All Hallows Vespers for Sunday Evening (June 21, 2020)

A lamp or candle may be lit.

You, O Lord, are my lamp;

my God, you make my darkness bright.

The light and peace of Jesus Christ be with you

and also with you.

This, or a seasonal prayer of thanksgiving, is said

Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night:

to you be praise and glory for ever.

As darkness falls you renew your promise

to reveal among us the light of your presence.

By the light of Christ, your living Word,

dispel the darkness of our hearts

that we may walk as children of light

and sing your praise throughout the world.

Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit:

Blessed be God for ever.

Other candles may be lit as Phos Hilaron – A Song of the Light – is sung.

Open this link in a new tab to hear the American Repertory Singers sing Carl P. Schalk choral setting of the Phos Hilaron, “Joyous Light of Glory.”

  

Joyous light of glory of the immortal Father,
Heavenly, holy, blessed Jesus Christ,
We have come to the setting of the Sun
And we look to the evening light.
We sing to God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy of being praised with pure voices forever.
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
The universe proclaims your glory.

Psalm 141 is sung and incense may be burned.

Open this link in a new tab to hear the  Choir sing Peter Inwood’s setting of Psalm 141, “O Lord, Let My Prayer Rise Before You Like Incense.”

PSALM 141

O Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,

my hands like an evening offering.

1. Lord, I am calling:

hasten to help me.

Listen to me as I cry to you.

Let my prayer rise before you like incense,

my hands like an evening offering.

O Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,

my hands like an evening offering.

2. Lord, set a guard at my mouth,

keep watch at the gate of my lips.

Let my heart not turn to things that are wrong,

to sharing the evil deeds done by the sinful.

No, I will never taste their delights.

O Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,

my hands like an evening offering.

3. The good may reprove me,

in kindness chastise me,

but the wicked shall never anoint my head.

Ev’ry day I counter their malice with prayer.

O Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,

my hands like an evening offering.

4 To you, Lord, my God, my eyes are turned:

in you I take refuge;

do not forsake me.

Keep me from the traps they have set for me,

from the snares of those who do evil.

O Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,

my hands like an evening offering.

5 Praise to the Father, praise to the Son,

all praise to the life-giving Spirit.

As it was, is now and shall always be

for ages unending. Amen.     

O Lord, let my prayer rise before you as incense,

my hands like an evening offering.

Silence is kept.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,

so may your mercy come down upon us

to cleanse our hearts

and set us free to sing your praise

now and for ever.

Amen.

The Word of God

Psalmody

This psalm or some other suitable psalm (click here) is sung.

Open this link in a new tab to hear the OCP Session Choir sing Christopher Walker’s setting of Psalm 27, “The Lord Is My Light, My Help, My Salvation.”

PSALM 27

The Lord is my light, my help, my salvation.
Why should I fear? With God I fear no one.
God protects me all my life.
With the Lord what should I dread?

The Lord is my light, the Lord is my help,
The Lord is my salvation.

There is one thing I ask, of God that I long for:
All of my days with God to be dwelling.
Gazing with awe at the beauty of God,
And in wonder look on God's house.

The Lord is my light, the Lord is my help,
The Lord is my salvation.

I know I will live to see the Lord's goodness;
Now, in this life, I'm sure I will see it.
Trust in the Lord, be strong and be brave;
Wait in hope for God, our salvation.

The Lord is my light, the Lord is my help,
The Lord is my salvation

Silence is kept.

Faithful God, the shelter of all who hope in you, may those who seek your face be set free from fear and distress, and come to see your goodness in the land of the living; through Jesus Christ, our Light and our Salvation .

The Dignus es (The Song to the Lamb) or some other suitable New Testament canticle (click here) is sung

Open this link in a new tab to hear the Morning Star Session Choir sing Mark Burkhardt’s hymn-anthem setting of Carl P. Daw’s “Splendor and Honor, Majesty and Power.”

SPLENDOR AND HONOR, MAJESTY AND POWER

Splendor and honor, majesty and power,

are yours, O Lord God, fount of every blessing,

for by your bidding was the whole creation

called into being.

Praised be the true Lamb, slain for our redemption,

by whose self-offering we are made God's people:

a priestly kingdom, from all tongues and nations,

called to God's service.

To the Almighty, throned in heavenly splendor,

and to the Savior, Christ our Lamb and Shepherd,

be adoration, praise, and glory given,

now and for ever. Amen.

Scripture Reading

A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders,  if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. This Jesus is

“the stone that was rejected by you, the builders;
    it has become the cornerstone.”

There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.’

Your word is a lamp to my feet
 and a light to my path.

There Is Salvation in No One Else

To put this passage from the Acts of the Apostles into context, Peter and John had encountered at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple a beggar who had been lame from the birth. The beggar had asked them for alms. Peter had told the beggar that he had no silver nor gold but had in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth bidden him to stand up and walk. The beggar was miraculously healed. He had entered the Temple with Peter and John, walking and leaping and praising God.  

All the people were filled with amazement and wonder at what had happened to the beggar. They had flocked around Peter, John, and the beggar in Solomon’s Portico and Peter had addressed them. He had told them that faith in Jesus’ name has healed the beggar. Peter has called upon them to repent and turn to God and to recognize Jesus for whom he was—God’s Anointed, the long-awaited Messiah.

The priests, the captain of the Temple, and the Sadducees had arrested Peter and John and had held them in custody until the next day when they had been brought them before the council of rulers, elders, and scribes who questioned them, demanding to know by what power or by what name they had performed the miracle. In the passage we have just read, we hear Peter’s response.

After sending Peter and John away, the council would discuss what they should do. The council would call back Peter and John and order them to desist from speaking and teaching in Jesus’ name. Peter and John would respond with these words, “Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.” The council would threatened them again and let them go.

Today it is not just the Jewish religious authorities taking issue with Peter’s claim, it is Christians for whom Peter’s declaration that there is salvation in no one else has become a real conundrum.

These Christians may have been influenced by the belief that all religions are alike and the related belief that all religions lead to God. These are common beliefs in our day and time. While religions may have similarities, a close examination of their teachings, however, reveals fundamental differences.

Buddhism, for example, does not teach a belief in a supreme being. While Buddhists may offer prayers to the Buddha and to various bodhisattvas, individuals who are on the path to enlightenment, these individuals are not viewed as deities. The aim of Buddhism is through meditation and ascetic practices to escape the cycle of reincarnation in which Buddhists believe that human beings are caught.

Wiccans, while they may be united in a common practice of witchcraft, subscribe to a variety of beliefs. Practitioners of Wicca who have been influenced by Celtic mythology honor the Goddess in her three aspects, Maiden, Matron, and Crone, and her consort, the Horned One whose head is crowned with the antlers of a stag.

The more one digs into the beliefs of the different religions, the more evident their fundamental differences become.

One is more likely to find Christians struggling with this conundrum because they have a friend or relative who is not a Christian and they are concerned about what will happen to that person when he or she dies. This individual may be a loving, caring person who lives a commendable life. It is difficult for them to conceive a loving God rejecting such a person because he or she has not expressed faith in Jesus Christ.

But the problem here—and you may disagree with this analysis—is that we are assuming that we know how a loving God should act. Indeed we are establishing a standard for how we believe that God should act and then judging God for not meeting that standard, based upon what Scripture teaches. From the perspective of the Bible, what we are doing is rather presumptuous: We are putting ourselves in the place of God.

C. S. Lewis, a British author, literary scholar, and lay theologian wrestled with this conundrum in two of his works, The Great Divorce, and The Last Battle, the last book of the Narnia Chronicles. In the Great Divorce he imagined that people who had not repented from their sins and turned to Jesus in this life would be given an opportunity to do so after they died—a second chance so to speak. In The Last Battle Aslan welcomes a young Calorman into heaven because, while he served the god Tash in his life, dedicating his life to all that was good, true, and beautiful, the one he was really serving was Aslan.

Both notions are admittedly appealing. God, after all, is a God of second chances. He did not write off humanity after the fall. God is indeed the source of all that is good, true, and beautiful.

The problem with these two notions is that we find no support for them in Scripture. Devotion to all that is good, true, and beautiful is not synonymous with devotion to God.

At this point we may be tempted to say to ourselves, “What if Scripture is wrong….?” If we take the step of assuming the Bible is wrong on this count, we may eventually conclude that the Bible is wrong on a host of other issues, effectively demolishing a major underpinning of the Christian faith.

The Scriptures testify to the character and teaching of Jesus Christ and to his credentials as God’s Anointed, the Messiah. Most importantly they testify to his revelation of what God is really like—a God who cares about those whom he created and who goes to great lengths to affect a lasting reconciliation between himself and his creation.

As with any complicated or difficult problem, the solution to this conundrum is not simple or easy.

The solution to the conundrum, I believe, lies in the God whom Jesus reveals. We can get to know his ways better by getting to know Jesus better. He is a gracious God, a God who shows compassion toward those who are suffering. In the events leading up to Peter’s declaration God heals a beggar who has been lame from birth.

I am not suggesting a particular solution to the conundrum but rather we seek our solution in Jesus. The more that we come to know Jesus, the more we will understand what Peter meant when he said, “There is salvation in no one else.”

Open this link to hear the Morning Star Session Choir sing Scott Bailey’s choral setting of the eighteenth century poem, “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree.”

JESUS CHRIST THE APPLE TREE

The tree of life my soul hath seen,

Laden with fruit and always green:

The trees of nature fruitless be

Compared with Christ the apple tree.

His beauty doth all things excel

 By faith I know, but ne'er can tell

The glory which I now can see

In Jesus Christ the apple tree.

For happiness I long have sought

And pleasure dearly I have bought:

I missed of all; but now I see

Tis found in Christ the apple tree.

I'm weary with my former toil,

Here I will sit and rest awhile:

Under the shadow I will be,

Of Jesus Christ the apple tree.

This fruit doth make my soul to thrive,

It keeps my dying faith alive;

Which makes my soul in haste to be

With Jesus Christ the apple tree.

Gospel Canticle

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary) is sung. It is customary to make the sign of the cross at the beginning of the Magnificat.

Open this link in a new tab to hear the Frank Brownstead Choir sing Bernadette Farrell - Owen Alstott’s setting of the Magnificat.

MAGNIFICAT

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
My spirit sings to God, my saving God,
Who on this day above all others favored me
And raised me up, a light for all to see.

Through me great deeds will God make manifest,
And all the earth will come to call me blest.
Unbounded love and mercy sure will I proclaim
For all who know and praise God's holy name.

God's mighty arm, protector of the just,
Will guard the weak and raise them from the dust.
But mighty kings will swiftly fall from thrones corrupt.
The strong brought low, the lowly lifted up.

Soon will the poor and hungry of the earth
Be richly blest, be given greater worth.
And Israel, as once foretold to Abraham,
Will live in peace throughout the promised land.

All glory be to God, Creator blest,
To Jesus Christ, God's love made manifest,
And to the Holy Spirit, gentle Comforter,
All glory be, both now and ever more.

Prayers

Thanksgivings may be said for the day.

Intercessions are offered.

That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful:

we entreat you, O Lord.

That your holy angels may lead us in the paths of peace and goodwill:

we entreat you, O Lord.

That we may be pardoned and forgiven for our sins and offences:

we entreat you, O Lord.

That there may be peace in your Church and for the whole world:

we entreat you, O Lord.

That we may be bound together by your Holy Spirit,

in communion with the ever-blessed Virgin Mary and with all your saints,

entrusting one another and all our life to Christ:

we entreat you, O Lord.

Let us commend ourselves, and all for whom we pray,

to the mercy and protection of God.

Open prayer may be offered and silence is kept.

The following is said.

Lighten our darkness,

Lord, we pray,

and in your great mercy

defend us from all perils and dangers of this night,

for the love of your only Son,

our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer is said

Gathering our prayers and praises into one,

Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done;

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power, and the glory

for ever and ever.

Amen.

The Conclusion

The service ends with one of the following, or another blessing or ending.

The Blessing

The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil,

and keep us in eternal life.

Amen.

[Let us bless the Lord.

Thanks be to God.]

Open this link in a new tab to hear the OCP Session Choir sing James Quinn – Laura Wasson’s setting of St. Patrick’s Breastplate.

CHRIST BE BESIDE ME

Christ be beside me,

Christ be before me,

Christ be behind me,

King of my heart,

Christ be within me,

Christ be below me,

Christ be above me,

Never to part.

Christ on my right hand,

Christ on my left hand,

Christ all around me,

Shield in the strife.

Christ in my sleeping,

Christ in my sitting,

Christ in my rising,

Light of my life.

Christ be in all hearts

Thinking about me.

Christ be on all tongues

Telling of me.

Christ be the vision

In eyes that see me,

In ears that hear me

Christ ever be.