All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (September 22, 2021)
Evening Prayer
The Service of LightJesus Christ is the light of the world.
A light no darkness can extinguish.
Open this link in a new tab to hear F. Bland Tucker’s translation of the Phos hilaron, “O Gracious Light.”
O Gracious Light, Lord Jesus Christ,
In you the Father’s glory shone.
Immortal, holy, blest is he,
And blest are you, his holy Son.
Now sunset comes, but light shines forth,
the lamps are lit to pierce the night.
Praise Father, Son, and Spirit: God
Who dwells in the eternal light.
Worthy are you of endless praise,
O Son of God, Life-giving Lord;
Wherefore you are through all the earth
And in the highest heaven adored.
O Gracious Light!
Thanksgiving
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Blessed are you, Creator of the universe,
from old you have led your people by night and day.
May the light of your Christ make our darkness bright,
for your Word and your presence are the light of our pathways,
and you are the light and life of all creation.
Amen.
Psalm 141 is sung and incense may be burned.
Open this link in an new tab to hear Marty Haugen's adaptation of Psalm 141, "Let My Prayer ise Up Like Incense Before You."
Let my prayer rise up lie incense before you,
the lifting up of my hands as an offering to you.
O God, I call to you, come to me now;
hear my voice when I cry to you.
Let my prayer rise up like incense before you,
the lifting up of my hands as an offering to you.
Keep watch within me, God;
deep in my heart may the light of your love be burning bright.
Let my prayer rise up like incense before you,
the lifting up of my hands as an offering to you.
All praise to the God of all, Creator of life;
all praise be to the Christ and the Spirit of love.
Let my prayer rise up as incense before you,
the lifting up of my hands as an offering to you.
Silence is kept.
May our prayers come before you, O God, as incense, and may your presence surround and fill us, so that in union with all creation, we might sing your praise and your love in our lives. Amen.
The Psalms
Open this link in a new tab to hear the It’s About the Word setting of Psalm 93, “The Lord Is Mighty.”
The Lord is mighty and holy for all days.
The Lord is mighty and holy for all days.
You reign with majesty and strength.
Your throne has always been from eternity.
The Lord is mighty and holy for all days.
The Lord is mighty and holy for all days.
The seas have lifted up, O Lord.
The seas have lifted up their voice.
The seas have lifted up their pounding waves.
The Lord is mighty and holy for all days.
The Lord is mighty and holy for all days.
You reign with majesty and strength.
Your throne has always been from eternity.
The Lord is mighty and holy for all days.
The Lord is mighty and holy for all days.
Oh Oh.
The Lord is mighty and holy for all days.
The Lord is mighty and holy for all days.
Holy for all days.
Silence is kept.
Christ our King,
you put on the apparel of our nature
and raised us to your glory;
reign from your royal throne
above the chaos of this world,
that all may see the victory you have won
and trust in your salvation;
for your glory’s sake. Amen.
Open this link to hear John L. Bell’s “We Cannot Measure How You Heal.”
We cannot measure how you heal
or answer every sufferer’s prayer,
yet we believe your grace responds
where faith and doubt unite to care.
Your hands, though bloodied on the cross,
survive to hold and heal and warn,
to carry all through death to life
and cradle children yet unborn.
[Instrumental interlude]
The pain that will not go away,
the guilt that clings from things long past,
the fear of what the future holds,
are present as if meant to last.
The pain that will not go away,
the guilt that clings from things long past,
the fear of what the future holds,
are present as if meant to last.
But present too is love which tends
the hurt we never hoped to find,
the private agonies inside,
the memories that haunt the mind.
So some have come who need your help
and some have come to make amends,
as hands which shaped and saved the world
are present in the touch of friends.
the hurt we never hoped to find,
the private agonies inside,
the memories that haunt the mind.
So some have come who need your help
and some have come to make amends,
as hands which shaped and saved the world
are present in the touch of friends.
Lord, let your Spirit meet us here
to mend the body, mind and soul,
to disentangle peace from pain,
and make your broken people whole.
The Proclamation of the Word
The Reading
Mark 9: 14-29 Jesus Heals an Epileptic Boy
Then as they rejoined the other disciples, they saw that they were surrounded by a large crowd, and that some of the scribes were arguing with them. As soon as the people saw Jesus, they ran forward excitedly to welcome him.
“What is the trouble?” Jesus asked them.
A man from the crowd answered, “Master, I brought my son to you because he has a dumb spirit. Wherever he is, it gets hold of him, throws him down on the ground and there he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth. It’s simply wearing him out. I did speak to your disciples to get them to drive it out, but they hadn’t the power to do it.”
Jesus answered them, “Oh, what a faithless people you are! How long must I be with you, how long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.”
So they brought the boy to him, and as soon as the spirit saw Jesus, it convulsed the boy, who fell to the ground and writhed there, foaming at the mouth.
“How long has he been like this?” Jesus asked the father.
“Ever since he was a child,” he replied. “Again and again it has thrown him into the fire or into water to finish him off. But if you can do anything, please take pity on us and help us.”
“If you can do anything!” retorted Jesus. “Everything is possible to the man who believes.”
“I do believe,” the boy’s father burst out. “Help me to believe more!”
When Jesus noticed that a crowd was rapidly gathering, he spoke sharply to the evil spirit, with the words, “I command you, deaf and dumb spirit, come out of this boy, and never go into him again!”
The spirit gave a loud scream and after a dreadful convulsion left him. The boy lay there like a corpse, so that most of the bystanders said, “He is dead.”
But Jesus grasped his hands and lifted him up, and then he stood on his own feet. When he had gone home, Jesus’ disciples asked him privately, “Why were we unable to drive it out?”
“Nothing can drive out this kind of thing except prayer,” replied Jesus.
Silence is kept.
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory
The Homily
In the Gospels we find many accounts of Jesus healing, raising the dead, and expelling demons, or evil spirits. In some accounts faith is present; in others it is not. Sometimes Jesus commends faith; other times he says nothing. The picture that emerges is that Jesus’ ability to perform miracles is not tied wholly to our faith. Faith provides fertile soil for his performance of signs and wonders, but it is not absolutely necessary to his performance of signs and wonders.
In his teaching Jesus emphasizes the desirability of faith. The faith that Jesus commends the most is not faith in him as a wonder worker but faith in him as the Messiah, as God’s Anointed One, as the Son.
On several occasions Jesus refuses to give people a sign or wonder when they ask him for one. He points to the sign of Jonah, a reference to the people of Nineveh’s response to Jonah’s call to repentance. They believed and repented. The only sign they will be given is people are believing Jesus and turning away from doing wrong. They are living new lives.
If we pray for a miracle for someone but we do not receive a miracle as the answer to our prayer, we should not blame ourselves as lacking faith. We should not beat our selves up over how God answered our prayer. God does not answer our prayers based upon the measure of our faith, as some Christians would lead us to believe. God answer our prayers when they are in line with his will. It may be his will to answer our prayers in the way we are asking him to do. Or God may have something else in mind.
At the same time our prayer should be the prayer of the father who asked Jesus to free his son from the demon that had taken away his son’s hearing and voice and was repeatedly trying to injure or kill his son. The father asks Jesus to help him to believe more.
Where our faith is lacking is in our recognition of who Jesus is. When Jesus chided the disciples for their lack of faith before he rebuked the wind and the waves, he was chiding them for failing to recognize him as the Son of God and to put their trust in him. Think about that for a moment. These were men who had been with Jesus for a while. They had heard his teaching and witnessed his miracles. But they did not fully recognize who he was. What about ourselves? We have heard about Jesus, his character, his teaching, and his life second hand. We have never seen him.
Earlier today I read an article in which the author identified as the primary reason Christianity has not been attracting the younger generations from the Boomers on is that they conclude from our words and actions that the gospel has no power to change lives. We are no different from many non-Christians that they know and in some cases we are far, far worse. He also pointed out that this is also reason that young people are dropping out of our churches. They have come to doubt the power of the gospel to transform lives due to our unchanged lives. For this reason, like their non-Christian friends, they are not buying the gospel.
Does the gospel have no power then? Jesus himself answers that question.
“And what is the point of calling me, ‘Lord, Lord’, without doing what I tell you to do?”
“Let me show you what the man who comes to me, hears what I have to say, and puts it into practice, is really like. He is like a man building a house, who dug down to rock-bottom and laid the foundation of his house upon it. Then when the flood came and flood-water swept down upon that house, it could not shift it because it was properly built. But the man who hears me and does nothing about it is like a man who built his house with its foundation upon the soft earth. When the flood-water swept down upon it, it collapsed and the whole house crashed down in ruins.” (Luke 6:46-48 PHILLIPS)
Jesus himself lies at the heart of the gospel—his person, his character, his work, his teaching, and his life. The gospel is not having power in our lives because we, like the disciples whose boat was about to fill with water, do not fully recognize Jesus for who is. He is Lord!! We may have in the excitement of the moment gone forward and said a sinner’s prayer, but have not surrendered our hearts to Jesus and turned over our lives to him. If we fully believed that Jesus was Lord, having come to him, we would hear what he said and put it into practice. We would build our house on solid rock. We would build our lives on Jesus’ word.
The fault is not in the gospel. The fault is in us. We lack faith in Jesus. Like the father of the boy, we need to ask God for help to believe. God who is a generous God and the source of all good things, will give us the grace we need, grace to have the will and the power to enable us not only to believe more but to act on our belief.
Do we sit passively waiting for God to zap us with his grace? Or do we, like the father, even though our faith may be little, act on it. He brought his son to Jesus. We can begin to practice what we heard Jesus say. We can begin to build our house on solid rock. We will discover that the more we choose to believe and the more we choose to act on our belief, the more God pour his grace into our lives.
Yes, heavenly Father, help our unbelief. Help us to believe with both heart and mind that Jesus is indeed Lord and to do what Jesus tells us to do. Make it so.
Silence is kept.
The Gospel Canticle
Open this link in a new tab to hear Joanne Boyce’s adaptation of the Magnificat, “My Soul Glorifies the Lord.”
My soul glorifies the Lord,
my spirit rejoices
My God forever he will be,
bless his holy name.
He looks upon me his servant,
looks on me in my lowliness.
He works marvels for me,
Hence forth all ages call me blessed,
Call me blessed.
My soul glorifies the Lord,
my spirit rejoices
My God forever he will be,
bless his holy name.
to mend the body, mind and soul,
to disentangle peace from pain,
and make your broken people whole.
The Proclamation of the Word
The Reading
Mark 9: 14-29 Jesus Heals an Epileptic Boy
Then as they rejoined the other disciples, they saw that they were surrounded by a large crowd, and that some of the scribes were arguing with them. As soon as the people saw Jesus, they ran forward excitedly to welcome him.
“What is the trouble?” Jesus asked them.
A man from the crowd answered, “Master, I brought my son to you because he has a dumb spirit. Wherever he is, it gets hold of him, throws him down on the ground and there he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth. It’s simply wearing him out. I did speak to your disciples to get them to drive it out, but they hadn’t the power to do it.”
Jesus answered them, “Oh, what a faithless people you are! How long must I be with you, how long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.”
So they brought the boy to him, and as soon as the spirit saw Jesus, it convulsed the boy, who fell to the ground and writhed there, foaming at the mouth.
“How long has he been like this?” Jesus asked the father.
“Ever since he was a child,” he replied. “Again and again it has thrown him into the fire or into water to finish him off. But if you can do anything, please take pity on us and help us.”
“If you can do anything!” retorted Jesus. “Everything is possible to the man who believes.”
“I do believe,” the boy’s father burst out. “Help me to believe more!”
When Jesus noticed that a crowd was rapidly gathering, he spoke sharply to the evil spirit, with the words, “I command you, deaf and dumb spirit, come out of this boy, and never go into him again!”
The spirit gave a loud scream and after a dreadful convulsion left him. The boy lay there like a corpse, so that most of the bystanders said, “He is dead.”
But Jesus grasped his hands and lifted him up, and then he stood on his own feet. When he had gone home, Jesus’ disciples asked him privately, “Why were we unable to drive it out?”
“Nothing can drive out this kind of thing except prayer,” replied Jesus.
Silence is kept.
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory
The Homily
Are We Building Our Lives on Jesus' Word?
In the Gospels we find many accounts of Jesus healing, raising the dead, and expelling demons, or evil spirits. In some accounts faith is present; in others it is not. Sometimes Jesus commends faith; other times he says nothing. The picture that emerges is that Jesus’ ability to perform miracles is not tied wholly to our faith. Faith provides fertile soil for his performance of signs and wonders, but it is not absolutely necessary to his performance of signs and wonders.
In his teaching Jesus emphasizes the desirability of faith. The faith that Jesus commends the most is not faith in him as a wonder worker but faith in him as the Messiah, as God’s Anointed One, as the Son.
On several occasions Jesus refuses to give people a sign or wonder when they ask him for one. He points to the sign of Jonah, a reference to the people of Nineveh’s response to Jonah’s call to repentance. They believed and repented. The only sign they will be given is people are believing Jesus and turning away from doing wrong. They are living new lives.
If we pray for a miracle for someone but we do not receive a miracle as the answer to our prayer, we should not blame ourselves as lacking faith. We should not beat our selves up over how God answered our prayer. God does not answer our prayers based upon the measure of our faith, as some Christians would lead us to believe. God answer our prayers when they are in line with his will. It may be his will to answer our prayers in the way we are asking him to do. Or God may have something else in mind.
At the same time our prayer should be the prayer of the father who asked Jesus to free his son from the demon that had taken away his son’s hearing and voice and was repeatedly trying to injure or kill his son. The father asks Jesus to help him to believe more.
Where our faith is lacking is in our recognition of who Jesus is. When Jesus chided the disciples for their lack of faith before he rebuked the wind and the waves, he was chiding them for failing to recognize him as the Son of God and to put their trust in him. Think about that for a moment. These were men who had been with Jesus for a while. They had heard his teaching and witnessed his miracles. But they did not fully recognize who he was. What about ourselves? We have heard about Jesus, his character, his teaching, and his life second hand. We have never seen him.
Earlier today I read an article in which the author identified as the primary reason Christianity has not been attracting the younger generations from the Boomers on is that they conclude from our words and actions that the gospel has no power to change lives. We are no different from many non-Christians that they know and in some cases we are far, far worse. He also pointed out that this is also reason that young people are dropping out of our churches. They have come to doubt the power of the gospel to transform lives due to our unchanged lives. For this reason, like their non-Christian friends, they are not buying the gospel.
Does the gospel have no power then? Jesus himself answers that question.
“And what is the point of calling me, ‘Lord, Lord’, without doing what I tell you to do?”
“Let me show you what the man who comes to me, hears what I have to say, and puts it into practice, is really like. He is like a man building a house, who dug down to rock-bottom and laid the foundation of his house upon it. Then when the flood came and flood-water swept down upon that house, it could not shift it because it was properly built. But the man who hears me and does nothing about it is like a man who built his house with its foundation upon the soft earth. When the flood-water swept down upon it, it collapsed and the whole house crashed down in ruins.” (Luke 6:46-48 PHILLIPS)
Jesus himself lies at the heart of the gospel—his person, his character, his work, his teaching, and his life. The gospel is not having power in our lives because we, like the disciples whose boat was about to fill with water, do not fully recognize Jesus for who is. He is Lord!! We may have in the excitement of the moment gone forward and said a sinner’s prayer, but have not surrendered our hearts to Jesus and turned over our lives to him. If we fully believed that Jesus was Lord, having come to him, we would hear what he said and put it into practice. We would build our house on solid rock. We would build our lives on Jesus’ word.
The fault is not in the gospel. The fault is in us. We lack faith in Jesus. Like the father of the boy, we need to ask God for help to believe. God who is a generous God and the source of all good things, will give us the grace we need, grace to have the will and the power to enable us not only to believe more but to act on our belief.
Do we sit passively waiting for God to zap us with his grace? Or do we, like the father, even though our faith may be little, act on it. He brought his son to Jesus. We can begin to practice what we heard Jesus say. We can begin to build our house on solid rock. We will discover that the more we choose to believe and the more we choose to act on our belief, the more God pour his grace into our lives.
Yes, heavenly Father, help our unbelief. Help us to believe with both heart and mind that Jesus is indeed Lord and to do what Jesus tells us to do. Make it so.
Silence is kept.
The Gospel Canticle
Open this link in a new tab to hear Joanne Boyce’s adaptation of the Magnificat, “My Soul Glorifies the Lord.”
My soul glorifies the Lord,
my spirit rejoices
My God forever he will be,
bless his holy name.
He looks upon me his servant,
looks on me in my lowliness.
He works marvels for me,
Hence forth all ages call me blessed,
Call me blessed.
My soul glorifies the Lord,
my spirit rejoices
My God forever he will be,
bless his holy name.
He scatters the proud hearted,
casts the mighty from their thrones.
His mighty arm before me,
In strength he raises the lowly,
raises the lowly.
My soul glorifies the Lord,
my spirit rejoices
My God forever he will be,
bless his holy name.
He fills the starving with plenty,
but empty sends the rich away.
From age to age his mercy,
The mercy promised us forever,
promised forever.
My soul glorifies the Lord,
my spirit rejoices
My God forever he will be,
bless his holy name.
Bless him, bless him.
Bless him, bless him.
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
God and Father of all,
you have taught us through your Son
that the last shall be first,
and have made a little child a measure of your kingdom
give us the wisdom from above,
so that we may understand that in your sight,
the one who serves is the greatest of all.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of 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 John L. Bell’s “Take This Moment, Sign ad Space.”
1 Take this moment, sign and space;
Take my friends around;
Here among us make the place
Where your love is found.
2 Take the time to call my name,
casts the mighty from their thrones.
His mighty arm before me,
In strength he raises the lowly,
raises the lowly.
My soul glorifies the Lord,
my spirit rejoices
My God forever he will be,
bless his holy name.
He fills the starving with plenty,
but empty sends the rich away.
From age to age his mercy,
The mercy promised us forever,
promised forever.
My soul glorifies the Lord,
my spirit rejoices
My God forever he will be,
bless his holy name.
Bless him, bless him.
Bless him, bless him.
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
God and Father of all,
you have taught us through your Son
that the last shall be first,
and have made a little child a measure of your kingdom
give us the wisdom from above,
so that we may understand that in your sight,
the one who serves is the greatest of all.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of 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 John L. Bell’s “Take This Moment, Sign ad Space.”
1 Take this moment, sign and space;
Take my friends around;
Here among us make the place
Where your love is found.
2 Take the time to call my name,
Take the time to mend
Who I am and what I've been,
All I've failed to tend.
3 Take the tiredness of my days,
Take my past regret,
Letting your forgiveness touch
All I can't forget
[Instrumental interlude]
4 Take the little child in me
Scared of growing old;
Help me here to find my worth
Made in Christ's own mould.
5 Take my talents, take my skills,
Take what's yet to be;
Let my life be yours, and yet
Let it still be me.
The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
Let us praise the Lord,
Thanks be to God.
May God, Creator, bless us and keep us,
may Christ be ever light for our lives,
may the Spirit of love be our guide and path,
for all of our days. Amen.
Who I am and what I've been,
All I've failed to tend.
3 Take the tiredness of my days,
Take my past regret,
Letting your forgiveness touch
All I can't forget
[Instrumental interlude]
4 Take the little child in me
Scared of growing old;
Help me here to find my worth
Made in Christ's own mould.
5 Take my talents, take my skills,
Take what's yet to be;
Let my life be yours, and yet
Let it still be me.
The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
Let us praise the Lord,
Thanks be to God.
May God, Creator, bless us and keep us,
may Christ be ever light for our lives,
may the Spirit of love be our guide and path,
for all of our days. Amen.
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