All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (January 16, 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. 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 hear Tony Alonso’s responsorial setting of Psalm 141, “Like Burning Incense, O Lord.”
Like burning incense, O Lord,
let my rise to you.
Like burning incense, O Lord,
let my prayer rise to you.
1 I call out to you,
Come quickly to my aid.
My song cries out to you,
O listen to me now.
I raise my hands in off’ring to you.
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
2 Let me speak your truth;
watch over all I say.
Keep my thoughts on you;
let goodness rule my heart.
Keep me far from those who do harm.
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
3 Never let me dine
with those who seek to harm.
Keep your holy ones
always at my side.
Plant your wisdom deep in my soul.
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
4 I look to you for help;
I seek your loving eyes.
Guard my life for you;
Spare me from all wrong.
Keep all evil far from my heart.
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
5 Glory be to God
and to God’s only Son,
glory to the Spirit,
three in one,
now and for ever. Amen.
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
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
John 6: 22-59 The Bread from Heaven
The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.”
Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus answered them, “Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
Silence is kept.
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory.
The Homily
The passages of today’s reading from the Gospel of John contain what New Testament scholars call the Bread of Life discourse. John’s Gospel has seven discourses in all. The Bread of Life discourse is the fourth. When Christians who celebrate the Holy Eucharist every Sunday read these passages, they quickly jump to the conclusion that Jesus is talking about the Holy Eucharist due to the references to eating his flesh and drinking his blood in the passages. But is Jesus really talking about the Lord’s Supper?
This discourse follows John’s account of the feeding of the five thousand, an event that occurred early in Jesus’ ministry, long before the night of his arrest on which he and his disciples ate the Last Supper together and Jesus initiated the sacrament of the Lord’ Supper. Except in Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s accounts of the Last Supper, Jesus does not refer to his flesh and blood, the flesh and blood of a living human being, rather he refers to his body and his blood, a body that would be broken and blood that would be shed at his death. Some New Testament scholars believe that Jesus did not know the manner of his death. He was expecting to be stoned, not crucified. This difference in choice of language is important. So is the difference in what he is saying in these passages and what he says at the Last Supper.
If Jesus is not talking about the Holy Eucharist, what is he talking about then? The clue is his response to the question of those who came looking for him. They ask, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answers them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” What Jesus is talking about is believing in him.
The Jews had a strong taboo against eating blood. This taboo can be traced to the Old Testament account of the Flood. After Noah and his family disembarked from the Ark, they began to run short on food. They faced the starvation before any crops that they planted reached maturity and could be harvested. On the other hand, the animals that they had brought with them were finding enough food and propagating rapidly. God gave Noah and his family permission to eat the flesh of animals but forbade them from eating the animals’ blood, their life. Before God gave them this permission, humanity has been vegetarians!
When Jesus talks about drinking his blood, he is talking about them not just breaking a taboo but disobeying God’s command. To do that would require them to believe that he is who is saying he is. But Jesus goes a step further. They must also eat his flesh. The Greek word used means to gnaw on something, to grind up with one’s teeth, and then swallow it down. This is a very descriptive way of describing what believing in Jesus entails. It is not enough to accept his claim that he is the Son of God, the Savior of the world. One must assimilate it completely—make it part of oneself so that it shapes one’s thoughts, feelings, words, and actions just as we make a piece of bread a part of ourselves when we chew it up, swallow it, and digest it. Jesus is using figurative language but it is language that challenges the sensibilities of those who came looking for him, much in the same way as his claims challenged their beliefs.
Jesus uses figurative language in his other discourses, not only referring to himself as bread but also as a gate, a shepherd, a vine, the truth, the way, and the life. He is not talking about literally drinking his blood and eating his flesh. He is using drinking his blood and eating his flesh as an analogy for believing in him.
Do these passages have any application to the Holy Eucharist then? The answer is “yes.” They describe the kind of faith with which we must receive the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.
Without this kind of faith we will receive no benefit from our participation in this symbolic meal in which we eat a morsel of bread and drink a sip of wine in remembrance of what Jesus has done for us. It is the kind of faith that enables us to feed on Jesus as the source of our spiritual nourishment. It is the kind of faith that enables us to feed on him not just during a Sunday celebration of the Holy Eucharist but throughout the week. It is the kind of faith that is fertile ground in which God’s grace, the power of his presence in our lives, can work. It is the kind of faith which Jesus tells us in these passages is a gift from God.
Our response to this gift, to all God has done for us, is doing for us, and will do for us, is not only to give God our thanks and praise with our lips but to live our lives to God’s glory, offering our bodies and souls to him as a living sacrifice and serving God and others.
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
Be present, merciful God,
and protect us through the hours of this night:
that we, who are wearied by the changes
and chances of this fleeting world,
may rest on your eternal changelessness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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 Mark Burkhardt’s arrangement of Carl P. Daw Jr.’s paraphrase of the canticle Dignus es, “Splendor and Honor, Majesty and Power” for organ, SATB choir, and congregation.
Splendor and honor, majesty and power,
are yours, O Lord God, fount of every blessing,
for by your bidding was the whole creation
called into being.
Praised be the true Lamb, slain for our redemption,
by whose self-offering we are made God's people:
a priestly kingdom, from all tongues and nations,
called to God's service.
To the Almighty, throned in heavenly splendor,
and to the Savior, Christ our Lamb and Shepherd,
be adoration, praise, and glory given,
now and for ever. Amen.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us praise the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and
the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen
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 hear Tony Alonso’s responsorial setting of Psalm 141, “Like Burning Incense, O Lord.”
Like burning incense, O Lord,
let my rise to you.
Like burning incense, O Lord,
let my prayer rise to you.
1 I call out to you,
Come quickly to my aid.
My song cries out to you,
O listen to me now.
I raise my hands in off’ring to you.
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
2 Let me speak your truth;
watch over all I say.
Keep my thoughts on you;
let goodness rule my heart.
Keep me far from those who do harm.
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
3 Never let me dine
with those who seek to harm.
Keep your holy ones
always at my side.
Plant your wisdom deep in my soul.
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
4 I look to you for help;
I seek your loving eyes.
Guard my life for you;
Spare me from all wrong.
Keep all evil far from my heart.
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
5 Glory be to God
and to God’s only Son,
glory to the Spirit,
three in one,
now and for ever. Amen.
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
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
John 6: 22-59 The Bread from Heaven
The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.”
Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus answered them, “Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
Silence is kept.
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory.
The Homily
Jesus the Living Bread
The passages of today’s reading from the Gospel of John contain what New Testament scholars call the Bread of Life discourse. John’s Gospel has seven discourses in all. The Bread of Life discourse is the fourth. When Christians who celebrate the Holy Eucharist every Sunday read these passages, they quickly jump to the conclusion that Jesus is talking about the Holy Eucharist due to the references to eating his flesh and drinking his blood in the passages. But is Jesus really talking about the Lord’s Supper?
This discourse follows John’s account of the feeding of the five thousand, an event that occurred early in Jesus’ ministry, long before the night of his arrest on which he and his disciples ate the Last Supper together and Jesus initiated the sacrament of the Lord’ Supper. Except in Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s accounts of the Last Supper, Jesus does not refer to his flesh and blood, the flesh and blood of a living human being, rather he refers to his body and his blood, a body that would be broken and blood that would be shed at his death. Some New Testament scholars believe that Jesus did not know the manner of his death. He was expecting to be stoned, not crucified. This difference in choice of language is important. So is the difference in what he is saying in these passages and what he says at the Last Supper.
If Jesus is not talking about the Holy Eucharist, what is he talking about then? The clue is his response to the question of those who came looking for him. They ask, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answers them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” What Jesus is talking about is believing in him.
The Jews had a strong taboo against eating blood. This taboo can be traced to the Old Testament account of the Flood. After Noah and his family disembarked from the Ark, they began to run short on food. They faced the starvation before any crops that they planted reached maturity and could be harvested. On the other hand, the animals that they had brought with them were finding enough food and propagating rapidly. God gave Noah and his family permission to eat the flesh of animals but forbade them from eating the animals’ blood, their life. Before God gave them this permission, humanity has been vegetarians!
When Jesus talks about drinking his blood, he is talking about them not just breaking a taboo but disobeying God’s command. To do that would require them to believe that he is who is saying he is. But Jesus goes a step further. They must also eat his flesh. The Greek word used means to gnaw on something, to grind up with one’s teeth, and then swallow it down. This is a very descriptive way of describing what believing in Jesus entails. It is not enough to accept his claim that he is the Son of God, the Savior of the world. One must assimilate it completely—make it part of oneself so that it shapes one’s thoughts, feelings, words, and actions just as we make a piece of bread a part of ourselves when we chew it up, swallow it, and digest it. Jesus is using figurative language but it is language that challenges the sensibilities of those who came looking for him, much in the same way as his claims challenged their beliefs.
Jesus uses figurative language in his other discourses, not only referring to himself as bread but also as a gate, a shepherd, a vine, the truth, the way, and the life. He is not talking about literally drinking his blood and eating his flesh. He is using drinking his blood and eating his flesh as an analogy for believing in him.
Do these passages have any application to the Holy Eucharist then? The answer is “yes.” They describe the kind of faith with which we must receive the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.
Without this kind of faith we will receive no benefit from our participation in this symbolic meal in which we eat a morsel of bread and drink a sip of wine in remembrance of what Jesus has done for us. It is the kind of faith that enables us to feed on Jesus as the source of our spiritual nourishment. It is the kind of faith that enables us to feed on him not just during a Sunday celebration of the Holy Eucharist but throughout the week. It is the kind of faith that is fertile ground in which God’s grace, the power of his presence in our lives, can work. It is the kind of faith which Jesus tells us in these passages is a gift from God.
Our response to this gift, to all God has done for us, is doing for us, and will do for us, is not only to give God our thanks and praise with our lips but to live our lives to God’s glory, offering our bodies and souls to him as a living sacrifice and serving God and others.
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
Be present, merciful God,
and protect us through the hours of this night:
that we, who are wearied by the changes
and chances of this fleeting world,
may rest on your eternal changelessness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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 Mark Burkhardt’s arrangement of Carl P. Daw Jr.’s paraphrase of the canticle Dignus es, “Splendor and Honor, Majesty and Power” for organ, SATB choir, and congregation.
Splendor and honor, majesty and power,
are yours, O Lord God, fount of every blessing,
for by your bidding was the whole creation
called into being.
Praised be the true Lamb, slain for our redemption,
by whose self-offering we are made God's people:
a priestly kingdom, from all tongues and nations,
called to God's service.
To the Almighty, throned in heavenly splendor,
and to the Savior, Christ our Lamb and Shepherd,
be adoration, praise, and glory given,
now and for ever. Amen.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us praise the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and
the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen
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