Pondering this Sunday's Gospel of the Raising of Lazarus, I've been playing the "Credo" of Bach's Mass in B Minor, perhaps the very summit of Bach's genius "soli Deo gloria."I am always especially moved by the close of the "Credo." The concluding words of the preceding section "in remissionem peccatorum" are drawn out in a solemn, almost foreboding fashion. Is it too much to imagine the gathering of those at the tomb of Lazarus -- grief, uncertainty, hope all intermingled.And then the trumpet-cry of Jesus: "Come forth!" And the "et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum" of Bach raises goose bumps at every listening.Here is a performance by Karl Richter.

Robert P. Imbelli, a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, is a longtime Commonweal contributor.

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