All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (June 2, 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.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Poor Bishop Hooper’s “Psalm 36: A Psalm of Wisdom”

a burden is burning
concerning the wicked at heart
a burden is burning
concerning the wicked at heart

there is no fear of God before his eyes
he flatters himself too much to realize
and have hate for his sin

all of the words pouring from his mouth
long to be wrong wrought with wickedness
even in sleep he dreams deceit
evil his plot and his plan
he does not reject sin

but your love

but your love
reaches to the heavens
but your love
righteous like the mountain
but your love
justice like the great deep
priceless is your love

priceless is your love

Silence is kept.

O God, the well of life,
make us bright with wisdom,
that we may be lightened with the knowledge of your glory
in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Michael Joncas’ choral arrangement of Timothy Dudley Smith’s hymn, “Not for Tongues of Heaven’s Angels.”

1. Not for tongues of heaven's angels,
not for wisdom to discern,
not for faith that masters mountains,
for this better gift we yearn.

May love be ours, O Lord;
may love be ours.
May love be ours, O Lord.

2. Love is humble; love is gentle;
love is tender, true and kind;
love is gracious, ever patient,
generous of heart and mind.

May love be ours, O Lord;
may love be ours.
May love be ours, O Lord.

3. Never jealous, never selfish,
love will not rejoice in wrong;
never boastful, nor resentful,
love believes and suffers long.

May love be ours, O Lord;
may love be ours.
May love be ours, O Lord.

4. Soon will fade the word of wisdom
faith and hope be one day past:
When we see our Savior clearly
love it is alone will last.

May love be ours, O Lord;
may love be ours.
May love be ours, O Lord.

The Proclamation of the Word

The Reading

Matthew 9: 14-17 The Question about Fasting

Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

Silence is kept

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

The Homily

Children of Our Father in Heaven

Sandwiched between Jesus’ calling of the tax collect Matthew and the healing of a woman and the raising of a young girl from the dead, today’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew draws our attention to a truth and to a principle.

Note how Jesus turns John’s disciples’ question into a teaching opportunity. In his answer to their question Jesus associates fasting with mourning. He is not talking about mourning over sins. He is talking about mourning over the taking away of the bridegroom. The bridegroom is himself. Why should his disciples mourn while they have him with them? They will have plenty of time to mourn after he is taken away—an allusion to his eventual arrest, trial, scourging, and crucifixion, His answer, I suspect, left John’s disciples scratching their heads. If we have read Matthew’s Gospel we are “in” on what Jesus is saying. We have an idea about what Jesus is talking. John’s disciples, however, do not. They do not realize that he is hinting about his own taking away. When he is gone, his disciples may choose to fast as a way of grieving over their loss.

If we have read all the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, we are “in” on the bigger picture too. Jesus will be crucified, dead, and buried, only to rise from the dead. The disciples’ sorrow will be turned to joy. While Jesus would ascend to heaven in their presence, he would also promise to send them the Holy Spirit and to be with them to the end of the age. This itself does not call for sorrow but joy. When we consider the bigger picture, Jesus does not appear to be talking about fasting at all. If Jesus is indeed with us to the end of the age as he promised, then there is no reason to mourn over his return to heaven or to fast as a way of mourning his departure.

Jesus does give instructions to his disciples on fasting but not in this passage. He basically tells them that when they fast to not make a big production of fasting and not to draw attention to themselves.

While we may be “in” on the first part of Jesus’ answer to John’s disciples, most of us are not “in” on the second part of his answer. We live in age of preshrunk iron-on patches and new wine fermented in casks and bottles. We also live in an age where most people are likely to throw away a garment with a hole or tear in it than repair the garment. There are exceptions like myself whose grandparents and mother were thrifty people and who learned the many uses of Duck Tape later in life.

If one repairs a rip or tear in an old garment with a piece of unshrunken cloth, the patch when it shrinks and it will shrink, will pulls out the stitches and widen the rip or tear. The patch must be shrunken first and then sewn on.

At one time wine was fermented in bags made from goat skin. New wineskins were used to make new wine because they were pliant and expanded as the wine fermented. On the other hand, old wineskins were good only for storing old wine. They were no longer supple and would crack and burst when new wine was fermented in them.

What was Jesus saying when he used these two illustrations? It is tempting to read our own meaning into this part of Jesus’ answer. But what did Jesus mean?

If we are going to fix something, we need to make sure that what we are going to do to repair it is going to do the job. We do not want to make what we are fixing worse than before.

When we make something new like wine, we want to make sure that we do not lose what we are making by putting it in the wrong container or doing anything else wrong.

Both illustrations suggest that we should exercise care and thought in what we are going to do. We should not simply imitate what others are doing because they are doing it.

What Jesus appears to be saying is: “Look, fellas, fasting is not the best way for my disciples to do what I wish them to do. It may make things worse than they were before. I am doing something new, and I do not want to undo what I am doing by encouraging them to do the wrong thing. Following me as a disciple is not about fasting a lot.”

Put very simply, there is more to following Jesus than fasting.

When we look at the bigger picture, there is indeed more to following Jesus than fasting. Or tithing. Or giving alms to the poor. Or washing our hands. Or observing all the practices that devote Jews observed.

Jesus hints at it in the passages that precede today’s reading and demonstrates it in the passages that follow the reading. In the passages that precede the reading Jesus reiterates what God said through the prophet Hosea. “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” In the passages that follow the reading, Jesus heals a woman, raises a young girl from the dead, and heals two blind men. Jesus also casts out a demon from a man whom the demon had robbed of his speech, enabling the man to speak. All these acts were acts of mercy.

An ever-present danger for Christians is that we can become so wrapped up in what we see as our religious duties that we lose sight of Jesus’ teaching to show mercy towards others as God shows mercy toward us. When Jesus answered John’s disciples, I believe that we can safely conclude that Jesus had this tendency in mind. He had seen how the Pharisees and teachers of the Law, while scrupulous in fulfilling what they saw as their religious duties showed little compassion toward their fellow human beings. Placing too much stress on fasting would have encouraged this tendency in his disciples and would have undermined what he was teaching them. Being one of his followers involved more than keeping rules.

Earlier on in Matthew’s Gospel, in the sermon on the mountain, Jesus says these words to the crowds that flocked to hear him:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48, NRSV

What Jesus is telling the multitude is to look at their fellow human beings in a new and different way from the way that they have become accustomed to looking at other people. Whether we realize it, we all have subconscious biases through which we see the world as through a filter. They affect how we see other people. Jesus is telling the multitude and us that we should see our fellow human beings as God sees us and treat them as God treats us.

This can be a tremendous challenge for those who regard themselves to be followers of Jesus. Despite the passage of two thousand years, we have not learned to see our fellow human beings as God sees us and treat them as God treats us. What should be a distinguishing characteristic of us as followers of Jesus--a deep love for all humankind--has fallen by the wayside. We are the products of whatever the culture that exerts the strongest influence upon us.

Jesus, however, through the Word and the Holy Spirit, still tells those who would listen, “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ Will we be one of those who hears his words, takes them to heart, and acts upon them? Will we indeed show ourselves to be a child of our Father in heaven?

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 Steven C. Wagner’s “The Lorica of Ballyloughlin.”

Christ, within!
Christ, before!
Christ, behind!
Christ, below!
Christ, above!
Christ, around!
On my right!
On my left!
Christ, above!
Christ, around!
Christ, behind!
Christ, below!
Christ, within us!
Christ, before!
Christ, around us!
Christ, below!
In the heart of all my thinking,
In the mouth of all my speaking.
Christ, within us!
Christ, before!
Christ, around us!
Christ, below!
In my resting and my rising,
In my waking and my dying.
Christ, surround and strengthen me!
Christ, in all I hope to be!

Open in this link to hear Mark Sirett’s “Gaelic Grace.”

Deep peace of the running wave to you
Deep peace, deep peace of the flowing air to you
Deep peace, deep peace of the quiet earth
Deep peace of the shining stars
Deep peace of the gentle night, of the gentle night
Moon and stars pour their healing light
Deep peace of the quiet earth
Deep peace of the shining stars
Deep peace of the gentle night, of the gentle night
Deep peace of Christ
Peace of Christ
the light of the world to you
Deep peace, deep peace of the light of Christ to you