– The Strife Is O'er, the Battle Done (LSB 464) – The battle hymn of the Reformation, A Mighty Fortress, proclaims, “One little word can fell him” (the devil). That word is tetelestai – the Greek word for “It is finished.” Jesus’ victory over sin, death, and the devil is complete. Sunday’s hymn proclaims this loud and clear: The strife is o’er, the battle done; Now is the Victor’s triumph won.” Christ has set us free from our mortal enemies, to which we respond over and over, “Alleluia” – “Praise the Lord”!
"The Strife is O'er, the Battle Done" is a Christian hymn that is traditionally sung at Easter to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. It was originally a 17th-century Latin hymn, "Finita iam sunt proelia"; the popular English-language version is an 1861 translation by the English hymn writer Francis Pott. 1
The text of the hymn extols the triumphant Christ whose victory over death and Hell is described as a battle, as related in the Harrowing of Hell. The hymn also makes reference to Christ breaking the chains of hell and to Christ in Majesty. Each verse concludes with an Alleluia! refrain.
The strife is o'er, the battle done;
Now is the Victor's triumph won;
O let the song of praise be sung.
Alleluia!
Collect for Easter 3 – O almighty and eternal God, who hast bestowed on us the paschal mysteries in the token of the covenant of man’s redemption, give us the will to show forth in our lives that which we profess with our lips; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. 2
Sources:
The 1877 painting “The road to Emmaus,” Robert Zünd 1826-1909 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
1. "Francis Pott". hymnary.org..
2. Collect for Easter 3, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St, Louis
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