All Hallows Evening Prayer for Sunday Evening (January 24, 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 Thomas Keesecker’s arrangement of Carl P. Daw Jr.’s paraphrase of Psalm 84, “How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place” for SAB choir, organ, and optional assembly.

How lovely is thy dwelling-place,
O Lord of Hosts, to me!
How lovely is thy dwelling-place,
O Lord of Hosts, to me!

How lovely is thy dwelling-place,
O Lord of Hosts, to me!
My thirsty soul desires and longs
within thy courts to be;
my very heart and flesh cry out,
O living God, for thee.

How lovely is thy dwelling-place,
O Lord of Hosts, to me!

Beside thine altars, gracious Lord,
the swallows find a nest;
how happy they who dwell with thee
and praise thee without rest,
and happy they whose hearts are set
upon the pilgrim's quest.

How lovely is thy dwelling-place,
O Lord of Hosts, to me!

They who go through the desert vale
will find it filled with springs,
and they shall climb from height to height
till Zion's temple rings
with praise to thee, in glory throned,
Lord God, great King of kings.

How lovely is thy dwelling-place,
O Lord of Hosts, to me!

One day within thy courts excels
a thousand spent away;
how happy they who keep thy laws
nor from thy precepts stray,
for thou shalt surely bless all those
who live the words they pray.

How lovely is thy dwelling-place,
O Lord of Hosts, to me!
How lovely is thy dwelling-place,
How lovely is thy dwelling-place,
How lovely is thy dwelling-place,
How lovely is thy dwelling-place,
O Lord of Hosts! Amen!

Silence is kept.

Lord God,
sustain us in this vale of tears
with the vision of your grace and glory,
that, strengthened by the bread of life,
we may come to your eternal dwelling place;
in the power of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

The Proclamation of the Word

The Reading

John 13:1-20 Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ I tell you this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he. Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.”

Silence is kept.

May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory.

The Homily

The Many Faces of Jesus 

At the time of Jesus' earthly ministry washing the feet of a visitor to one’s home was a gesture of hospitality, of welcome. Most people wore sandals or went barefoot, and their feet would become dirty from the town streets and country paths. The foot washing might be performed by a servant and in poorer households by the head of the household. The people of the ancient Mid-East set great store in such acts of hospitality. To refuse this simple gesture of acceptance could be interpreted as a serious affront.

We do not know Peter’s motives for refusing to allow Jesus to wash his feet. He may have thought that it was beneath a teacher to wash the feet of his disciples. Jesus points to Peter’s attention that unless he allows Jesus to wash his feet, he can have no part in him. He will not be Jesus’ disciple. He must allow the teacher to serve the disciple.

Jesus is reminding Peter that he came as one who serves, not as one who will be served. Peter does not appear to have fully grasped the idea of a servant Messiah. Jesus did not come to leads the hosts of Israel to victory, clothed in splendid apparel and riding a white horse. He came to suffer and die on a cross.

In a way we are like Peter. We have this confused picture of Jesus in our minds. It may be the picture of an infant lying in a mange wrapped in swaddling clothes. It may be the picture of an iterant preacher walking the dusty roads of Galilee and the cobblestone streets of Jerusalem. It may be the picture of a healer who gives sight to the blind and restores the dead to life. It may be the picture of a shepherd carrying a lamb on his shoulders. It may be the picture of a man his head crowned with thorns, blood dripping down his face, hanging from a cross. It may be a picture of a triumphant king in shining garments, a halo of light surrounding his head and seated on a throne. It may be a picture of a stern judge who demands an accounting of our lives from each of us and then determines where we will spend eternity. We find all these pictures of Jesus in the Holy Scriptures.

Jesus wears other faces too. They may be faces that surprise us. They may be the face of a young pregnant woman abandoned by her unborn child’s father. They may be the face of a single mother struggling to raise two children on her own. They may be the face of a migrant father whose wife died on the way to the United States and who entered the country illegally with his daughter. They may be the face of a homeless man sleeping in a cardboard box in a back alley. They may be the face of a grieving widow who lost her husband to the COVID-19 coronavirus. They may be the face of a young husband and father who was laid off from his job and does not know where he should turn. Indeed, Jesus wears many faces. He wears the faces of those whom he sends to us. Let us welcome them as we would Jesus and serve them as we would Jesus. For in welcoming them and serving them, we welcome and serve Jesus and God who sent him.

Silence is kept.

The Gospel Canticle

Open this link in a new tab to hear Carl P. Daw Jr.’s paraphrase 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 Rise Up & Sing’s arrangement of Tom Colvin’s hymn, “Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love” for cantor and assembly 
 
Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love, 
show us how to serve the neighbors we have from you.

Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love, 

show us how to serve the neighbors we have from you.

Neighbors are rich folk and poor,
Neighbors are black, brown, and white,
neighbors are nearby and far away.

Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love, 
show us how to serve the neighbors we have from you.

These are the ones we should serve,
these are the ones we should love,
all these are neighbors to us and you.

Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love, 
show us how to serve the neighbors we have from you.

Jesu (Jesu), Jesu (Jesu), fill us with your love, 
show us how to serve the neighbors we have from you.

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