All Hallows Evening Prayer for Sunday Evening (April 18, 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 evening hymn, “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.

Blessed are you, O Lord Redeemer God,
You destroyed the bonds of death
and from the darkness of the tomb
drew forth the light of the world.
Led through the waters of death.
we become the children of light
singing our Alleluia
and dancing to the music of new life.
Pour out your Spirit upon us
that dreams and visions bring us
ever closer to the kingdom
of Jesus Christ our Risen Savior.
Through him and in the Holy Spirit
all glory be to you, Almighty Father,
this night and for ever and ever.
Amen.

Psalm 141 is sung and incense may be burned.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Tony Alphonso's arrangement 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 to hear Marty Haugen’s arrangement of Psalm 66: Let All the Earth Cry Out in Joy to the Lord.

Let all the earth cry out in joy to the Lord.
Let all the earth cry out in joy to the Lord;
Let all the earth cry out in joy to the Lord!

Cry out in joy to the Lord all peoples on earth,
sing to the praise of his name, proclaiming forever,
“tremendous his deeds for us.”

Let all the earth cry out in joy to the Lord;
(Cry out in joy unto the Lord, Alleluia’)
Let all the earth cry out in joy to the Lord!
(Cry out in joy unto the Lord!)

Leading his people safe through fire and water,
bringing their souls to life, we sing of his glory,
his love is eternal.

Let all the earth cry out in joy to the Lord;
(Cry out in joy unto the Lord, Alleluia’)
Let all the earth cry out in joy to the Lord!
(Cry out in joy unto the Lord!)

Hearken to me as I sing my love of the Lord,
he answers the prayer of my heart.
He leads me in safety,
from death unto life.

Let all the earth cry out in joy to the Lord;
(Cry out in joy unto the Lord, Alleluia’)
Let all the earth cry out in joy to the Lord! to the Lord!
(Alleluia!)
To the Lord!
(Alleluia!)
To the Lord!
(Alleluia!)
To the Lord!
(Alleluia!)

Silence is kept.

How generous is your goodness, O God,
how great is your salvation,
how faithful is your love;
help us to trust you in trial
and praise you in deliverance;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Proclamation of the Word

The Reading

Isaiah 12:1-6 Praise and Thanksgiving

You will say on that day:
I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
and you comforted me.

Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid,
for the Lord God is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

And you will say on that day:

Give thanks to the Lord,
call on his name;
make known his deeds among the nations;
proclaim that his name is exalted.

Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be known in all the earth.
Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Silence is kept.

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

The Homily

God Is Our Salvation

Known as the First Song of Isaiah, today’s reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, has been set to music and is sung as a canticle in Anglican, Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches. It has also been paraphrased and sung as a hymn. It gives voice to a theme that is found throughout the Bible, a theme that particularly resonates with the followers of Jesus.

What is that theme? God is our deliverer. God is the one who saves. In him and in him alone is salvation.

It is the theme of many Bible stories that we read to children as a parent, grandparent, godparent, or children’s ministry volunteer. Noah and the ark. The deliverance of the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. The miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. The feeding of the people of Israel in the wilderness. Jonah and the whale. Queen Esther. Daniel in the lion's den. The three young men in the fiery furnace. The return of the Jews from captivity in Babylon.

Each story tells a variation of that theme. My oldest grandnephew’s favorite story was Jonah and the whale. He loved the part in which Jonah is disgorged from the belly of the whale. “And the whale spat him out! Ptui!”

The Jews had a horror of the sea. It symbolized death and destruction for them. God miraculously saves Jonah from drowning so that he would fulfill what God had called him to do—preach repentance to the people of Nineveh, something Jonah was loath to do. Jonah knew that God was a forgiving God and Jonah hated the Ninevites. God not only delivers Jonah. but he also delivers the Ninevites. They do repent and God does spare them, much to Jonah’s disgust.

The early Christians saw the time that Jonah spent in the belly of the whale as prefiguring the time that Jesus spent in the tomb. Just as God had delivered Jonah from death, God also delivered Jesus from death. God raised Jesus to new life.

The early Christians also saw Jesus prefigured in today’s reading. Jesus whose name literally means “God saves” and who had been in their midst was the Holy One of Israel, God himself. In the person of Jesus, in the person of the Son, God had entered the human story and become humanity’s salvation. It was a realization that called for one response—to give thanks for what God had done and to make it known in all the earth, the same response as today’s reading says will be the response of those who joyfully draw water from the wells of salvation. While the waters of the sea represented death and destruction to the Jews, the water drawn from a well or bubbling up from the earth as a spring represented life.

God is the well of our salvation. From God flows life-giving water, the water that only Jesus can give. . 

We give thanks to God not only by singing God’s praises, rejoicing in what God has done, but also by living our lives to God’s glory, practicing what Jesus taught us. We make known what God has done by sharing the good news of Jesus with others, with those who are far off as well as with those who are near. We draw water from the wells of salvation not just to quench our thirst but to offer it to a thirsty world.

Silence is kept.

The Gospel Canticle

Open this link in a new tab to hear the Carl P. Daw Jr. 's paraphrase of the Magnificat, "My Soul Proclaims with Wonder."

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

Gracious Father,
who in your great mercy made glad the disciples
with the sight of the risen Lord:
give us such an awareness of his presence with us
that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen life,
and serve you continually in righteousness and truth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lord's Prayer

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 Marty Haugen’s paraphrase of Isaiah 12, “You Shall Draw Water.”

Refrain
With joy you shall draw water
from the springs of endless life;
with joy you shall draw water
from the living well of God.


God indeed is my Savior,
I will never be afraid,
my strength and courage is the Lord,
My Savior and my song.
Refrain

Give thanks and praise the name of God,
sing out to all the earth
the wondrous deeds that God has done,
our Savior and our song.
Refrain

Shout with joy, O Zion,
for dwelling in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel,
your Savior and your song.
Refrain

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

May the God of peace, who brought again
from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ,
the great shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
make us perfect in every good work to do his will,
working in us what is pleasing in his sight.
Amen.

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