All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (July 31, 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 Michael John Trotta’s choral arrangement of “O Gracious Light.”

O gracious Light,
pure brightness
of the everliving Father in heaven.
O Jesus, Christ, holy and blessed!

Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

You are worthy at all times
to be praised,
You are worthy at all times
to be praised,
You are worthy at all times,
worthy to be praised,
praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, Giver of light,
you are worthy to be glorified
through all the worlds.

O gracious Light,
O gracious Light,
pure brightness
of the everliving Father in heaven.
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
O gracious Light, gracious Light,
pure brightness
of the everliving Father in heaven.
Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Holy and blessed!
Holy and blessed!

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 Michael Joncas’ responsorial setting of Psalm 84, “How Lovely Is Your Dwelling Place.”

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord God of Hosts!
How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord God of Hosts!

My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the Lord,
My heart and my flesh cry out;
Even the sparrow may find a home,
The swallow a nest for her young;
Your altars, my king and my God.

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord God of Hosts!

How happy are they who may dwell in your courts,
How happy when you are their strength;
Though they might go through the valley of death,
They make it a place of springs.
Your first rain will bring it to life.

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord God of Hosts!

O Lord of Hosts hear my cry,
And harken, O God of Jacob;
One day in your house is worth much more to me
Than ten thousand anywhere else.
The Lord is my sun and my shield.

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord God of Hosts!

Silence is kept.

Lord God,
sustain us in this vale of tears
with the vision of your grace and glory,
that, strengthened by the bread of life,
we may come to your eternal dwelling place;
in the power 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

Ephesians 4: 1-16 Unity in the Body of Christ

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said,

“When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;
he gave gifts to his people.”

(When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

Silence is kept.

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

The Homily

One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One God and Father of All

Paul’s appeal for unity at the beginning of today’s reading, while often applied to the larger Church, is directed at the local church, in this case to the church at Ephesus. Paul seeks to persuade the Ephesians to live a life worthy of their calling, a life characterized by humbleness and gentleness, patience, and loving forbearance, to do all they can to live peacefully with each other and to keep up the unity that comes from the Holy Spirit. He reminds them that they are members of the same body and share in the same Spirit. They have the same calling, same Lord, the same faith, the same baptism, and the same God and Father of all.

In a century in which local churches are increasingly divided over such issues as COVID-19, immigration, and politics, it is an appeal that we ourselves need to heed. What we are seeing in the local church is not the unity of the Holy Spirit, but a state that arise from welcoming only those who share our opinions, those who resemble us in their race, ethnicity, language, social-economic class, marital status, cultural background, age echelon, and lifestyle. Homogeneity, however, is not what Paul is urging the Ephesians to make every effort to maintain. We are apt to confuse the two, but they are not the same.

Unity of the Holy Spirit bears differences of opinion in love. Unity of the Holy Spirit also embraces diversity. It may come as a surprise to us, but when God opened the way of salvation to the Gentiles through Christ’ suffering and death on the cross, God opened the way of salvation to the whole human race, not one segment of the human race, people like ourselves, but the entire human race. This was God’s plan from the very outset. It was not a spur of the moment decision.

As Paul points to the attention of the Ephesians and to our attention earlier in his letter, God’s love for us is far greater that we can imagine. It extends beyond the limits that we would like to place on God’s love, confining it to one particular group of people, ourselves.

God does not make a distinction between us on the basis of political opinion or race or language or age or way of life. We may choose to make such distinctions, but God does not. God is not solely the God of the middle-class married white couple living in the suburbs. God is also the God of the Black family living in a trailer on a gravel road in the sticks. God is the God of the single Latino mother living in the barrios too.

Paul’s reminder to the Ephesians that they are one body and they share in the same Spirit is a reminder to us that we are also one body and share in the same Spirit. We may look different from each other. We may speak differently from each other. We may come from different walks of life. Some of us may be old; others young. Some married; others single. Some well-off; others poor. But we have the same calling, same Lord, the same faith, the same baptism, and the same God and Father of all.

God shows us the same merciful kindness. It is the same holy influence that is transforming our lives, making us more and more like Jesus, more loving, more compassionate, more forgiving, more generous, enabling us to grow up in every way into Jesus who is our head, to whom and with whom we are joined as his body here on earth.

Silence is kept.

The Gospel Canticle

Open this link in a new tab to hear Dan Schutte’s adaptation of the Nunc Dimittis, “Let Me Go Now in Peace.”

1 Hear the prayer of your servant; let me go now in peace
To the home you have promised where our joys never cease.
I have seen with my eyes what the prophets have foretold.
I have held in my arms God, my Savior

2 I have walked in your temple in the soft morning light
And have knelt in your presence in the still of the night
I have seen with my eyes what the prophets have foretold
I have held in my arms God, my Savior

3 I have worn smooth your pathways that I've loved from the start
As you've carved loving furrows in the stone of my heart
I have seen with my eyes what the prophets have foretold
I have held in my arms God, my Savior

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

Living God,
whose Son Jesus fed the hungry
with the bread of his life
and the word of his Kingdom:
renew your people with your heavenly grace,
and in all our weakness
sustain us with your true and living bread,
Jesus Christ our Lord;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for 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 Michael Joncas’ sacred song, “All Who Are Led by the Spirit of Jesus.”

All who are led by the Spirit of Jesus,
all those who walk in the footsteps of Christ,
all those who follow where Love will lead them
are the sons and the daughters, the children of God.

All who are led by the Spirit of Jesus,
all those who walk in the footsteps of Christ,
all those who follow where Love will lead them
are the sons and the daughters, the children of God.

1 The Spirit of God is no spirit of slav’ry;
the Spirit drives all fear from our hearts;
the Spirit of God shatters all that would bind us.
The Spirit of God makes us children of God.

All who are led by the Spirit of Jesus,
all those who walk in the footsteps of Christ,
all those who follow where Love will lead them
are the sons and the daughters, the children of God.

2 The Spirit of God bids us cry, “Abba, Father”;
The Spirit of God makes a home in our hearts;
the Spirit of God helps our spirits bear witness.
The Spirit of God makes us children of God.

All who are led by the Spirit of Jesus,
all those who walk in the footsteps of Christ,
all those who follow where Love will lead them
are the sons and the daughters, the children of God.

3 The Spirit of God gives us patience in suff’ring;
the Spirit of God intercedes for our needs;
the Spirit of God is our promise of glory:
The Spirit of God makes us children of God.

All who are led by the Spirit of Jesus,
all those who walk in the footsteps of Christ,
all those who follow where Love will lead them
are the sons and the daughters, the children of God.

4 The Spirit of God groans with all creation;
the Spirit of God blesses dreams from the past;
the Spirit of God sets a vision before us:
The Spirit of God makes us children of God.

We who are led by the Spirit of Jesus,
we who will walk in the footsteps of Christ,
we who will follow where Love may lead us
are the sons and the daughters, the children of God,
are the sons and the daughters, the children of God.

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 Christopher Walker’s choral benediction, “May God Bless and Keep You.”

May God bless and keep you.
May God's face shine on you.
May God be kind to you
and give you peace.

May God bless and keep you.
May God's face shine on you.
May God be kind to you
and give you peace.

[Instrumental interlude]

May God bless and keep you.
May God's face shine on you.
May God be kind to you
and give you peace.

May God bless and keep you.
May God's face shine on you.
May God be kind to you
and give you peace.