All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (July 4, 2020)
Evening Prayer
The Service of Light
Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
A light no darkness can extinguish.
O radiant Light, O Sun divine
of God the Father's deathless face,
O image of the light sublime
that fills the heav'nly dwelling place.
O Son of God, the source of life,
praise is your due by night and day.
Our happy lips must raise the strain
of your esteemed and splendid name.
Lord Jesus Christ, as daylight fades,
as shine the lights of eventide,
we praise the Father with the Son,
the Spirit blest, and with them one.
Thanksgiving
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, ruler of the universe! You
led your people Israel by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by
night. Enlighten our darkness by the light of your Christ. May his word be a
lamp to our feet and a light to our path; for you are full of loving kindness
for your whole creation, and we, your creatures, glorify you, Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
Psalm 141 is sung and incense may be burned.
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.
God our protector and guide, incline our hearts to turn from evil and do good, that our lives
may be a prayer for the coming of your kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Psalms
The Lord doth reign, and cloth'd is he
with majesty most bright;
His works do shew him cloth'd to be,
and girt about with might.
The world is also stablished,
that it cannot depart.
Thy throne is fix'd of old, and thou
from everlasting art.
The floods, O Lord, have lifted up,
they
lifted up their voice;
The floods have lifted up their waves,
and made a mighty noise.
But yet the Lord, that is on high,
is more of might by far
Than noise of many waters is,
or great sea-billows are.
Thy testimonies ev'ry one
in faithfulness excel;
And holiness for ever, Lord,
thine house becometh well.
Silence is kept.
Christ our King,
you put on the apparel of our nature
and raised us to your glory;
reign from your royal throne
above the chaos of this world,
that all may see the victory you have won
and trust in your salvation;
for your glory’s sake. Amen.
The Proclamation of the Word
The Reading
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn,
and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give,
and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together,
running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the
measure you get back.’
He also told them a parable: ‘Can a blind person guide a
blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above the
teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher. Why
do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your
own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbour, “Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye”, when
you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the
log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of
your neighbour’s eye.
The Gospel of Christ
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Homily
A
Gracious People of a Gracious God
I consider this passage from Luke’s Gospel one of the
trickiest passages in the Bible. We are apt to take the verse “do not judge,
and you will not be judged” and conclude from that verse that we should not
make judgments about other people at all. But is that what Jesus is saying?
When we look at Jesus’ earthly ministry, we discover that he himself at times
does make judgement about other people . Are we then to conclude that Jesus is
contradicting himself? I don’t think so. I think that we need to consider this
verse in the context of what else he says in this passage.
First, Jesus emphasizes that we should be merciful as God
is merciful. In other words we should show mercy toward other people as God
shows mercy toward us. We should treat them with kindness and forgiveness as
God treats us with kindness and forgiveness. We should not be harsh or cruel or
unforgiving.
He then goes on to say that we will be judged by the same
measure as we judge other people. If we are excessively critical of other
people, we should not be surprised if they are excessively critical of us. He
is not saying that we should not criticize other people when criticism may be
warranted and they may benefit from a reproof, done with a kind intent to
correct a fault. In the words of the apostle Paul, “we speak the truth in love.”
As one writer put it, we “share difficult truths in a gentle, kind, inoffensive
manner.” He is saying, however, we should not criticize other people with
unnecessary harshness. He further points out that if we withhold forgiveness
from others, we should not be surprised if they withhold forgiveness from us. Jesus
is expanding upon his teaching about treating others the way that we ourselves
would want to be treated. “‘In everything do to others as you would have them
do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.”
Jesus further warns about looking for the faults and
shortcomings of other people and drawing their faults and shortcomings to their
attention while ignoring our own faults and shortcomings. The late psychiatrist
Eric Berne called this preoccupation with other people’s faults and
shortcomings “Blemish” in his book Games People Play. By focusing on other
people’s blemishes we are able to feel superior to other people and to avoid the
discomfort that facing up to our own faults and shortcomings might cause us. Jesus
in his teaching criticizes such behavior.
Before we point their faults and shortcomings to the
attention of other people, even if it is to help them correct these faults and
shortcomings, Jesus tells us, we should first look at what we may doing wrong
and do something about it. He also implies that we should weigh our motives for
doing so. He is not saying that we should not bring their faults and shortcomings
to their attention but we should deal with our own faults and shortcomings
first. Our faults and shortcomings may be greater than theirs.
Jesus is also not saying that we should be constantly finding
fault with other people, throwing up to them what we perceive are their
blemishes. On the other hand, Jesus is saying that those who believe that they
are faultless need to take a good hard look at themselves. They may be blind to
their own faults and shortcomings which may be glaringly obvious to other
people.
The apostle Paul, when he urged the church at Ephesus and later
generations of Christians,”…be imitators of God, as beloved children,” caught
the essence of this passage. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the
God of all grace. He is kind, merciful, and forgiving. As his children, that is
also the way that God expects us to be—kind, merciful, and forgiving. A
gracious people of a gracious God.
Silence is kept.
The Gospel Canticle
My soul
proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
And from this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me,
holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and sent the rich away empty handed.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
And from this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me,
holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and sent the rich away empty handed.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
to
Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Intercessions
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
Collect
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
And now,
as our Saviour has taught us,
we are
bold to say,
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.
Dismissal
1 Jesus, the joy of loving hearts,
true source of life and light of men:
from the best bliss that earth imparts
we turn unfilled to you again.
true source of life and light of men:
from the best bliss that earth imparts
we turn unfilled to you again.
2 Your truth unchanged has ever stood,
you rescue those who on you call:
to those yet seeking, you are good —
to those who find you, all-in-all.
you rescue those who on you call:
to those yet seeking, you are good —
to those who find you, all-in-all.
3 We taste of you, the living bread,
and long to feast upon you still;
we drink from you, the fountain-head,
our thirsty souls from you we fill.
we drink from you, the fountain-head,
our thirsty souls from you we fill.
4 Our restless spirits long for you,
whichever way our lot is cast,
glad when your gracious smile we view,
blessed when our faith can hold you fast.
whichever way our lot is cast,
glad when your gracious smile we view,
blessed when our faith can hold you fast.
5 Jesus, for ever with us stay,
make all our moments calm and bright;
chase the dark night of sin away,
spread through the world your holy light.
chase the dark night of sin away,
spread through the world your holy light.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The Lord bless us and keep
us.
The Lord make his face to
shine upon us
and be gracious to us.
The Lord lift up his
countenance upon us
and give us peace. Amen
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