All Hallows Evening Prayer for Sunday Evening (March 21, 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 David von Kampen’s choral arrangement of “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,
your glory, your glory.

Thanksgiving

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God,
the Shepherd of Israel,
their pillar of cloud by day,
their pillar of fire by night.
In these forty days you lead us
into the desert of repentance
that in this pilgrimage of prayer
we may learn to be your people once more.
In fasting and service you bring us back to your heart.
Open our eyes to your presence in the world
and free our hands to lead others
to the radiant splendour of your mercy.
Be with us in these journey days
for without you we are lost and will perish.
To you alone be dominion and glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

Psalm 141 is sung and incense may be burned.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Randall De Bruyn’s arrangement of Psalm 141 from The Grail (England).

Like burning incense, O Lord, let my prayer rise up to you.
Like burning incense, O Lord, let my prayer rise up to you.

I have called to you, Lord, hasten to help me.
Hear my voice when I cry to you.
Let my prayer arise before you like incense.
the raising of my hands like the evening oblation.

Set, O Lord, a guard over my mouth,
keep watch, O Lord, at the door of my lips!
Do not turn my heart to things that are wrong,
to evil deeds with those who are sinners.

Never allow me to share in their feasting.
If the righteous strike or reprove me, it is a kindness;
but let the oil of the wicked n’er anoint my head.
Let my prayer be ever against their malice.

To you, Lord God, my eyes are turned;
in you I take refuge; spare my soul!
From the trap they have laid for me keep me safe;
Keep me from the snares of those who do evil.

Glory to the Father and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Like burning incense, O Lord, let my prayer rise up 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 Donald Fishel’s choral arrangement of Psalm 91, “Be With Me, Lord.”

Refrain:
Be with me, Lord,
when I am in trouble.
Be with me, Lord.
Be with me, Lord,
when I am in trouble.
Be with me, Lord.

1 You who dwell in the shelter, in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in his shadow of the Almighty,
say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God in whom I trust.”
Refrain

2 No evil shall befall you, no evil shall befall you,
nor affliction come near, come near your tent,
for to his angels he has given command about you,
that they guard you in all your ways.
Refrain

3 Upon their hands, upon their hands,
they shall bear you up, bear you up,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.
You shall tread upon the asp and the viper;
You shall trample down the lion and the dragon.
Refrain

4 Because he clings to me, I will deliver him;
I will set him on high
because he acknowledges my name.
He shall call upon me,
and I will answer him;
I will be with him in distress;
I will deliver him and glorify him.
Refrain

Silence is kept.

Keep us, good Lord,
under the shadow of your mercy
and, as you have bound us to yourself in love,
leave us not who call upon your name,
but grant us your salvation,
made known in the cross of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Proclamation of the Word

The Reading

Philippians 2: 12-18 Shining as Lights in the World

Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labour in vain. But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you—and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me.

Silence is kept.

Homily

One Little Word

A passage of Scripture to which I find myself turning over and over again is Philippians 2:13, “…for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure….” It is a reminder that God does not expect obedience from us but then leaves us to struggle along the best that we can to obey him.

Jesus shocked those who were listening when he told a rich young ruler that it was impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. They believed that if anyone could meet all the requirements of the Law, not just the rules and regulations of the Jewish religion that the Old Testament sets out, but also what the traditions of the elders, a particular interpretation of the Law, which generations of rabbis had added to the Law, and be reckoned as righteous in God’s sight, it was a rich man. Jesus turned that idea on its head pointing out that a rich man’s wealth would be an obstacle, not the help that his listeners believed. In his order of priorities, the rich man would put his wealth first, not God.

Jesus shocked a lot of people during his earthly ministry. He did things that the Jewish religious elite thought that no respectable rabbi, or teacher, should do—spoke to women and ate with tax collectors, prostitutes, and all kinds of riffraff. He not only contradicted what they considered accepted teaching, but he also made fools of them in public. It is not surprising that they plotted to get rid of him. He was an irritant in their mind who was begging, to use today’s parlance, to be cancelled. If they had had the internet in their day, they would have been on Facebook and other social media platforms slamming him.

When Jesus’ listeners protested, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus made what might be described as a cryptic response. “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.”

Our own efforts will never be good enough. What we cannot do, however, God can do. Jesus’ comment is not quite as mystifying as it may appear upon first hearing it. Jesus gives his listeners a hint. If it is possible for God, it is also possible for us with God’s help.

Our God is a gracious God. In his graciousness, he not only opens to us a way to salvation, but also enables us to take advantage of that way. Through his power working in us, God energizes our desire, our wish, our love, and our ability to please him.

What pleases God? From the Gospel of John we learn that God gave his only Son that all who believe in him shall not perish but have eternal life. From the same gospel we also learn that what pleases God is believing in his Son. And who is his Son? Jesus.

Sounds too simple doesn’t it? From John’s Gospel we learn that there is more to believing in Jesus than clicking on a switch in our brain like those in the settings of our computer, the kind that say “on” or “off” when you click on them. We cannot click on the Jesus switch, change our setting to Jesus, and then go about living the way that we always have lived. Nope. It don’t work that way!

Believing in Jesus means that we put into effect in our lives the teachings that Jesus has given us. Think about! How can we say that we believe in Jesus if we ignore what he taught? There is no halfway with Jesus. We cannot say to Jesus, “Yes, Jesus, I accept you as my Saviour. But I think that I am going to hang on to being the lord of my own life.”

Jesus warned those who would become his disciples that he would only acknowledge those who had obeyed his Father’s will. What is God’s will? It is to listen to Jesus and to obey him.

Through his power working in us, God also energizes us to will and to do that too.

God’s power at work in our lives is a manifestation of his favor and goodwill toward us. It is the gift of a loving God. It is grace.

Silence is kept.

The Gospel Canticle

Open this link in a new tab to hear Richard Hillert’s choral arrangement of the Magnificat.

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior;

For He has regarded
the low estate of His handmaiden.

For behold henceforth
all generations will call me blessed.

For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name;

And His mercy is on those who fear Him
from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He has put down the mighty from their thrones
and has exalted the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent empty away.

He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy
as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity forever.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be world without end. Amen

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 (of blessed Patrick, 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 Dan Schutte’s hymn, “Here I Am, Lord.”

Here I am, Lord
Is it I, Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night
I will go, Lord
If You lead me
I will hold Your people in my heart

I, the Lord of sea and sky
I have heard my people cry
All who dwell in dark and sin
My hand will save
I who made the stars of night
I will make their darkness bright
Who will bear my light to them?
Whom shall I send?

Here I am, Lord
Is it I, Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night
I will go, Lord
If You lead me
I will hold Your people in my heart

I, the Lord of snow and rain
I have borne my people's pain
I have wept for love of them
They turn away
I will break their hearts of stone
Give them hearts for love alone
Who will speak my word to them
Whom shall I send?

Here I am, Lord
Is it I, Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night
I will go, Lord
If You lead me
I will hold Your people in my heart

I, the Lord of wind and flame
I will tend the poor and lame
I will set a feast for them
My hand will save
Finest bread I will provide
'Til their hearts be satisfied
I will give my life to them
Whom shall I send?

Here I am, Lord
Is it I, Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night
I will go, Lord
If You lead me
I will hold Your people in my heart

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us praise the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Marty Haugen’s choral arrangement of Adam Tice’s “May God Keep and Bless You.”

May God keep and bless you,
and nothing distress you.
May God guard and guide you,
and friends walk beside you.

May God’s arms surround you,
and fear not confound you.
May God’s light shine through you,
and night not subdue you.

As you sleep and wake
may your prayers arise
as love songs for God,
whose love never dies,
whose love never dies.