All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (July 25, 2020)
Evening Prayer
The Service of Light
Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
A light no darkness can extinguish.
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,
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,
your glory, your glory.
Thanksgiving
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
We praise you, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe!
Your word brings on the dusk of evening,
your wisdom creates both night and day.
You determine the cycles of time,
arrange the succession of the seasons,
and establish the stars in their heavenly courses.
Lord of the starry hosts is your name.
Living and eternal God,
rule over us always.
Blessed be the Lord,
whose word makes evening fall.
Amen.
Psalm 141 is sung and incense may be burned.
Like
burning incense, O Lord,
let
my rise to you.
Like
burning incense, O Lord,
let
my prayer rise to you.
1
I call out to you,
Come
quickly to my aid.
My
song cries out to you,
O
listen to me now.
I
raise my hands in off’ring to you.
Like
burning incense, O Lord,
(Like
burning incense, O Lord,)
let
my prayer rise to you.
(let
my prayer rise to you.)
Like
burning incense, O Lord,
(Like
burning incense, O Lord,)
let
my prayer rise to you.
(let
my prayer rise to you.)
2
Let me speak your truth;
watch
over all I say.
Keep
my thoughts on you;
let
goodness rule my heart.
Keep
me far from those who do harm.
Like
burning incense, O Lord,
(Like
burning incense, O Lord,)
let
my prayer rise to you.
(let
my prayer rise to you.)
Like
burning incense, O Lord,
(Like
burning incense, O Lord,)
let
my prayer rise to you.
(let
my prayer rise to you.)
3
Never let me dine
with
those who seek to harm.
Keep
your holy ones
always
at my side.
Plant
your wisdom deep in my soul.
Like
burning incense, O Lord,
(Like
burning incense, O Lord,)
let
my prayer rise to you.
(let
my prayer rise to you.)
Like
burning incense, O Lord,
(Like
burning incense, O Lord,)
let
my prayer rise to you.
(let
my prayer rise to you.)
4
I look to you for help;
I
seek your loving eyes.
Guard
my life for you;
Spare
me from all wrong.
Keep
all evil far from my heart.
Like
burning incense, O Lord,
(Like
burning incense, O Lord,)
let
my prayer rise to you.
(let
my prayer rise to you.)
Like
burning incense, O Lord,
(Like
burning incense, O Lord,)
let
my prayer rise to you.
(let
my prayer rise to you.)
5
Glory be to God
and
to God’s only Son,
glory
to the Spirit,
three
in one,
now
and for ever. Amen.
Like
burning incense, O Lord,
(Like
burning incense, O Lord,)
let
my prayer rise to you.
(let
my prayer rise to you.)
Like
burning incense, O Lord,
(Like
burning incense, O Lord,)
let
my prayer rise to you.
(let
my prayer rise to you.)
Silence
is kept.
Let
the incense of our repentant prayer ascend before you, O Lord, and let your
loving kindness descend upon us, that with purified minds we may sing your
praises with the Church on earth and the whole heavenly host, and may glorify
you forever and ever. Amen.
The
Psalms
O God, you search me, and you know me
All my thoughts lie open to your gaze
When I walk or lie down, you are before me
Ever the maker and keeper of my days.
All my thoughts lie open to your gaze
When I walk or lie down, you are before me
Ever the maker and keeper of my days.
You know my resting and my rising
You discern my purpose from afar
And with love everlasting, you besiege me
In ev'ry moment of life or death, you are.
You discern my purpose from afar
And with love everlasting, you besiege me
In ev'ry moment of life or death, you are.
Before a word is on my tongue, Lord
You have known its meaning through and through
You are with me beyond my understanding
God of my present, my past and future, too.
You have known its meaning through and through
You are with me beyond my understanding
God of my present, my past and future, too.
Although your Spirit
is upon me
Still I search for shelter from your light
There is nowhere on Earth I can escape you
Still I search for shelter from your light
There is nowhere on Earth I can escape you
Even the darkness is
radiant in your sight.
For you created me and
shaped me
Gave me life within my
mother’s womb
For the wonder of who
I am, I praise you
Safe in your hands,
all creation is made new.
Silence
is kept.
Creator
God,
may
every breath we take be for your glory,
may
every footstep show you as our way,
that,
trusting in your presence in this world,
we
may, beyond this life, still be with you
where
you are alive and reign
for
ever and ever.
Amen.
The Proclamation of the Word
The Reading
The
Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
Glory
to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Then
Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if a brother sins against me, how often
should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times,
but, I tell you, seventy times seven.
‘For
this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to
settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the
reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to
him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together
with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be
made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, “Have patience
with me, and I will pay you everything.” And out of pity for him, the lord
of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave,
as he went out, came upon one of his fellow-slaves who owed him a hundred
denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, “Pay what you owe.” Then
his fellow-slave fell down and pleaded with him, “Have patience with me, and I
will pay you.” But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison
until he should pay the debt. When his fellow-slaves saw what had
happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their
lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him,
“You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with
me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow-slave, as I had mercy on
you?” And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he should
pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of
you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.’
The
Gospel of Christ
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Homily
Do to
Others What You Would Have God Do to You
During the 27 odd years that I worked in the city of New
Orleans, I became acquainted with a young man who was waiter at the vegetarian
restaurant across the street from my office. The restaurant was owned by his
older sister and her husband and was managed by his mother. On one visit to the
restaurant I learned that the young man had been murdered. It was late at night.
He had stopped his car to talk to a friend. A passerby thought that it was a
drug deal in progress and tried to rob the two friends. The young man had tried
to flee in his car. As he attempted to
make his escape, the would-be-robber had shot and killed him. The family was
grief-stricken. The restaurant had already experienced two robberies. The death of young man was the final blow. The
family decided to close the restaurant. The would-be robber was caught and put
on the trial for murder. At the trial the members of the family forgave the
defendant and asked for clemency for him. The family were not practicing Christians
but they placed a high value on all life, including the life of a murderer.
They lived in accordance with their principles. As his mother told me, “Executing
him will not bring back my son. It will just take another life.”
At the same time I am also aware of individuals who
identify themselves as Christians but who never forgive anyone whom they think
has injured them. They not only carry grudges for years but actively seek to
revenge themselves upon those whom they have think have injured them. The injury
may be slight or even imagined but that inconvenient fact does not keep them from seeking to inflict injury far greater than that which they may have received.
Peter’s question is a very reasonable question for his day.
Other rabbis set limits on the number of times their disciples needed to
forgive someone. Once their disciples passed that limit, they could stop
forgiving the other person. They could
hold a grudge against that person without any feelings of guilt. They could
nurse their grievance against that person for having insulted or wronged them
for the rest of their life.
Jesus’ answer, I suspect, took Peter by surprise. From the
way his question is worded I believe that we can safely assume that he was
expecting an answer along the lines of what other rabbis were telling their
disciples. But Jesus’ answer is that we must forgive the other person seventy
times seven. In other words, our forgiveness should have no bounds. It should
be limitless. Jesus was not saying that we should carry a pocket counter with
us and click off each time we forgive a particular individual and once we reach
seventy times seven, whammo! We can hate and despise that individual to our
heart’s content and take revenge upon him for the insult or the wrong that he did
us and ruin his life if we choose to.
Jesus goes on to tell the parable of the unforgiving slave.
I am not going to retell the parable. However, I am going to draw attention to
a number of things that are important in understanding the point Jesus is
making. The unforgiving servant’s debt to his lord was tremendous. A talent is
equal to 15 years of daily wages. Even if the lord had done what he first
decided to do, he would not have recouped the money that the servant owed him.
In comparison the fellow servant’s debt to the unforgiving servant was relatively
small. A denarius is one day’s wages for a laborer. The leniency that the lord showed the
unforgiving servant when he begged for mercy was on the same scale as the unforgiving
servant’s debt to the lord. It was tremendous. Having been shown such great leniency,
the unforgiving servant shows no lenience to his fellow servant and therefore deserves
the punishment that the lord meets out to him.
With the parable Jesus gains the full attention of those listening to
him. He then hammers home his point. If they do not forgive others, how can
they expect God to forgive them. God forgives those who forgive. He withholds
forgiveness from those who withhold forgiveness.
When we forgive someone, we make a conscious, rationale
choice to let go of whatever that person did to us or to someone else. It is
not that we no longer recognize what the other person did was hurtful or wrong.
However, we do not hold it against them. We do not make it an excuse for
treating that person unkindly or unlovingly. We show toward the other person
the mercy that we would have God show toward us. The other person may never
change. They may never recognize what they did was hurtful or wrong.
When we forgive someone, we do not let a hurt or a wrong
fester in our hearts, in our inner selves. We do not let it poison us or our
relationships with others. For this reason, Jesus tells us not to let the sun
go down on our anger. When we cling to a hurt or a wrong and the anger and
bitterness that it stirs up in us, we open ourselves to attack from the evil
one. He will exploit the hurt or the wrong and the accompanying anger and
bitterness to further injure us and to injure others.
Jesus, when he taught the disciples to pray told them to
include this petition in their prayers. “Forgive us our sins as we forgive
those who sin against us. In the older versions of the Lord’s Prayer, this
petition is sometimes rendered as, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive
those who trespass against us” or forgive us our debts as we forgive those who
are indebted to us.” What we are asking God in this petition is to treat us as
we treat others. This petition is a reminder that we cannot expect forgiveness
if we ourselves are unforgiving. Jesus
not only teaches that we should do to others what we would have done to us but
also we should do to them what we would have God do to us.
Silence is kept.
The Gospel Canticle
My
soul proclaims the Lord my God.
My
spirit sings God’s praise,
Who
looks on me, and lifts me up,
That
gladness fills my days.
All
nations now will share my joy;
For
gifts God has outpoured.
This
lowly one has been made great.
I
magnify the Lord.
For
those who fear the Holy One,
God’s
mercy will not die.
Whose
strong right arm puts down the proud,
And
lifts the lowly high.
God
fills the hungry with good things,
And
sends the rich away;
The
promise made to Abraham
Is
filled to endless day.
Then
let all nations praise our God,
The
Father and the Son,
The
Spirit blest, who lives in us,
While
endless ages run.
Intercessions
Let us complete our evening prayer to the
Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For peace from on high and our salvation, let
us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For the welfare of all churches and for the
unity of the human family, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For (name), our bishop, and (name),
our pastor, and for all ministers of the Gospel, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For our nation, its government, and for all
who serve and protect us, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For this city (town, university, monastery…).
For every city and community, and for all those living in them, let us pray to
the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For the good earth which God has given us and
for the wisdom and will to conserve it, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For the safety of travelers, the recovery of
the sick, the care of the destitute and the release of prisoners, let us pray
to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For an angel of peace to guide and protect
us, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For a peaceful evening and a night free from
sin, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For a Christian end to our lives and for all
who have fallen asleep in Christ, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
In the communion of the Holy Spirit (and of
all the saints), let us commend ourselves and one another to the living God
through Christ our Lord.
To you, O Lord.
Free
Prayer
In silent or spontaneous prayer all bring before God the
concerns of the day.
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
“Forgive
our sins as we forgive,”
You taught us, Lord, to pray;
But You alone can grant us grace
To live the words we say.
You taught us, Lord, to pray;
But You alone can grant us grace
To live the words we say.
How can Your pardon reach and bless
The unforgiving heart
That broods on wrongs and will not let
Old bitterness depart?
In blazing light Your cross reveals
The truth we dimly knew:
How trifling others’ debts to us;
How great our debt to You!
Lord, cleanse the depths within our souls
And bid resentment cease;
Then, by Your mercy reconciled,
Our lives will spread Your peace.
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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