All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (November 14, 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 Heather Sorenson’s choral arrangement of Psalm 121, “I Lift My Eyes Unto the Hills.”

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 defense
and we lift our hearts to know your help;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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.

The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.

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

Silence is kept.

Homily

The Sign of Jonah 

If you are new to the Bible, you may not be familiar with the Book of Jonah. It is one of the shorter books of the Old Testament and tells the story of the prophet Jonah whom God sent to the city of Nineveh to preach repentance. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrians who were a cruel and merciless people and Jonah hated and despised them. They had conquered and destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel. Rather than go to Nineveh, Jonah had fled from the Lord. He had gone down to Joppa, a seaport on the Mediterranean Sea, the Great Green Sea as the ancient Egyptians called it, and booked passage on a ship sailing to Tarshish, which in Jonah’s time was a pretty faraway place in the minds of the Jews.

The people of Israel were not a seafaring nation and they feared the sea. They associated it with chaos and death. To the Jews drowning in the sea was one of the worst fates that you could imagine.

Tarshish was located on the Iberian Peninsula, in what is now Spain. The voyage would have involved crossing open water well beyond the coastline of the ancient Mid-East, a voyage that would be fraught with all kinds of dangers. The bottom of the Mediterranean Sea is littered with the wrecks of ships that foundered on such voyages.

However, Jonah chose the very real possibility of death by drowning over obeying God. His choice gives us a good idea of how unwilling he was to go and preach repentance to the people of Nineveh. He knew that God was a merciful God and might forgive the Ninevites’ their sins. He would have been perfectly happy if God wiped the city and its inhabitants off the face of the earth.

As soon as they are out to sea, a raging storm blows up. The crew of the ship forced to lower the sail and to take to the oars. But they make no headway and the ship is in danger of sinking. They come to the conclusion that someone on board the ship—a passenger or a member of the crew—has offended the gods. They cast lots to determine who might be the offender. The lot falls to Jonah and they throw him overboard into the churning sea. He sinks down and down into the dark water.

What happens next may test your credulity—your readiness to believe that something is true and really happened. A great fish swallows Jonah. For three days Jonah is the belly of the fish. At the end of the three days the fish regurgitates Jonah onto shore. This was my grandnephew’s favorite part of the story when he was little. The fish spat him out!!

Jonah realizes that he cannot flee from God. He must do what God has told him to do. Reluctantly he goes to the city and preaches repentance to its people. His heart is not in his task. To Jonah’s disgust the people of Nineveh repent and God spares them and their city from destruction.

The repentance of the people of Nineveh is the sign of Jonah. This is the only sign that Jesus tells the Pharisees and scribes God will give them. People are repenting. They are turning away from sin to God.

Like the Pharisees and the scribes, we in our day are looking for a sign from heaven. We are looking for miracles and blessings—healings, prosperity, success, fame, power, material possessions. Like the Pharisees and the scribes, the only sign that we will receive from God is the sign of Jonah.

God’s grace, the power of his presence, is at work in the lives of those around us. People are turning away from sin to Jesus. They are no longer living their own way. They are living Jesus’ way. They are loving God with entirety of their being. They are obeying Jesus’ commands. They are loving others. They are treating others the same way that they would wish to be treated. They are loving their enemies. They are responding to hate with love. They are loving each other as Jesus loved them—with a sacrificial love. They are showing the world that they are the followers of Jesus and the children of the Most High.

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 “I Will Arise and Go to Jesus”

1 Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
full of pity, love, and power.

Refrain:
I will arise and go to Jesus;
he will embrace me with his arms;
in the arms of my dear Savior,
O there are ten thousand charms.

2 Come, ye thirsty, come, and welcome,
God’s free bounty glorify;
true belief and true repentance,
every grace that brings you nigh. [Refrain]

3 Let not conscience make you linger,
nor of fitness fondly dream;
all the fitness he requireth
is to feel your need of him. [Refrain]

4 Come ye weary, heavy laden,
lost and ruined by the fall;
if you tarry till you’re better,
you will never come at all. [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