All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday (September 16, 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, Sovereign God,
our light and our salvation,
eternal creator of day and night,
to you be glory and praise for ever.
Now, as darkness is falling,
hear the prayer of your faithful people.
As we look for your coming in glory,
wash away our transgressions,
cleanse us by your refining fire
and make us temples of your Holy Spirit.
By the light of Christ,
dispel the darkness of our hearts
and make us ready to enter your kingdom,
where songs of praise for ever sound.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God 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
I lift my eyes unto the hills,
the hills from where my help is come.
My help, it cometh from the Lord
Who made heaven,
heaven and earth.
I lift my eyes unto the hills,
the hills from where my help is come.
My help, it cometh from the Lord
Who made heaven,
heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved,
Neither will He sleep.
The Lord is thy keeper,
The Lord is thy shade.
The sun shall not smite thee by day;
the moon shall not smite thee by night.
The Lord shall protect thee from ev’ry evil.
He shall preserve thy soul,
The Lord shall protect thee from ev’ry evil.
He shall preserve thy soul
for-ever, for-ever,
for-ever, for-ever,
for-ever
He will preserve thy soul.
I lift my eyes unto the hills,
the hills from where my help is come.
My help, it cometh from the Lord
My help, it cometh from the Lord
My help, it cometh from the Lord
Who made heaven,
heaven and earth.
Amen, Amen.
Silence is kept.
Lord, ever watchful and faithful,
we look to you to be our defence
and we lift our hearts to know your help;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Proclamation of the Word
The Reading
A reading from the letter of James.
Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the
test and will receive the crown of
life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. No one, when
tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by
evil and he himself tempts no one. But one is tempted by one’s own desire,
being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it
gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to
death. Do not be deceived, my beloved.
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Homily
Temptation’s Test
Everyone is tempted one way or another. Most of us, I suspect, prefer to
keep how we are tempted to ourselves. While we may be able to conceal the ways
that we are tempted from others, we cannot hide them from God. God knows our
every thought and desire. He hears everything we say and sees everything we do.
As James points to his readers’ attention, God does not tempt us. We
can, however, be tempted by our own desires. King David was tempted by his own
lust when he looked down from the roof of his palace and saw Bathsheba naked in
her bath. He gave into the temptation of his lust and forced himself upon her.
Bathsheba was a married woman. King David not only raped her, he committed
adultery. Coveting Bathsheba for himself, he arranged her husband Uriah’s death.
He ordered Uriah who was one of King David’s generals into the thick of battle
where he would be killed. King David’s sin not only lead to the death of Uriah
but also the death of the child conceived as a result of Bethsheba’s rape.
King David should not have been on the roof of his palace in the first
place. On the day that King David saw Bathsheba from his palace’s roof top, he
should have been leading his troops into battle. Instead he chose to stay
behind. When he gave into his lust for Bathsheba, he had already given into one
temptation—the temptation to shirk his duty as king. We can only speculate on
why he stayed behind. Was he afraid he might be killed? The Bible does not tell
us.
As James further points to his readers’ attention, we should not let our
desires deceive us. Giving into temptation is a serious matter. It will always
have consequences even though we may not experience them right away. If we fall
into the habit of succumbing to temptation in a particular area of our lives,
one sin will pile on top of another and will have unanticipated consequences.
Among the consequences of King David’s sins are that his son Amnon gave
into his lust for his half-sister Tamar and raped her. King David’s favorite
son, Absalom, Tamar’s brother, killed Amnon in revenge for his sister’s rape.
Absalom would rebel against his
father and was killed during the Battle of Ephraim's Wood. Absalom caught his
long hair in a tree. King David’s commander, Joab, killed him despite David’s
order to spare Absalom. King David wanted to build a temple honoring
God. But God denied him that privilege.
When we are tempted by our desires, we may be blind to the consequences
of succumbing to them. We may have some idea of the consequences but we will
deceive ourselves into believing that they will not be serious. We can get away
with giving into our desires. As God warns us through the prophet Jeremiah,
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can
understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) We like to think of ourselves as basically good
people but our capacity for self-deception is enormous.
What about these words from the Lord’s Prayer Jesus taught the
disciples, “…lead us not into temptation…” (Matthew 6:13). Isn’t Jesus saying that God can tempt us?
This passage in the Lord’s Prayer can be translated as “do not bring us to the
time of trial” or “do not bring us into temptation.” It is not saying that God
is doing the tempting. Rather it is asking God to protect us from temptation.
God does not tempt us. This I must emphasize as James does. Our own
desires tempt us. The devil or one of those serving him can tempt us. While the
powers of darkness, unlike God, do not know our every thought and desire, they
do carefully study us and identify our weakness. They then use our weaknesses
against us. If they see that we are tempted, they will urge us to sin. If we
hesitate, they will urge us on. They will whisper in our ear that what we are
considering is not as bad as we think it. When we do sin, they will whisper in
our ear that is far worst than it is and that God will not forgive us. They
will encourage us to not forgive ourselves even though we have received God’s
forgiveness.
Silence is kept.
The Gospel Canticle
My soul proclaims the
greatness of the Lord,*
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
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:
And from this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done
great things for me,*
holy is his Name.
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
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.
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
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 As Jacob with travel was weary one
day,
at night on a stone for a pillow he
lay;
he saw in a vision a ladder so high,
that its foot was on earth and its top
in the sky:
Refrain:
Alleluia to Jesus, who died on
the tree
and hath raised up a ladder of mercy
for me,
and hath raised up a ladder of mercy
for me.
2 This ladder is long, it is strong and
well-made,
has stood hundreds of years and is not
yet decayed;
many millions have climbed it and
reached Zion's hill,
and thousands by faith now are climbing
it still: [Refrain]
3 Come, let us ascend! All may
climb it who will,
for the angels of Jacob are
guarding it still;
and remember, each step that by faith
we pass o'er,
some prophet and martyr hath trod it
before: [Refrain]
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of
God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us this night and
forevermore.
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