Lord Have Mercy
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy on us.
The Kyrie is theologically located at the intersection of Law and Gospel. It is an act of confession and petition — an acknowledgment of human failing and a cry for divine mercy — and in that sense it presupposes the Law's work of exposing sin. Haugen's verses make this explicit by naming specific sins of word, deed, and omission (pride, anger, broken promises, neglect of the neighbor). This is genuine Law in the Lutheran sense: the text does not allow worshipers to generalize vaguely about 'sinfulness' but instead applies the accusing word to concrete relational failures. At the same time, the very grammar of 'Lord have mercy' is Gospel-leaning. It is addressed to the God who is already known to be merciful — the cry assumes that mercy is possible, even expected. In Lutheran liturgical tradition, the Kyrie functions as part of the entrance rite precisely because it clears the ground for the Gloria and for the proclamation of the Word. The mercy being petitioned is not earned but received; the posture of the text is that of the blind Bartimaeus or the ten lepers — crying out in trust that Christ will indeed respond. In this sense the text enacts the theology of the cross: the assembly comes before God not in self-sufficiency but in honest need. The social dimension of Haugen's third verse (poor, hungry, homeless, captive, stranger) has particular resonance in ecumenical Lutheran use. Lutheran theology's emphasis on vocation and the Christian's responsibility to the neighbor in the world, combined with a Lutheran hermeneutic of Law that includes structural and social accountability, means this verse functions as genuine Law-preaching about the church's failure to love the neighbor as God commands. Planning this text in Lent or at the opening of a service creates a liturgical moment of honest reckoning that prepares the assembly to receive absolution and the word of grace.
History & Background
Marty Haugen composed this musical setting of the ancient Kyrie Eleison litany in 1984 for GIA Publications. The text draws on the immemorial Greek acclamation 'Kyrie Eleison' (Lord, have mercy) that has formed part of Christian liturgy since at least the fourth century, appearing in the Apostolic Constitutions and embedded deeply in both Eastern and Western rites. Haugen's innovation was to expand the ancient threefold cry into a fuller litany format with penitential verses that give specific, concrete content to the confession of sin implied in the Kyrie — moving from personal failings (anger, pride, broken promises) outward to social and structural dimensions (the poor, homeless, captive). The piece was published through GIA and quickly found adoption in the post-Vatican II Catholic repertoire, appearing in successive editions of Gather and the Worship hymnals. Its accessible, singable refrain and its structurally clear verse-refrain format made it suitable for congregational use even with minimal rehearsal. The social-justice dimension of the third verse particularly resonated with communities shaped by Catholic Social Teaching and by the broader ecumenical concern for justice hymnody that characterized the 1980s. Ecumenically, the text has been embraced widely because the Kyrie is one of the oldest and most cross-traditional elements of Christian worship — present in Lutheran liturgies in the Deutsche Messe and Lutheran Service Book traditions, in Anglican rites, and of course in Catholic and Orthodox practice. Haugen's setting made an ancient form freshly accessible to modern congregations, and it has been used in Lutheran, Methodist, and interdenominational worship settings alongside its primary Catholic context.
Bulletin Note
The Kyrie ('Lord, have mercy') has been sung in Christian worship since the fourth century. This setting by Marty Haugen (GIA, 1984) expands the ancient acclamation into a litany naming personal sin and social need.
Preaching Connection
Haugen's Kyrie gives the preacher a congregational anchor for sermons on confession, forgiveness, or the works of mercy — the assembly has already named, in song, the very failures and the very neighbor-needs that the sermon can then address with the Gospel's answer.
Catechism & Confessional Connections
- Confession of Sin Small Catechism — Confession
Themes
mercy confession penitence Kyrie forgiveness social justice care for the poor humility intercession Lent