All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (October 21, 2020)

Evening Prayer

The Service of Light

Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
A light no darkness can extinguish.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Carl P. Daw Jr.’s metrical version of the Phos hilaron, “O Light Whose Splendor Thrills and Gladdens.”

O Light whose splendor thrills and gladdens
with radiance brighter than the sun,
pure gleam of God's unending glory,
O Jesus, blest Anointed One;

as twilight hovers near at sunset,
and lamps are lit, and children nod,
in evening hymns we lift our voices
to Father, Spirit, Son: one God.

In all life's brilliant, timeless moments,
let faithful voices sing your praise,
O Son of God, our Life-bestower,
whose glory lightens endless days.

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.

Open this link in a new tab to Gavin Bryars’ choral arrangement of Psalm 141, “Lord, I Cry Unto Thee.”

Lord, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.

Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.

Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.
Lord, I cry unto thee.

Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.

When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.

Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth.
Lord, I cry unto thee.

But mine eyes are unto thee, O God the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.

Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity.

Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I withal escape.
Give heed to my voice, let my cry come unto thee.

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

Open this link in a new tab to hear J. David Moore's choral arrangement of Isaac Watts' metrical version of Psalm 23, "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need."

My Shepherd will supply my need;
Jehovah is His Name:
In pastures fresh He makes me feed,
Beside the living stream.
He brings my wandering spirit back
When I forsake His ways,
And leads me, for His mercy’s sake,
In paths of truth and grace.

When I walk through the shades of death
Thy presence is my stay;
One word of thy supporting breath
Drives all my fears away.
Thy hand, in sight of all my foes,
Does still my table spread;
My cup with blessings overflows,
Thy oil anoints my head.

The sure provisions of my God
Attend me all my days;
O may Thy house be my abode,
And all my work be praise.
There would I find a settled rest,
While others go and come;
No more a stranger, or a guest,
But like a child at home.

Silence is kept.

O God, our sovereign and shepherd,
who brought again your Son Jesus Christ
from the valley of death,
comfort us with your protecting presence
and your angels of goodness and love,
that we also may come home
and dwell with him in your house for 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.

Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. A scribe then approached and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

The Gospel of Christ
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Silence is kept.

Homily

All to Jesus 

In this passage we find Jesus seeking to get away from the huge crowds that he was attracting. He gives orders to his disciples to take him to the opposite shore of the Galilean Sea. The passage is sandwiched between several passages in which Jesus performs miraculous healings and an exorcism. Its placement there is significant. What is attracting the crowds is not just his teaching but also the signs and wonders that he is performing. This fact offers us some insight into the brief conversations between Jesus and the would-be-disciples recorded in the passage.

In both conversations Jesus questions the would-be-disciple’s motivation for deciding to follow him as well as the would-be-disciple’s commitment to follow him. In both cases the would-be-disciple’s decision appear to be a spur of the moment decision.

The first would-be-disciple appears not to have considered the cost of following Jesus. Jesus points this to his attention. Jesus knows the minds of men. He knows what they value, what they hold dear. In the case of the first would-be-disciple he appears to know that this particular man values the comforts of home. For this reason Jesus says to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Essentially Jesus is asking the man if he is willing to give up the comforts of home for Jesus. Is he willing to embrace the itinerant life for Jesus, to sleep in the rough under the stars, to trust God for his next meal, to suffer with Jesus all the privations that Jesus himself suffers? Jesus owns no home. Wherever he goes, he walks by foot except on those occasions when he crosses the Galilean Sea in someone else’s boat and on that one occasion he rides into Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey. Matthew does not record the man’s response. Indeed, his response does not matter as we shall see.

The second would-be-disciple, the one whom Matthew names a disciple, offers to follow Jesus after he has buried his father. Now we might assume from these words that the man’s father had recently died. However, the passage does not say that. The father could be very well still kicking. To the Jews burying one’s parents was an important duty to one’s parents. It was considered a legitimate reason for putting off doing something else. What the second man is saying is, “I’ll follow you, Jesus, but first let me fulfill my family obligations. When I’m done with them, then I’ll follow you.”

Some preachers will go to great lengths to explain what Jesus meant when he responded, “let the dead bury the dead.” But to understand what Jesus is saying to the second man, it is not necessary to know what Jesus’ words meant. Jesus’ point is that if you genuinely want to become my disciple, you must put me before everything else, including duty to your parents. Jesus knew that the second man was not prepared to fully commit himself to following him.

The excitement of the moment, the excitement of the great crowd gathered to hear Jesus, and the miracles was what was motivating these two men. They were not prepared to surrender all to Jesus.

When we responded to the preacher’s invitation, prayed the sinner’s prayer, and subsequently were baptized, or if we were baptized at infants or small children and later made a public declaration of our faith in Jesus and receive the laying on of hands as gesture of goodwill and the prayers of the gathered church, were we prepared to surrender all to Jesus, to accept him as the Lord of every part of our lives. It is a question that we should ask ourselves. If we have discovered since that time that we were not, it is not too late to surrender all to Jesus, to fully accept him as the Lord of our life, and to live a life in which Jesus rules over every thought and desire that we entertain, every decision that we make, every word we speak; everything that we do. It is not too late to leave the dead to bury the dead and to follow Jesus.

Silence is kept.

The Gospel Canticle

Open this link in a new tab to hear Carl P. Daw Jr.’s metrical version of the Magnificat.

Refrain:
My soul proclaims with wonder
the greatness of the Lord;
rejoicing in God's goodness,
my spirit is restored.

For God has looked with favor,
on one the world thought frail;
and blessings through the ages will echo
the angel's first "All hail." [Refrain]

God's mercy shields the faithful
and gives them safe retreat
to arms that turns to scatter
the proud in their conceit. [Refrain]

The mighty have been vanquished;
the lowly lifted up.
The hungry find abundance;
the rich, an empty cup. [Refrain]

To Abraham's descendants
the Lord will steadfast prove,
for God has made with Israel
a covenant of love. [Refrain]

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

Open this link in a new tab to hear the gospel song, “I Surrender All.”

All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
In His presence daily live

Refrain: 
I surrender all
I surrender all
All to Thee my blessed Savior
I surrender all

All to Jesus I surrender
Humbly at His feet I bow
Worldly pleasures all forsaken
Take me, Jesus, take me now [Refrain]

All to Jesus I surrender
Make me Savior wholly thine
May Thy Holy Spirit fill me
May I know Thy power divine [Refrain]

All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power,
Let Thy blessing fall on me. [Refrain]

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