All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (July 17, 2021)
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 Stephen Sturk’s choral arrangement of the Phos hilaron, “O Gracious Light.”
1 O gracious Light,
pure brightness of the
everliving Father in heaven.
O Jesus, Christ, holy and blessed!
2 Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing thy praises, O God:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
3 Thou art worthy at all times
to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.
Thanksgiving
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
our light and our salvation,
eternal creator of day and night,
to you be glory and praise for ever.
Now, as darkness is falling,
hear the prayer of your faithful people.
As we look for your coming in glory,
wash away our transgressions,
cleanse us by your refining fire
and make us temples of your Holy Spirit.
By the light of Christ,
dispel the darkness of our hearts
and make us ready to enter your kingdom,
where songs of praise for ever sound.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God for ever. Amen.
Psalm 141 is sung and incense may be burned.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Peter Inwood’s responsorial setting of Psalm 141, “O Lord, Let My Prayer Rise Before You Like Incense.”
O Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
1 Lord, I am calling:
hasten to help me.
Listen to me as I cry to you.
Let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
O Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
2 Lord, set a guard at my mouth,
keep watch at the gate of my lips.
Let my heart not turn to things that are wrong,
to sharing the evil deeds done by the sinful.
No, I will never taste their delights.
O Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
3 The good may reprove me,
in kindness chastise me,
but the wicked shall never anoint my head.
Ev’ry day I counter their malice with prayer.
Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
A light no darkness can extinguish.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Stephen Sturk’s choral arrangement of the Phos hilaron, “O Gracious Light.”
1 O gracious Light,
pure brightness of the
everliving Father in heaven.
O Jesus, Christ, holy and blessed!
2 Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing thy praises, O God:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
3 Thou art worthy at all times
to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.
Thanksgiving
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
our light and our salvation,
eternal creator of day and night,
to you be glory and praise for ever.
Now, as darkness is falling,
hear the prayer of your faithful people.
As we look for your coming in glory,
wash away our transgressions,
cleanse us by your refining fire
and make us temples of your Holy Spirit.
By the light of Christ,
dispel the darkness of our hearts
and make us ready to enter your kingdom,
where songs of praise for ever sound.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God for ever. Amen.
Psalm 141 is sung and incense may be burned.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Peter Inwood’s responsorial setting of Psalm 141, “O Lord, Let My Prayer Rise Before You Like Incense.”
O Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
1 Lord, I am calling:
hasten to help me.
Listen to me as I cry to you.
Let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
O Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
2 Lord, set a guard at my mouth,
keep watch at the gate of my lips.
Let my heart not turn to things that are wrong,
to sharing the evil deeds done by the sinful.
No, I will never taste their delights.
O Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
3 The good may reprove me,
in kindness chastise me,
but the wicked shall never anoint my head.
Ev’ry day I counter their malice with prayer.
O Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
4 To you, Lord, my God, my eyes are turned:
in you I take refuge;
do not forsake me.
Keep me from the traps they have set for me,
from the snares of those who do evil.
O Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
5 Praise to the Father, praise to the Son,
all praise to the life-giving Spirit.
As it was, is now and shall always be
for ages unending. Amen.
O Lord, let my prayer rise before you as incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
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 Luke Mayernik’s responsorial setting of Psalm 113, "Blessed Be the Name of the Lord."
Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever, for ever.
1 Praise, you servants of the Lord
praise the name of the Lord.
Blessed be the name of the Lord
both now and for ever.
Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever, for ever.
2 From the rising to the setting of the sun
is the name of the Lord to be praised.
High above all the nations is the Lord;
above the heavens is his glory.
Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever, for ever.
3 Who is like the Lord, our God,
who is enthroned on high
and looks upon the heavens
and the earth below?
Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever, for ever.
4 He raises up the lowly from the dust;
from the dunghill he lifts up the poor
to seat them with princes,
with princes of his own people.
Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever, for ever.
Silence is kept.
Lord Jesus, surrendering the brightness of your glory, you became mortal so that we might be raised from the dust to share your very being. May the children of God always bless your name from the rising of the sun to its going down, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear the Hymns for Today’s version of “Christ Is Our Cornerstone.”
1 Christ is our cornerstone,
on him alone we build;
with his true saints alone
the courts of heaven are filled;
on his great love our hopes we place,
of present grace and joys above.
2 Here, gracious God, draw near
as in your name we bow;
each true petition hear,
accept each faithful vow;
and more and more on all who pray
each holy day your blessings pour.
3 With psalms and hymns of praise
this holy place shall ring;
our voices we will raise,
the Three-in-One to sing;
and thus proclaim in joyful song
both loud and long, that glorious name.
The Proclamation of the Word
The Reading
Ephesians 2: 11-22 One in Christ
So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called “the uncircumcision” by those who are called “the circumcision”—a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands—remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.
Silence is kept.
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory
The Homily
Black, brown, and white. European, Chinese, Korean, Native American, Nigerian, Rwandan. Gentile, Jew. We are one in Christ! One in Christ!!
We are no longer outsiders. We are God’s “hallows,” God's holy ones, and members of God's household. We are a holy temple in the Lord, a dwelling place for God.
All who believe in Jesus. All who confess with their lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised him from the dead. All into whose hearts God has sent the Spirit of his Son, crying “Abba! Father!” All who love Jesus and keep his word.
We may take this for granted.
But in Paul’s time the Jews believed that God only showed his merciful kindness to his chosen people, themselves. The Gentiles, those who were not Jews, were not party to the covenant that God made with Abraham. They were not party to the covenant that God made with the people of Israel. They were not party to the promises that came with these covenants. They had no hope. They were without God.
While Jesus told the Syrophoenician woman that his mission was first to the people of Israel, he nonetheless delivered the woman’s daughter from an evil spirit. He cleansed a Samaritan leper. He healed the servant of a Roman centurion.
In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, it is a despised Samaritan who is neighbor to the Jew beaten by robbers and left for dead, not the priest or the Levite. They cross to the other side of the road lest they defile themselves by touching what they believe is a corpse and make themselves ritually pure. They show no mercy to the injured man.
In the Sermon on the Mountain Jesus infers that God’s mercy extends to all, non-Jews as well as Jews, instructing the multitude to love their enemies and to pray for those who persecute them so they may show themselves to be children of their Father in heaven who “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.”
In Luke’s Gospel Jesus rebukes his disciples James and John who want to call down fire on a Samaritan village that refuses to show them hospitality because they are going to Jerusalem. The Samaritans believed that Mount Gerizim in Samaria, not the Temple Mount of Meriah in Jerusalem, was the original holy place of Israel, the place which God had chosen for the people of Israel to worship him. The village’s refusal to receive Jesus and his disciples was most likely tied to this belief.
In the Acts of the Apostles, the narrative repeatedly draws to our attention that the way of salvation which Jesus opened with his suffering and death on the cross is not just for Jews, but also for Gentiles and Samaritans. Peter’s vison of the unclean things that God directed him to eat. The descent of the Holy Spirit on Cornelius and his companions. The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Samaritans. The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Ephesians. Philip’s meeting with the Ethiopian eunuch, the treasurer of the Candace, the Ethiopian queen, at Gaza and his conversion and baptism. All these events point to this single truth—those who “once were far off,” in Paul’s words, “have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
If you are not familiar with these events, I recommend that you read the Acts of the Apostles. Read Luke’s Gospel first. Luke’s Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles are meant to be read together.
What difference then does Paul’s words make? One difference is that Paul infers in today’s reading is that God is a whole lot kinder than we are to each other. God is far more generous. And forgiving too. God does not confine his grace to one small part of the humankind but extends his merciful kindness to the entire human race. God is much bigger than we imagine.
We apt to think that when it comes to kindness, only people who resemble ourselves, people who share our beliefs and values, people who interest us at a particular moment in time, people who may benefit us in some way, merit our kindness and respect. We are also apt to look at God as our God, not theirs! God cannot possibly care about them! Jesus could not have really meant that! Keep on forgiving people, not to hold grudges! Come off it!
A second difference is that what Paul says in today’s reading sheds light on what he meant earlier in his letter to the Ephesians when he wrote, “God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love” and “destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ….” God’s decision to open the way of salvation to non-Jews as well as Jews was a part of his plan in the first place. It was not a spur of the moment decision.
A third difference is that it is not us who get to decide who is worthy to hear the good news of Jesus Christ, who gets pointed to Jesus and who gets passed over. We are to be promiscuous, undiscriminating, regarding to whom we show and share the love of Jesus. If we pick and choose, we are not doing God’s will. We are not to discriminate with respect to whom we are kind, generous, and forgiving.
When Jesus said, “love your neighbor as yourself,” he did not say “love this neighbor but not that one.” When he said, “do to others what you would wish done to you,” he did not say, “But those folks over there you can treat in whatever the way you like.” When Jesus told the disciples to love each other as he had loved them, he did not provide them with a list of exceptions. As we have seen in the Sermon on the Mountain, Jesus tells us that it is not enough to love those who love us. We must also love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.
Our love of God and our love of others are inseparable. They go hand in hand. Both Jesus and the apostles point this truth to our attention.
Yes, some people are harder to love than others. God, however, does not excuse us from loving them. Loving someone is not the same as condoning their words or actions. But it does include being kind, generous, and forgiving.
God also supplies with his grace, the power of his presence in our lives, grace that gives us the will to love others and grace that enables us to love them. When we begin to desire what God would have us desire, God will work with us to fulfill that desire—to be loving and compassionate like Jesus himself and to emulate his life and teaching, to live our lives to the glory of God as Jesus did when he lived on earth. We do not have to love others in our own strength. We love them in the strength that God alone can give, the strength that he gives to us in our weakness.
Silence is kept.
The Gospel Canticle
Open this link in a new tab to hear Bernadette Farrell - Owen Alstott’s setting of the Magnificat, “My Soul Proclaims the Greatness of the Lord.”
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
My spirit sings to God, my saving God,
Who on this day above all others favored me
And raised me up, a light for all to see.
Through me great deeds will God make manifest,
And all the earth will come to call me blest.
Unbounded love and mercy sure will I proclaim
For all who know and praise God's holy name.
God's mighty arm, protector of the just,
Will guard the weak and raise them from the dust.
But mighty kings will swiftly fall from thrones corrupt.
The strong brought low, the lowly lifted up.
Soon will the poor and hungry of the earth
Be richly blest, be given greater worth.
And Israel, as once foretold to Abraham,
Will live in peace throughout the promised land.
All glory be to God, Creator blest,
To Jesus Christ, God's love made manifest,
And to the Holy Spirit, gentle Comforter,
All glory be, both now and ever more.
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
Eternal God,
author of our life and end of our pilgrimage:
guide us by your word and Spirit
amid all perils and temptations,
that we may not wander from your way,
but may run our course in safety
until we come to eternal rest in you;
through the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and 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 Janet Sullivan Whitaker’s “In Every Age.”
Long before the mountains came to be
and the land and sea and stars of the night,
Through the endless seasons of all time,
You have always been, you will always be.
In every age, O God, you have been our refuge.
In every age, O God, you have been our hope.
Destiny is cast and at your silent word
We return to dust and scatter to the wind.
A thousand years are like a single moment gone,
As the light that fades at the end of day.
In every age, O God, you have been our refuge.
In every age, O God, you have been our hope.
Teach us to make use of the time we have.
Teach us to be patient even as we wait.
Teach us to embrace our every joy and pain.
To sleep peacefully, and to rise up strong.
In every age, O God, you have been our refuge.
In every age, O God, you have been our hope.
In every age, O God, you have been our refuge.
In every age, O God, you have been our hope.
You have been our refuge.
You have been our hope.
The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
Let us praise the Lord,
Thanks be to God.
Open this link in a new tab to hear John Rutter’s choral benediction, “A Gaelic Blessing.”
Deep peace of the running wave to you
Deep peace of the flowing air to you
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you
Deep peace of the shining stars to you
Deep peace of the gentle night to you
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you
Deep peace of Christ
of Christ
the light of the world to you
Deep peace of Christ
to you
Deep peace of the running wave to you
Deep peace of the flowing air to you
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you
Deep peace of the shining stars to you
Deep peace of the gentle night to you
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you
Deep peace of Christ
of Christ
the light of the world to you
Deep peace of Christ
to you
my hands like an evening offering.
4 To you, Lord, my God, my eyes are turned:
in you I take refuge;
do not forsake me.
Keep me from the traps they have set for me,
from the snares of those who do evil.
O Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
5 Praise to the Father, praise to the Son,
all praise to the life-giving Spirit.
As it was, is now and shall always be
for ages unending. Amen.
O Lord, let my prayer rise before you as incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
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 Luke Mayernik’s responsorial setting of Psalm 113, "Blessed Be the Name of the Lord."
Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever, for ever.
1 Praise, you servants of the Lord
praise the name of the Lord.
Blessed be the name of the Lord
both now and for ever.
Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever, for ever.
2 From the rising to the setting of the sun
is the name of the Lord to be praised.
High above all the nations is the Lord;
above the heavens is his glory.
Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever, for ever.
3 Who is like the Lord, our God,
who is enthroned on high
and looks upon the heavens
and the earth below?
Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever, for ever.
4 He raises up the lowly from the dust;
from the dunghill he lifts up the poor
to seat them with princes,
with princes of his own people.
Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever, for ever.
Silence is kept.
Lord Jesus, surrendering the brightness of your glory, you became mortal so that we might be raised from the dust to share your very being. May the children of God always bless your name from the rising of the sun to its going down, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear the Hymns for Today’s version of “Christ Is Our Cornerstone.”
1 Christ is our cornerstone,
on him alone we build;
with his true saints alone
the courts of heaven are filled;
on his great love our hopes we place,
of present grace and joys above.
2 Here, gracious God, draw near
as in your name we bow;
each true petition hear,
accept each faithful vow;
and more and more on all who pray
each holy day your blessings pour.
3 With psalms and hymns of praise
this holy place shall ring;
our voices we will raise,
the Three-in-One to sing;
and thus proclaim in joyful song
both loud and long, that glorious name.
The Proclamation of the Word
The Reading
Ephesians 2: 11-22 One in Christ
So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called “the uncircumcision” by those who are called “the circumcision”—a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands—remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.
Silence is kept.
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory
The Homily
No Longer Outsiders
Black, brown, and white. European, Chinese, Korean, Native American, Nigerian, Rwandan. Gentile, Jew. We are one in Christ! One in Christ!!
We are no longer outsiders. We are God’s “hallows,” God's holy ones, and members of God's household. We are a holy temple in the Lord, a dwelling place for God.
All who believe in Jesus. All who confess with their lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised him from the dead. All into whose hearts God has sent the Spirit of his Son, crying “Abba! Father!” All who love Jesus and keep his word.
We may take this for granted.
But in Paul’s time the Jews believed that God only showed his merciful kindness to his chosen people, themselves. The Gentiles, those who were not Jews, were not party to the covenant that God made with Abraham. They were not party to the covenant that God made with the people of Israel. They were not party to the promises that came with these covenants. They had no hope. They were without God.
While Jesus told the Syrophoenician woman that his mission was first to the people of Israel, he nonetheless delivered the woman’s daughter from an evil spirit. He cleansed a Samaritan leper. He healed the servant of a Roman centurion.
In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, it is a despised Samaritan who is neighbor to the Jew beaten by robbers and left for dead, not the priest or the Levite. They cross to the other side of the road lest they defile themselves by touching what they believe is a corpse and make themselves ritually pure. They show no mercy to the injured man.
In the Sermon on the Mountain Jesus infers that God’s mercy extends to all, non-Jews as well as Jews, instructing the multitude to love their enemies and to pray for those who persecute them so they may show themselves to be children of their Father in heaven who “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.”
In Luke’s Gospel Jesus rebukes his disciples James and John who want to call down fire on a Samaritan village that refuses to show them hospitality because they are going to Jerusalem. The Samaritans believed that Mount Gerizim in Samaria, not the Temple Mount of Meriah in Jerusalem, was the original holy place of Israel, the place which God had chosen for the people of Israel to worship him. The village’s refusal to receive Jesus and his disciples was most likely tied to this belief.
In the Acts of the Apostles, the narrative repeatedly draws to our attention that the way of salvation which Jesus opened with his suffering and death on the cross is not just for Jews, but also for Gentiles and Samaritans. Peter’s vison of the unclean things that God directed him to eat. The descent of the Holy Spirit on Cornelius and his companions. The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Samaritans. The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Ephesians. Philip’s meeting with the Ethiopian eunuch, the treasurer of the Candace, the Ethiopian queen, at Gaza and his conversion and baptism. All these events point to this single truth—those who “once were far off,” in Paul’s words, “have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
If you are not familiar with these events, I recommend that you read the Acts of the Apostles. Read Luke’s Gospel first. Luke’s Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles are meant to be read together.
What difference then does Paul’s words make? One difference is that Paul infers in today’s reading is that God is a whole lot kinder than we are to each other. God is far more generous. And forgiving too. God does not confine his grace to one small part of the humankind but extends his merciful kindness to the entire human race. God is much bigger than we imagine.
We apt to think that when it comes to kindness, only people who resemble ourselves, people who share our beliefs and values, people who interest us at a particular moment in time, people who may benefit us in some way, merit our kindness and respect. We are also apt to look at God as our God, not theirs! God cannot possibly care about them! Jesus could not have really meant that! Keep on forgiving people, not to hold grudges! Come off it!
A second difference is that what Paul says in today’s reading sheds light on what he meant earlier in his letter to the Ephesians when he wrote, “God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love” and “destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ….” God’s decision to open the way of salvation to non-Jews as well as Jews was a part of his plan in the first place. It was not a spur of the moment decision.
A third difference is that it is not us who get to decide who is worthy to hear the good news of Jesus Christ, who gets pointed to Jesus and who gets passed over. We are to be promiscuous, undiscriminating, regarding to whom we show and share the love of Jesus. If we pick and choose, we are not doing God’s will. We are not to discriminate with respect to whom we are kind, generous, and forgiving.
When Jesus said, “love your neighbor as yourself,” he did not say “love this neighbor but not that one.” When he said, “do to others what you would wish done to you,” he did not say, “But those folks over there you can treat in whatever the way you like.” When Jesus told the disciples to love each other as he had loved them, he did not provide them with a list of exceptions. As we have seen in the Sermon on the Mountain, Jesus tells us that it is not enough to love those who love us. We must also love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.
Our love of God and our love of others are inseparable. They go hand in hand. Both Jesus and the apostles point this truth to our attention.
Yes, some people are harder to love than others. God, however, does not excuse us from loving them. Loving someone is not the same as condoning their words or actions. But it does include being kind, generous, and forgiving.
God also supplies with his grace, the power of his presence in our lives, grace that gives us the will to love others and grace that enables us to love them. When we begin to desire what God would have us desire, God will work with us to fulfill that desire—to be loving and compassionate like Jesus himself and to emulate his life and teaching, to live our lives to the glory of God as Jesus did when he lived on earth. We do not have to love others in our own strength. We love them in the strength that God alone can give, the strength that he gives to us in our weakness.
Silence is kept.
The Gospel Canticle
Open this link in a new tab to hear Bernadette Farrell - Owen Alstott’s setting of the Magnificat, “My Soul Proclaims the Greatness of the Lord.”
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
My spirit sings to God, my saving God,
Who on this day above all others favored me
And raised me up, a light for all to see.
Through me great deeds will God make manifest,
And all the earth will come to call me blest.
Unbounded love and mercy sure will I proclaim
For all who know and praise God's holy name.
God's mighty arm, protector of the just,
Will guard the weak and raise them from the dust.
But mighty kings will swiftly fall from thrones corrupt.
The strong brought low, the lowly lifted up.
Soon will the poor and hungry of the earth
Be richly blest, be given greater worth.
And Israel, as once foretold to Abraham,
Will live in peace throughout the promised land.
All glory be to God, Creator blest,
To Jesus Christ, God's love made manifest,
And to the Holy Spirit, gentle Comforter,
All glory be, both now and ever more.
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
Eternal God,
author of our life and end of our pilgrimage:
guide us by your word and Spirit
amid all perils and temptations,
that we may not wander from your way,
but may run our course in safety
until we come to eternal rest in you;
through the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and 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 Janet Sullivan Whitaker’s “In Every Age.”
Long before the mountains came to be
and the land and sea and stars of the night,
Through the endless seasons of all time,
You have always been, you will always be.
In every age, O God, you have been our refuge.
In every age, O God, you have been our hope.
Destiny is cast and at your silent word
We return to dust and scatter to the wind.
A thousand years are like a single moment gone,
As the light that fades at the end of day.
In every age, O God, you have been our refuge.
In every age, O God, you have been our hope.
Teach us to make use of the time we have.
Teach us to be patient even as we wait.
Teach us to embrace our every joy and pain.
To sleep peacefully, and to rise up strong.
In every age, O God, you have been our refuge.
In every age, O God, you have been our hope.
In every age, O God, you have been our refuge.
In every age, O God, you have been our hope.
You have been our refuge.
You have been our hope.
The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
Let us praise the Lord,
Thanks be to God.
Open this link in a new tab to hear John Rutter’s choral benediction, “A Gaelic Blessing.”
Deep peace of the running wave to you
Deep peace of the flowing air to you
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you
Deep peace of the shining stars to you
Deep peace of the gentle night to you
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you
Deep peace of Christ
of Christ
the light of the world to you
Deep peace of Christ
to you
Deep peace of the running wave to you
Deep peace of the flowing air to you
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you
Deep peace of the shining stars to you
Deep peace of the gentle night to you
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you
Deep peace of Christ
of Christ
the light of the world to you
Deep peace of Christ
to you
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