Sunday Worship

Announcements

  • Fellowship: Join us after worship Sunday in the Fellowship Hall for coffee and conversation.
  • Lutheran Basics/New Member Class: At noon this coming Sunday, Pr. Lisa will conduct a class entitled Lutheran Basics for new members and anyone interested in understanding the basics of the Lutheran faith. Talk to Pr. Lisa for details.
  • The Way Ministry: At 1 p.m. each Sunday, Zion’s welcomes the Way ministry to our Fellowship Hall as they offer food and worship to the unhoused and others in need. Please keep this ministry in your prayers this winter season.
  • Wednesday Book Club: Pr. Lisa is leading a new Wednesday Book Club focusing upon What if Jesus was Serious – A Visual Guide to the Teachings of Jesus We Love to Ignore. The club meets at 10:30 Wednesdays in the Fellowship Hall.
  • Invitations from First United Methodist Church:
    • Women’s Conference Invitation: 6-7 – the Rev. Dr. Jan Everhart will lead a Women's Conference at First United Methodist Church in Raton. The topic is the Five Women in Jesus' Genealogy. Contact Pr. Jan E. or Pr. Lisa for registration information.
    • Time of Prayer: Members of the Zion’s family are invited to join our siblings in Christ from the Methodist church for a time of prayer and coffee at 10:30 a.m. each Thursday at Kangaroo Coffee, (in the Marketplace on Commercial Street).
  • Save the Dates:
    • 25 – RIC Sunday worship with special fellowship and lunch to follow – we are having hotdogs and hamburgers, please consider bringing a side dish or dessert.
    • 1 – Annual Congregational Meeting (after worship & potluck)

Congregational Annual Meeting Announcement: Zion’s Lutheran Church will conduct its Annual Congregational Meeting at 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 1, 2026, in the Fellowship Hall following worship and our First Sunday Potluck. Participation is in person and via Zoom, with the online link to be provided the week prior to the meeting. This is an annual event where we report on finances, resources, as well as committee and congregational activities.

Voting members will be asked to review and vote on the budget for 2026 and to elect church council members. Our church council consists of 9 members, of which 3 come up for election each year, and serve 3-year terms. If there is a partial-term vacancy, we will vote for someone to finish out that term, as well. This year we will vote for three members to serve 3-year terms.

Voting members are defined as confirmed members of Zion’s Lutheran who have communed in this congregation and contributed of record in the current or preceding calendar year. Voting members will receive copies of the proposed budget and agenda prior to the meeting via email.  Paper copies also will be available on Jan. 25.

If you have any questions regarding this meeting, please contact Council President Mike McNeil or Pastor Lisa. If you are interested in, or want more information about, serving on the church council, feel free to talk to any of our current council members.

E-formation

Last Sunday we heard Matthew’s version of the baptism of Jesus, and this coming Sunday we hear the story from John’s gospel. Listen for all the titles of Jesus that the evangelist John includes in his telling of the story. Like Andrew and Simon Peter, we too are called to the side of this Lamb of God.

John 1:29-42

As is often the case, John’s gospel presents a more developed Christology than do the synoptic gospels. John’s account of Jesus’ baptism develops the meaning of the baptism by providing more Christological titles. Christ is the sacrificial lamb, the teacher from God, and the one anointed to save the world.

Isaiah 49:1-7

The second Servant Song is appointed for this day to develop further the meaning of Jesus Christ and the significance of baptism for the Christians. The church has seen in the Servant Songs descriptions of Jesus Christ, who himself is the light of the nations, and has applied this passage also to baptism, as God calls the baptized to be servants to bring light to the world.

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Over the course of the three years in the weeks between Epiphany and Lent, the lectionary appoints semicontinuous readings from 1 Corinthians, chosen because this seminal letter of Paul describes the communal life expected among believers and calls them to lives of love. Today’s selection speaks of the church as called to be saints who call upon Jesus’ name, one way that Christians have described baptism.

Zion's Lutheran Church

zionsluth@gmail.com

719-846-7785