All Hallows Evening Prayer for Sunday Evening (November 7, 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 Joyous Light of Glorious God from Kent Gustavson’s Mountain Vespers.
Joyous light of glorious God,
heavenly, holy, Jesus Christ,
We have come to the setting of the Sun
and we look to the ev’ning light.
We sing to Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Our voices pure voices together.
O precious God, giver of life,
we sing your praises forever.
Joyous light of glorious God,
heavenly, holy, Jesus Christ,
We have come to the setting of the Sun
and we look to the ev’ning light.
We sing to Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Our voices pure voices together.
O precious God, giver of life,
we sing your praises forever.
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 a new tab to hear Psalm 141 from Kent Gustavson's Mountain Vespers.
Let my prayer rise before you as incense,
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
O God, I call you; come to me quickly;
Hear my voice when I cry to you.
Let my prayer rise before you as incense,
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Set a watch before my mouth,
and guard the doors of my lips.
Let not my heart incline to any evil thing;
Never occupied in wickedness.
Let my prayer rise before you as incense,
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
My eyes are turned to you, O God,
in you I take refuge.
My eyes are turned to you, O God,
Strip me not of my life.
Let my prayer rise before you as incense,
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
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 Karin Young Wimberly's "The Lord's My Shepherd."
The Lord’s my shepherd I’ll not want
He lets me rest in pastures green
He leadeth me by waters still
He restores my soul; restores my soul
Even though I walk through the darkest vale
I will fear no evil, for you’re with me
Your rod and staff, protect and guide
You comfort me; you comfort me
The Lord’s my shepherd I’ll not want
He lets me rest in pastures green
He leadeth me by waters still
He restores my soul; restores my soul
Even though I walk through the darkest vale
I will fear no evil, for you’re with me
Your rod and staff, protect and guide
You comfort me; you comfort me
[Instrumental interlude]
You prepare a table, a feast for me
In the presence of my enemies
You anoint my head with holy oil
My cup overflows; it overflows
Surely goodness and God’s mercy great
Shall follow me all my days of life
And I’ll dwell within the house of God
My whole life long; my whole life long
Surely goodness and God’s mercy great
Shall follow me all my days of life
And I’ll dwell within the house of God
My whole life long; my whole life long
my whole life long
Silence is kept.
O God, our sovereign and shepherd,
who brought again your Son Jesus Christ
from the valley of death,
comfort us with your protecting presence
and your angels of goodness and love,
that we also may come home
and dwell with him in your house for ever.
Amen.
The Proclamation of the Word
The Reading
Matthew 7: 1-14 The common sense behind right behaviour
“Don’t criticise people, and you will not be criticised. For you will be judged by the way you criticise others, and the measure you give will be the measure you receive.”
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and fail to notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me get the speck out of your eye’, when there is a plank in your own? You fraud! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you can see clearly enough to remove your brother’s speck of dust.”
“You must not give holy things to dogs, nor must you throw your pearls before pigs—or they may trample them underfoot and turn and attack you.”
“Ask and it will be given to you. Search and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened for you. The one who asks will always receive; the one who is searching will always find, and the door is opened to the man who knocks.”
“If any of you were asked by his son for bread would you be likely to give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish would you give him a snake? If you then, for all your evil, quite naturally give good things to your children, how much more likely is it that your Heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask him?”
“Treat other people exactly as you would like to be treated by them—this is the essence of all true religion.”
“Go in by the narrow gate. For the wide gate has a broad road which leads to disaster and there are many people going that way. The narrow gate and the hard road lead out into life and only a few are finding it.”
Silence is kept.
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory
The Homily
A Right Way to Live
In your responses to the questions at the end of Saturday’s homily what did you learn about yourself and the Golden Rule?
In this homily I am going to look at steps that we can take to make the Golden Rule one of our core values. Core values are ideas that we want to uphold. They give our lives meaning and direction. They shape what is our better self. We consider them in the choices we make and the actions we take. When we make a choice or take an action, they enable us to determine whether the choice or action is in line with our better self.
For a Christian as a disciple of Jesus our core values are grounded in his teaching and example. Jesus is our teacher and our exemplar. We seek to live what he taught and exemplified. Treating other people exactly as we would like to be treated by them is central to his teaching, a teaching that he modeled for us. Jesus treated other people with respect, kindness, generosity, compassion, gentleness, patience, sympathy, and all the other ways that we would like to be treated. The Golden Rule is definitely a way of thinking and acting that we would want to incorporate into our core values. How do we go about it?
Memorize it. “Treat other people exactly as you would like to be treated by them….”
Write it on stickers, those slips of paper with adhesive backs, and stick them everywhere that they will catch your eye—on your fridge door, your bathroom mirror, on your front door, on your back door, on your laptop screen, and in your workspace.
Say it aloud to yourself before you go to bed at night. “I will treat other people exactly as I would like to be treated.”
Say it aloud to yourself first thing when you get up in the morning. “I will treat other people exactly as I would like to be treated.”
Mediate upon it during the day. Think about how you can live it specifically in your life.
Pray about it. Ask God for grace to live it.
Before you make a choice or take an action, ask yourself, “Is what I am think of doing, treating … exactly as I would like to be treated?” “Is what I am doing, treating… exactly as I would like to be treated?” “Is what I am thinking of doing a kind thing to do?” “Is what I am doing a kind thing to do?” And so.
And most importantly of all—act on it!
The more we make it a normal part of the way we think, of the way we act, the more it will become one of our core values, a value that we live out every day.
For a Christian as a disciple of Jesus our core values are grounded in his teaching and example. Jesus is our teacher and our exemplar. We seek to live what he taught and exemplified. Treating other people exactly as we would like to be treated by them is central to his teaching, a teaching that he modeled for us. Jesus treated other people with respect, kindness, generosity, compassion, gentleness, patience, sympathy, and all the other ways that we would like to be treated. The Golden Rule is definitely a way of thinking and acting that we would want to incorporate into our core values. How do we go about it?
Memorize it. “Treat other people exactly as you would like to be treated by them….”
Write it on stickers, those slips of paper with adhesive backs, and stick them everywhere that they will catch your eye—on your fridge door, your bathroom mirror, on your front door, on your back door, on your laptop screen, and in your workspace.
Say it aloud to yourself before you go to bed at night. “I will treat other people exactly as I would like to be treated.”
Say it aloud to yourself first thing when you get up in the morning. “I will treat other people exactly as I would like to be treated.”
Mediate upon it during the day. Think about how you can live it specifically in your life.
Pray about it. Ask God for grace to live it.
Before you make a choice or take an action, ask yourself, “Is what I am think of doing, treating … exactly as I would like to be treated?” “Is what I am doing, treating… exactly as I would like to be treated?” “Is what I am thinking of doing a kind thing to do?” “Is what I am doing a kind thing to do?” And so.
And most importantly of all—act on it!
The more we make it a normal part of the way we think, of the way we act, the more it will become one of our core values, a value that we live out every day.
We can think about loving others, we can talk about loving others, but unless we live into loving others, all we are doing expressing an aspiration—something we hope to achieve, not a real value upon which we act.
Silence is kept.
The Gospel Canticle
Open this link in a new tab to hear the Magnificat from Kent Gustavson’s Mountain Vespers.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
1 You O God have done great things
and holy is your name.
You have mercy on those who fear you
n ev’ry generation.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
2 You have shown the strength of your arm,
you have scattered the proud in their conceit.
You have cast the might down from thrones
and have lifted up the lowly.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
3 You have filled the hungry with good things,
the rich you have sent away empty.
You have come to the help of your servant Israel
you’ve remembered your promise of mercy.
The promise you made
to Sarah and Abraham.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
Glory to you, O Lord our God
With your love and power.
Glory to you, O Lord our God
With your love and power.
Amen
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
In darkness and in light,
in trouble and in joy,
help us, heavenly Father,
to trust your love,
to serve your purpose,
and to praise your name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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 Shirley Erena Murray’s “Go Gently, Go Lightly.”
Go gently, go lightly,
go safe in the Spirit,
live simply, don't carry
much more than you need:
go trusting God's goodness,
go spreading God's kindness,
stay centered on Jesus
and where he will lead.
Go singing, go bringing
the gifts of the Spirit,
go hopefully searching
for things that are true:
in living, in loving,
whatever befalls you,
God keep you, God bless you
in all that you do.
[Instrumental interlude]
Go gently, go lightly,
go safe in the Spirit,
live simply, don't carry
much more than you need:
go trusting God's goodness,
go spreading God's kindness,
stay centered on Jesus
and where he will lead.
The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
Let us praise the Lord,
Thanks be to God.
May the Lord bless and protect us
May he show us mercy and kindness
May the Lord be good to us and give us peace
Numbers 6: 24-26
Silence is kept.
The Gospel Canticle
Open this link in a new tab to hear the Magnificat from Kent Gustavson’s Mountain Vespers.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
1 You O God have done great things
and holy is your name.
You have mercy on those who fear you
n ev’ry generation.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
2 You have shown the strength of your arm,
you have scattered the proud in their conceit.
You have cast the might down from thrones
and have lifted up the lowly.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
3 You have filled the hungry with good things,
the rich you have sent away empty.
You have come to the help of your servant Israel
you’ve remembered your promise of mercy.
The promise you made
to Sarah and Abraham.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
Glory to you, O Lord our God
With your love and power.
Glory to you, O Lord our God
With your love and power.
Amen
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
In darkness and in light,
in trouble and in joy,
help us, heavenly Father,
to trust your love,
to serve your purpose,
and to praise your name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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 Shirley Erena Murray’s “Go Gently, Go Lightly.”
Go gently, go lightly,
go safe in the Spirit,
live simply, don't carry
much more than you need:
go trusting God's goodness,
go spreading God's kindness,
stay centered on Jesus
and where he will lead.
Go singing, go bringing
the gifts of the Spirit,
go hopefully searching
for things that are true:
in living, in loving,
whatever befalls you,
God keep you, God bless you
in all that you do.
[Instrumental interlude]
Go gently, go lightly,
go safe in the Spirit,
live simply, don't carry
much more than you need:
go trusting God's goodness,
go spreading God's kindness,
stay centered on Jesus
and where he will lead.
The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
Let us praise the Lord,
Thanks be to God.
May the Lord bless and protect us
May he show us mercy and kindness
May the Lord be good to us and give us peace
Numbers 6: 24-26
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