All Hallows Evening Prayer for the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord (January 10, 2021)

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. Schalk choral setting of the Phos Hilaron, “Joyous Light of Glory.”

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.

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 John.
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

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

Silence is kept.

Homily

An Ear Pierced by an Awl 

Today is the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord in churches that follow the Christian year of the Western Church. Churches that observe the Christian year fall into one of two traditions, that of the Eastern Church and that of the Western Church. Anglicans, Episcopalians, Methodists, Lutherans, and Roman Catholics observe the Western Church tradition. So do some Baptists, Congregationalist, Presbyterians, and Reformed.

Jesus’ baptism is an important event in his life and ministry. It is also an important event for ourselves. Following his baptism Jesus went into the wildness to fast and pray for forty days. In the wilderness Jesus was tempted by the devil. Jesus did not succumb to the devil’s temptations and the devil departed from him. When Jesus returned from the wilderness, he began his ministry.

While Jesus was without sin, he nonetheless consented to let his cousin John baptize him in the Jordan river. John’s baptism was a baptism for repentance. After Jesus was baptized, as he was coming up from the water in Matthew and Mark’s accounts of his baptism, and after he had prayed in Luke’s account of his baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the bodily form of a dove. A voice was heard from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.”

In submitting to baptism, Jesus, Christians believe, established baptism as a Christian ordinance or sacrament, depending upon the particular theological tradition to which Christian belongs. I do not propose to delve into the different doctrines of baptism of these traditions.

With the exception of the Quakers, the Salvation Army, and some others, most Christian traditions practice water baptism. Some traditions baptize infants; others baptize only older children, teenagers, and adults who profess faith in Jesus Christ. Some traditions use water sparingly at a baptism; others give the baptismal candidate a good dunking.

All traditions that practice water baptism agree that baptism formally marks the beginning of the newly baptized’s faith journey. In the case of infants that faith journey may actually start later in life; in the case of those who professed faith in Jesus Christ before their baptism, it started earlier in life.

In more recent years baptism has become recognized as commissioning for a life of ministry, of serving God and serving others. In this life of ministry we give expression to our love of God and to our love of others.

When people hear the word, “ministry,” ordained ministers and the work that they do will come to the minds of most Christians. But in the Bible ministry means servanthood, living the life of a servant of God. All Christians are called to that kind of life. No exceptions. Our baptism, whether as an infant or later in life, is a reminder of that calling. It does not matter whether our parents or other sponsors dedicated us to God when we were tiny babies or we dedicated ourselves to God after we reached the age of discretion. 

Having been baptized as an infant and owned that baptism when we became older or declaring our faith in Jesus Christ when we felt the stirrings of that faith in our hearts, we have suffered our ear to be pierced with an awl at the doorpost or the door and have dedicated ourselves to serve God for life. If you are not familiar with the Old Testament practice of piercing a slave’s ear with an awl if he chooses not to leave his master when he is offered his freedom, read Exodus 21:1-6.

It remains for us to seek God in prayer and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures, and our fellow-Christians discern the ways that God is calling us to serve him. We will not know these ways all at once. Some will be ways that all Christians are called to serve God; others will be ways in which God is calling us in particular to serve him. They may not be glamorous and appealing. But as Jesus himself drew to the attention of those who came to hear him, to those who prove faithful in small things, God will entrust larger things. Just as the owner of the vineyard in the parable hired workers late in the day to work in his vineyard, God may call upon us to work in his own vineyard late in our lives. He is a God who saves the best things for last.

Silence is kept.

The Gospel Canticle

Open this link in a new tab to hear Chaz Bower’s choral arrangement of “My Soul Proclaims Your Greatness, Lord.”

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

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 Kevin Hildebrand’s choral arrangement of Stephen P. Starke’s paraphrase of the Te Deum Laudamus, “We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God.”

1 We praise You and acknowledge You, O God, to be the Lord,
The Father everlasting, by all the earth adored.
To You all angel powers cry aloud, the heavens sing,
The cherubim and seraphim their praises to You bring:
“O holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth;
Your majesty and glory fill the heavens and the earth!”

2 The band of the apostles in glory sing Your praise;
The fellowship of prophets their deathless voices raise.
The martyrs of Your kingdom, a great and noble throng,
Sing with the holy Church throughout all the world this song:
“O all-majestic Father, Your true and only Son,
And Holy Spirit, Comforter—forever Three in One!”

3 You, Christ, are King of glory, the everlasting Son,
Yet You, with boundless love, sought to rescue ev’ryone:
You laid aside Your glory, were born of virgin’s womb,
Were crucified for us and were placed into a tomb;
Then by Your resurrection You won for us reprieve—
You opened heaven’s kingdom to all who would believe.

4 You sit in splendid glory, enthroned at God’s right hand,
Upholding earth and heaven by forces You command.
We know that You will come as our Judge that final day,
So help Your servants You have redeemed by blood, we pray;
May we with saints be numbered where praises never end,
In glory everlasting. Amen, O Lord, Amen!

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The God of all grace bless us now and forever. Amen.