All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (May 29, 2021)

Evening Prayer

The Service of Light

Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
A light no darkness can extinguish.

Open this link to hear Carl P. Schalk’s choral arrangement “Joyous Light of Glory.”

Joyous light ,
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,
we sing to God,
we sing to God,
we sing to God
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You, you are worthy of being praised,
of being praised with pure voices forever.
O Son of God,
O Son of God,
O Son of God,
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 Craig Courtney’s choral arrangement of Psalm 23, “The Lord, the Lord Is My Shepherd.”

The Lord, the Lord is my shepherd.
The Lord, the Lord is my shepherd.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He leads me beside, beside still waters,
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness,
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
His name’s sake.
Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and staff: they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
In the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head, my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely love and goodness will follow me
All the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever,
Forever, forever, forever.
Amen, amen.

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

1 Corinthians 14: 1-25 Gifts of Prophecy and Tongues

Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy. For those who speak in a tongue do not speak to other people but to God; for nobody understands them, since they are speaking mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, those who prophesy speak to other people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. Those who speak in a tongue build up themselves, but those who prophesy build up the church. Now I would like all of you to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. One who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you in some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? It is the same way with lifeless instruments that produce sound, such as the flute or the harp. If they do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is being played? And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? So with yourselves; if in a tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is being said? For you will be speaking into the air. There are doubtless many different kinds of sounds in the world, and nothing is without sound. If then I do not know the meaning of a sound, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. So with yourselves; since you are eager for spiritual gifts, strive to excel in them for building up the church.

Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unproductive. What should I do then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing praise with the spirit, but I will sing praise with the mind also. Otherwise, if you say a blessing with the spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say the “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since the outsider does not know what you are saying? For you may give thanks well enough, but the other person is not built up. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you; nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind, in order to instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking; rather, be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults. In the law it is written,

“By people of strange tongues
and by the lips of foreigners
I will speak to this people;
yet even then they will not listen to me,”
says the Lord.

Tongues, then, are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers. If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if all prophesy, an unbeliever or outsider who enters is reproved by all and called to account by all. After the secrets of the unbeliever’s heart are disclosed, that person will bow down before God and worship him, declaring, “God is really among you.”

Silence is kept

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

The Homily

Pray with the Spirit, Pray with the Mind

Pentecostals claim that speaking in tongues is the primary evidence of the gift of the Holy Spirit. They base their claim upon several descriptive passages in the New Testament. These passages, however, are open to a different interpretation as New Testament scholars have pointed out. It is not evident that the author of these passages intended to set a precedent with them. We do not find any prescriptive passages of the New Testament that support their claim.

While Paul does not discourage the members of the church at Corinth from speaking in tongues, he does point out the drawbacks of doing so. While speaking in tongues may build up the individual Christian, they do not build up the church. In his first letter to the Corinthians Paul makes very clear that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not to individual Christians but to the entire church. They are for the church’s benefit and not for ours as individual Christians.

In their eagerness to show that they have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, some Christians may be tempted to counterfeit the gift of tongues. They may do this intentional or consciously. At the same time we should not dismiss all glossolalia, speaking in tongues, as counterfeit. It may be a genuine manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Some Christians may need this gift to strengthen their faith.

Glossolalia is not an exclusively Christian phenomenon. It is found in other religions, for example, shamanism. Shamans may in a trance in which they are possessed by a spirit may speak in tongues.

For our part, we should take what I would describe as a cautious approach to glossolalia. On one hand, we do not want to ascribe to the devil or some other spirit or to sinful human nature what may be a genuine manifestation of the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, we do not want to ascribe to God, what may not be God’s doing.

One of the problems that Paul addresses in his first letter to the church at Corinthian is that some of its members had become puffed up with pride over the ways that they believed that the Holy Spirit was manifesting himself in them. Due to these manifestations, they believed that they were superior to their fellow Christians. This is one of the temptations to which Christians who experience what they believe are manifestations of the Holy Spirit in them can succumb.

The Holy Spirit, however, is the Spirit of Christ and one of the outstanding characteristics of Jesus is humility. Pride is a work of the flesh, not a fruit of the Holy Spirit, something that comes from our sinful human nature, not from the presence of God working in us.

One of the ways that we can test spirits if we begin to speak in tongues is to weigh how it is affecting us. Are we humbled? Or do we feel superior to our fellow Christians? Is it accompanied by a greater faith in Jesus and a greater devotion to him, a stronger desire to know him better and to make him known to our fellow human beings, to live our lives more in accordance with Jesus’ teaching and example and to God’s glory? Are we seeing more of the fruit of the Spirit manifest in our lives? Are we becoming more loving, more joyful, more patient, kinder, more generous, more faithful, gentler, and more self-controlled?

 If the presence of God is working in us, those will be the results. The Holy Spirit points us to Jesus and through us points others to Jesus. The Holy Spirit will not point us away from Jesus or through us point others away from Jesus. The Holy Spirit also makes us more Jesus-like.

If, however, the experience is causing us to feel anxious, fearful, and depressed, causing us to have strange thoughts and desires which are not in keeping with what Jesus taught and did, prompting us to act in ways that are at odds with his teaching and example, then it is not the Holy Spirit that is manifesting himself in us. It may be our sinful human nature or an unholy spirit. If we have the presence of God dwelling in us, we cannot be possessed by an unholy spirit. We can, however, be oppressed by them. They are attracted to any unrepented sin like rats to garbage.

In today’s reading Paul encourages the members of the church at Corinth to seek the spiritual gift of prophecy over that of speaking in tongues. “Those who prophesy speak to other people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.” Paul tells them. “Those who prophesy build up the church.” If they speak in tongues, no one will understand what they are saying. Unless someone has the spiritual gift of interpretation, those present will not be edified. If those speaking in tongues are offering thanks to God, no one will be able to add their “amen,” and make the thanksgiving their own. If everyone is speaking in tongues, unbelievers or outsiders who visit the church’s gatherings will leave unenlightened and unconvicted. Rather these visitors will think that the members of the church are crazy, not in their right mind.

I believe that I need to say a word about prophesy as Paul is using the term. People have a lot of misconceptions about New Testament prophesy. The main purpose of New Testament prophesy is to build up faith, to offer encouragement, and to provide comfort to those who are suffering. While it may occasionally tell of future events beforehand such as a famine, predicting what is going to happen in the future is not its chief purpose. Genuine prophesy, prophesy that is inspired by God, does not add to or take away from what God has revealed in the Holy Scriptures. God will not give anyone a special revelation that contradicts or nullifies what he has already said.

The Holy Spirit will not urge us to speak and act in ways that are not in keeping what Jesus taught and exemplified or disparage Jesus or his teaching and example. The Holy Spirit will not seek to draw attention to himself or elevate himself over Jesus. The Holy Spirit will always point past himself to Jesus.

Those prophesizing have control over when they start and stop prophesizing. “The spirit of prophets is subject to prophets.” The Holy Spirit does not take control of an individual prophesizing to the point that the individual has no control over himself. Among the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. One does not observe the loss of self-control that is observable in shamans, mediums, and voodoo priestesses who are channeling what they believe are spirits. In New Testament prophesy one is not channeling the Holy Spirit but is speaking in one’s own words in response to the Holy Spirit’s promptings.

Speaking in tongues has a place in the Christian life. It may strengthen the faith of someone who is weak in faith. Its most appropriate use is in private devotions, in small groups in which all the members practice speaking in tongues and may pray in tongues while laying hands on a member of the group and/or anointing them, and by prayer teams when ministering to members of a congregation in which praying in tongues is an accepted practice. 

But as Paul emphasizes in today’s reading, speaking with the mind, in a language that the congregation and any visitors understand is far more important in the public gatherings of the local church. A few words spoken with the mind and in a language that everyone understands will accomplish what many words spoken in the spirit and in a tongue that no one understands cannot do. It will build up the faith of the whole congregation and may convict visitors to the gathering. It will enable those present to add their “amen” to every prayer and make it their own. It will enable the church to be truly of one heart and mind, having the same love and being in full accord.

Silence is kept.

The Gospel Canticle

Open this link in a new tab to hear Ann Krentz’s choral arrangement of “My Soul Proclaims Your Greatness.”

My soul proclaims your greatness, O Lord;
I sing my Savior’s praise!
Great wonders you have done for me,
and holy is your name.

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.

My soul proclaims your greatness, O Lord;
I sing my Savior’s praise!
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 lonely throned instead;
the hungry filled with all good things,
the rich sent off unfed.

My soul proclaims your greatness, O Lord;
I sing my Savior’s praise!
Great wonders you have done for me,
and holy is your name.

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.

My soul proclaims your greatness, O Lord;
I sing my Savior’s praise!
Great wonders you have done for me,
and holy is your name,
and holy is your name.

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

O blessed Trinity.

in whom we know the Maker of all things, seen and unseen,

the Saviour of all, both near and far:

by your Spirit enable us so to worship your divine majesty,

that with all the company of heaven

we may magnify your glorious name, saying,

Holy, holy, holy. Glory to you, Lord most high.

Amen.

The Lord's Prayer

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 Fred Pratt Green’s hymn, “Though I Speak with Tongues of Men and Angels.”

Though I speak with tongues of men and angels,
Though I have the prophet's gift,
Though I hold the key to hidden knowledge,
Though my faith can mountain shift:
Without love I am no better.
Without love it's all for naught:
Lord, you spent your life in loving others:
What this means I would be taught.

Love is kind and patient, knows no envy,
Never gloats when others sin;
Love is never glad to see injustice,
Always wants the truth to win.
There's no end to love's endurance,
There's no test it cannot face;
Lord, you spent your life in loving others:
I shall fail without your grace.

Though there'll be an end to hidden knowledge,
Visions, raptures, prophecy:
Faith and hope and love shall last for ever,
Love the greatest of the three.
Without love I am no better,
Without love it's all for naught;
Lord, you gave your life in saving others:
What this means I would be taught.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Elaine Hagenberg’s setting of the traditional Irish blessing, “You Do Not Walk Alone.”

May you see God's light on the path ahead
when the road you walk is dark.
May you always hear
even in your hour of sorrow
the gentle singing of the lark.
When times are hard
may hardness never turn your heart to stone.
May you always remember when the shadows fall–
You do not walk alone.

May you see God's light on the path ahead
when the road you walk is dark.
May you always hear
even in your hour of sorrow
the gentle singing of the lark.
When times are hard
may hardness never turn your heart to stone.
May you always remember when the shadows fall–
You do not walk alone.
You do not walk alone.

May you see God's light on the path ahead
when the road you walk is dark.
May you always hear
even in your hour of sorrow
the gentle singing of the lark.
When times are hard
may hardness never turn your heart to stone.
May you always remember when the shadows fall–
You do not walk alone.