All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (September 2, 2020)
Evening Prayer
The Service of Light
Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
A light no darkness can extinguish.
1 O gracious Light,
pure brightness of the
everliving Father in heaven.
O Jesus, Christ, holy and blessed!
pure brightness of the
everliving Father in heaven.
O Jesus, Christ, holy and blessed!
2 Now as we come to the setting of the
sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing thy praises, O God:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing thy praises, O God:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
3 Thou art worthy at all times
to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.
to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.
Thanksgiving
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and
praise.
God our Father, we give you thanks
for all your gifts freely bestowed upon
us;
for the beauty and wonder of your
creation,
in earth and sky and sea; for all that
is gracious
in the lives of men and women,
revealing the light of Christ;
for minds to muse and hearts to love
and hands to serve;
for health and strength to work,
for leisure to rest and play;
for communion with your saints,
in all times and places,
and above all for the great promises
and mercies
given to us in Christ Jesus our Lord.
To him be praise and glory,
with you and the Holy Spirit, now and
forever. 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.
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
A reading from the first letter of
Peter.
Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love
for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil
or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this
that you were called—that you might inherit a blessing. For
“Those who desire life
and desire to see good days,
let them keep their tongues from evil
and their lips from speaking deceit;
and desire to see good days,
let them keep their tongues from evil
and their lips from speaking deceit;
let them turn away from evil and do good;
let them seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
let them seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is
good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed.
Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts
sanctify Christ as Lord.
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
The Homily
Called to
Receive God’s Blessing
In today’s reading, in a passage from the opening of his
first letter the apostle Peter
quotes verses 12 through 16 of Psalm 34.
Which of you desires life,
and covets many days to enjoy good?
and covets many days to enjoy good?
Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it.
and your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
and his ears are open to their cry.
The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
Peter quotes these verses to reinforce with a passage
from Scripture what he wrote earlier. He just finished urging his readers not
to repay evil for evil and abuse for abuse. Rather they should repay with a
blessing, pointing out to them that they were called for this reason—that they
might receive God’s blessing.
Sadly we live in a time when Peter’s words and the word
of the Psalmist go unheeded in some quarters of the Church. Christians are
acting in ways that completely disregard the teaching of Jesus and his apostles.
They are attacking each other in public, on social media and in the comments
section of articles posted online. Christians are trading remarks that disparage
each other and inflict hurt. A spirit of anger, of quarrelsomeness, of divisiveness
has crept into the Church and is infecting its members. Missing are the very
things that Peter urges his readers to be—of one heart and mind, loving toward
each other, compassionate, courteous, gentle.
What we are seeing is the struggle between the Spirit and
the flesh—between God present in us and our sinful state. As the Anglican
Church’s Articles of Religion remind us, when we receive new life in Christ and
God himself indwells us, we do not lose our inclination to sin. We will be
tempted by ourselves to do what is not pleasing to God. We will also be tempted
by the devil. Anger, quarrelsomeness, and divisiveness are all what the apostle
Paul calls “actions of the flesh,” or “works of the flesh,” in his letter to
the Galatians. Our inclination toward these things the devil will exploit to
the fullest to harm Christ’s Church and to hurt us.
If we are to receive the blessing for which we have been
called, we need not only to listen to what God is saying in today’s reading, in
Peter’s letter and in the psalm, but also to act upon it. We need to cease from saying what is hurtful
and untrue. We need to turn away from what is not pleasing to God and to do
that which is pleasing to him. We need to steer clear of arguments and violent
conflict. Rather we should do all that we can to live peacefully with others,
not only our fellow Christians but all people.
As today’s reading point to our attention, if we live
this way, God will look with favor upon us and will welcome our prayers. Even
if we suffer for doing what is right, we are blessed. We will be treating
Christ in our hearts truly as Lord. His lordship over our lives will be
unmistakable.
The Gospel Canticle
My soul proclaims your greatness, Lord;
I sing my Savior’s praise!
You looked upon my lowliness,
and I am full of grace.
Now ev’ry land and ev’ry age
this blessing shall proclaim—
great wonders you have done for me,
and holy is your name.
To all who live in holy fear
Your mercy ever flows.
With mighty arm you dash the proud,
Their scheming hearts expose.
The ruthless you have cast aside,
the lowly throned instead;
the hungry filled with all good things,
the rich sent off unfed.
To Israel, your servant blest,
your help is ever sure;
the promise to our parents made
their children will secure.
Sing glory to the Holy One,
give honor to the Word,
and praise the Pow’r of the Most High,
one God, by all adored,
on God, by all adored.
Intercessions
In peace let us pray to the Lord,
Lord, have mercy.
For God’s holy Church, that it may be
filled with truth and love,
and be found without fault at the day
of his coming, let us pray
to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the ministers of. the Church
(especially …………), that they
may be faithful to the Gospel and
worthy servants of the people
of God, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For all who fear God and believe in the
Lord Jesus, that our
divisions may cease, and that all may
be one, as he wills, let us
pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the mission of the Church, that in
faithful witness it may preach
the Gospel to the ends of the earth,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those who do not yet believe, and
for those who have lost
their faith, that they may receive the
light of the Gospel, let us
pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the peace of the world, that
respect and understanding may
grow among nations and peoples, let us
pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those in positions of public trust
(especially ………...), that
they may serve justice and truth, and
promote the dignity and
freedom of every person, let us pray to
the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For our families and all those who are
dear to us; for the aged and
for the young that they may have a
future to hope in, let us pray
to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the poor, the persecuted, the sick,
and all who suffer; for
refugees, prisoners, and all who are in
danger, that they may be
relieved and protected, let us pray to
the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For our enemies, and those who wish us
harm; and for all whom
we have injured or offended, let us
pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
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 Savior
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
The Lord into His garden comes
The spices yield a rich perfume
The spices yield a rich perfume
The lilies grow and thrive,
The lilies grow and thrive:
Refreshing showers of grace divine,
From Jesus flow to every vine,
And make the dead revive,
Refreshing showers of grace divine,
From Jesus flow to every vine,
And make the dead revive,
And make the dead revive.
O that this dry and barren ground
In springs of water may abound,
A fruitful soil become,
In springs of water may abound,
A fruitful soil become,
A fruitful soil become,
A fruitful soil become,
A fruitful soil become.
The desert blossom as the rose,
When Jesus conquers all His foes,
The desert blossom as the rose,
When Jesus conquers all His foes,
And makes His people one,
And makes His people one,
And makes His people one,
And makes His people one,
And makes his people one.
Let us bless the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The God of all
grace bless us now and forever. Amen
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