All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (June 9, 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 Bernadette Farrel’s adaption of Psalm 42, “O God, For You I Long.”

O God, for you I long,
more than those who watch for the dawn:
like the deer that yearns for water,
so I thirst for you, my God.

Like the deer that yearns for running streams,
so I long for you, my God,
as my spirit longs to behold
the God of my life.

O God, for you I long,
more than those who watch for the dawn:
like the deer that yearns for water,
so I thirst for you, my God.

I drink tears as if they were my bread
by night and by day
as I hear it said all day long:
“Where is your God?”

O God, for you I long,
more than those who watch for the dawn:
like the deer that yearns for water,
so I thirst for you, my God.

Why so sad within me, O my soul,
why cast down and grieving now?
Hope in God:
I will praise you still,
my Savior, my God.

O God, for you I long,
more than those who watch for the dawn:
like the deer that yearns for water,
so I thirst for you, my God.

Silence is kept.

Come, Creator Spirit, source of life;
sustain us when our hearts are heavy
and our wells have run dry,
for you are the Father’s gift,
with him who is our living water,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Dan Schutte’s adaptation of Psalm 139, “You Are Near.”

Yahweh, I know you are near
Standing always at my side
You guard me from the foe
And you lead me in ways everlasting

Lord, you have searched my heart
And you know when I sit and when I stand
Your hand is upon me
Protecting me from death
Keeping me from harm

Yahweh, I know you are near
Standing always at my side
You guard me from the foe
And you lead me in ways everlasting

Where can I run from your love?
If I climb to the heavens you are there
If I fly to the sunrise
Or sail beyond the sea
Still I’d find you there

Yahweh, I know you are near
Standing always at my side
You guard me from the foe
And you lead me in ways everlasting

You know my heart and its ways,
you who formed me before I was born
in the secret of darkness
before I saw the sun
in my mother's womb.

Yahweh, I know you are near
Standing always at my side
You guard me from the foe
And you lead me in ways everlasting

Marvelous to me are your works
How profound are your thoughts, my Lord
Even if I could count them
They number as the stars
You would still be there

Yahweh, I know you are near
Standing always at my side
You guard me from the foe
And you lead me in ways everlasting

Silence is kept.

Creator God,
may every breath we take be for your glory,
may every footstep show you as our way,
that, trusting in your presence in this world,
we may, beyond this life, still be with you
where you are alive and reign
for ever and ever. Amen.

The Proclamation of the Word

The Reading

Mark 4: 26-29 The Parable of the Growing Seed

He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Silence is kept.

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

The Homily

The Garden Is Not Ours But God's

I live on the outskirts of a small university town . The town is located in a largely rural county and is surrounded by fields and subdivisions. The farther one drives from town, the more fields one sees and the less houses. The local farmers sometime plant winter wheat in the fall and harvest the wheat in June. When I read the parable in today’s reading, I see in my mind’s eye the different stages of the wheat growing the fields at the different times of year and the ripe wheat at harvest time. Most of the people who drive past the wheat fields, I suspect, do not pay that much attention to the growing wheat. Unless they are a farmer or a farm worker, it is not a part of their lives.

To those who came to hear Jesus, a bad wheat or barley crop would mean that they and their children would go hungry. Bread made from wheat or barley was a mainstay of their diet. They would have paid more attention to the growing wheat and barley where they lived.

For those who have not watched a plant grow from a seed, this parable may not be as easy to grasp as it is for farmers who grow crops, for householders who have a garden—flowers or vegetables or both—or for apartment dwellers who have indoor plants.

When wheat or barley are first planted, the seeds will lie dormant in the earth for a time, as if they were sleeping. Then they will begin to quicken, to germinate and to grow. The sprouting wheat or barley will appear as small green shoots on the surface of the field. It will then grow to looks like grass to the eye that is not accustomed to the sight of growing wheat or barley. Wheat and barley are, after all, types of grass that has been domesticated for their edible seeds. As the plant grows, a spike, also called the ear or head, will form at the top of the plant. In this spike will form the kernels of wheat or barley, the seeds and hard husks of the wheat or barley plant. They will ripen in the sun until they are ready for harvest. If they are not harvested, they will fall to the ground and reseed the spot where the wheat or barley grew.

What Jesus is saying is that God’s Kingdom grows like a field of wheat or barley. Instead of wheat or barley plants, however, God’s Kingdom is made up of people. The people are the plants. While the God’s Kingdom may grow in a field, a particular region, it is not a territory like an earthly kingdom.

How wheat or barley grew was a mystery to farmers at the time of Jesus' earthly ministry as Jesus himself points out. How God’s Kingdom grows is also a mystery. God works invisibly in our hearts and minds, transforming us, bringing our wills into line with his will and renewing his sin-marred image in us.

What may at first appear to be grass to the unaccustomed eye will eventually become a field of ripening wheat or barley. What may at first appear to be ordinary people, as God’s grace works in their lives, will become dwellers in God’s Kingdom. More accurately God’s Kingdom will come to dwell in them. They will be filled with God’s presence and God will rule over every area of their lives—their thoughts, their desires, their words, and their deeds. Like wheat and barley, they will come to bear fruit.

When we look at the people around us in this light, what may appear to our unaccustomed eye to be ordinary people are not what we may think that they are. They are seeds lying dormant in the ground. They are small green shoots poking their heads out of the ground. They are what we might mistakenly take for grass or for a weed. They are wheat or barley plants beginning to form a spike.

There are churches that insist that those who form their congregations must be ripening wheat or barley, ready for harvest. Otherwise, they cannot be a part of the church’s fellowship. In the world outside their doors, however. the wheat and barley that God has sown has not been sown in one field at the same time. It has not germinated around the same time. It is not growing at the same pace. It behooves us then to welcome into our fellowship all people whatever the stage of growth in which they are—dormant seeds, new shoots, growing stalks, forming spikes, and ripened grain. We cannot assume that God will not use us as channels of grace to them. Through our ministering to them God may not only be working in them, but God may also be working us.

We do not expect an unborn baby in her or his mother’s womb to talk or walk. Why then do we expect those who form the fellowship of our church to be full-grown disciples? Our task is to point them to Jesus, to be their companions and guides in their spiritual journey, to encourage them and cheer them on; to help them to get up when they fall; to live the life of disciple of Jesus in thought, desire, word, and deed, both in their presence and outside it; recognizing that the garden in which we all are planted is not our own but God’s.

The Bible tells us that God created a garden, and in that garden, God placed the first human beings--man and woman. That story suggests to me that God has a gardener’s heart. Jesus himself depicts God as a gardener, digging around the base of a fig tree and manuring the tree so that it will bear fruit, pruning grape vines so that they too will bear fruit. A gardener desires to see what he has planted grow and flourish. A gardener who is knowledgeable about plants will plant near each other plants that will help each other grow. This is something that I believe we need to bear always in mind. When we plant a flower or vegetable garden, we do not plant all the flowers or vegetables all at once. We plant them when it is the best time to plant them. God, the knowledgeable gardener that he is, does the same thing.

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

Almighty God,
give us such a vision of your purpose,
and such an assurance of your love and power,
that we may ever hold fast the hope
which is in Jesus Christ our Lord;
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever. 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. Warner’s arrangement of “Christ the Seed.”

Aig Criosd an siol; Aig Criosd am foghar, An iodhlannn Dhe, Gun tugar sinn. Aig Criosd a’mhuir; Aig Criosd an t-iasg; An liontan Dhe, Gun glachar sinn.

1 To Christ the seed, to Christ the harvest’
Into the barns of Christ may we be brought.
To Christ, the depth, the fish, the ocean,
Into the nets of Christ may we be caught.
From birthing to age, from age to our departing,
Your two strong arms, O Christ, be around us all.

2 From age to end; not end, but birthing,
Into the house of heav’n may we be called.
To Christ, To Christ, be the harvest! 

To Christ, his nets for us all!
Into the arms of Christ may we be called.

The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
Let us praise the Lord,
Thanks be to God.

May the peace of Christ be with us always. Amen.