All Hallows Evening Prayer for Sunday Evening (November 14, 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 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 to hear Kiran Young Wimberly’s adaptation of Psalm 121, “I Lift My Eyes Up to the Hills.”

I lift my eyes up to the hills
where does my help come from?
I lift my eyes up to the hills
where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord above,
the Lord of heaven and earth.
The One who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleeps

[Instrumental interlude]

The Lord who watches over Israel
is your shade at your right hand.
The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon harm you by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm;
and will watch over your life.
watch over you as you come and go
now and forevermore.

[Instrumental interlude]

The Lord will keep you from all harm;
and will watch over your life.
watch over you as you come and go
now and forevermore,
now and forevermore.

Silence is kept.

Lord, ever watchful and faithful,
we look to you to be our defense
and we lift our hearts to know your help;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Proclamation of the Word

The Reading

Galatians 6: 1-10 Some practical wisdom

Even if a man should be detected in some sin, my brothers, the spiritual ones among you should quietly set him back on the right path, not with any feeling of superiority but being yourselves on guard against temptation.

Carry each other’s burdens and so live out the law of Christ. ....

If a man thinks he is “somebody”, he is deceiving himself, for that very thought proves that he is nobody. Let every man learn to assess properly the value of his own work and he can then be glad when he has done something worth doing without dependence on the approval of others.

For every man must “shoulder his own pack”.

The man under Christian instruction should be willing to contribute towards the livelihood of his teacher.

Don’t be under any illusion: you cannot make a fool of God! A man’s harvest in life will depend entirely on what he sows. If he sows for his own lower nature his harvest will be the decay and death of his own nature. But if he sows for the Spirit he will reap the harvest of everlasting life by that Spirit. Let us not grow tired of doing good, for, unless we throw in our hand, the ultimate harvest is assured. Let us then do good to all men as opportunity offers, especially to those who belong to the Christian household.

Silence is kept.

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

The Homily

A Steam Engine, a Spider, and a Babe in a Manger

When I was a young boy living in England, my favorite illustrated children’s storybook was Watty Piper’s The Little Engine That Could. It was about a little steam engine who pulled a long train of freight wagons up a steep grade, saying to himself as he puffed up the hill, “I think I can! I think I can!” The message of the story was to think positively and to persevere. We will not know what we can accomplish until we attempt it. In the case of the little steam engine, he pulled a very heavy load up a steep hill.

The book was a Christmas present from my Aunt Peg, my mother’s younger sister who had married a GI and lived in the United States. She sent my older brother and I a gift at Christmas time and her gifts were something that to which we looked forward. They were not the kind of gifts that my grandparents and mother would give us. They were also from America!

A story that I associate with my grandmother is "Robert the Bruce and the Spider." In the story Robert the Bruce who would become king of Scotland was hiding in a cave, having fought a battle that the Scots had lost. He was feeling despondent. He noticed a spider trying to spin its web at the mouth of the cave.. The spider kept failing but it preserved until it succeeded. The success of the spider cheered Robert the Bruce who went on to win the first War of Scottish Independence. The guiding principle expressed in the story was, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again until you succeed.” In other words, persevere and not give up.

When I was a young boy in England, my favorite hymn was Percy Dearmer’s “Jesus, Good Above All Other.” You guessed it. The hymn’s central theme is to persevere.

Lord, in all our doings guide us;
pride and hate shall ne'er divide us;
we'll go on with thee beside us,
and with joy we'll persevere.

Christians, like most people, are tempted to focus more on the negative as we try to make sense of the world in which we live. We are also tempted to ignore or minimize the positive. In addition, we are prone to catastrophizing, exaggerating in our mind the seriousness of the negative implications of an event or occurrence and to letting our feelings such as anger, resentment, fear, and anxiety do the thinking for us.

Consequently, we are apt to throw in our hand, to give up on living the Christian life, to give up on loving others and doing good. We may convince ourselves that the people in our lives are tares, or weeds, and not good seed and therefor there is no point of doing good to them. It is very tempting to say to ourselves, “these people are not Christians, members of the elect, etc.,” or something along those lines and to conclude that we do need to show them compassion, patience, kindness, forgiveness, or generosity. We forget that God himself is good to even the wicked and the ungrateful.

Whether we may realize it, we have a lot going for us as Christians. First of all, we have Jesus. Jesus not only laid down his life for us so that we may have life through him, eternal life, but also he is interceding on our behalf in heaven. He sits at the right hand of the Father, pleading for us.

We have the Holy Spirit, God himself living in us. As well as guiding and helping us, the Holy Spirit himself “intercedes for us with wordless groans.”

We have God’s grace, his undeserved, unmerited favor and goodwill, his merciful kindness, his divine influence. God gives us the will and the power to fulfill his purposes.

With that much going for us, we need to take our cue from a little steam engine in a children’s illustrated storybook, a spider in a folktale, and the last verse in the opening stanza of a hymn and to persevere. To keep on loving others. Not to grow tired of doing good. To adopt a positive attitude, To press on.

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 Percy Dearmer’s hymn, “Jesus, Good above All Other.”

1 Jesus, good above all other,
Gentle Child of gentle Mother,
In a stable born our Brother,
Give us grace to persevere.

2 Jesus, cradled in a manger,
For us facing every danger,
Living as a homeless stranger,
Make we thee our King most dear.

3 Jesus, for thy people dying,
Risen Master, death defying,
Lord in heaven, thy grace supplying,
Keep us to thy presence near.

4 Jesus, who our sorrows bearest,
All our thoughts and hopes thou sharest,
Thou to men the truth declarest;
Help us all thy truth to hear.

5 Lord, in all our doings guide us;
Pride and hate shall ne'er divide us;
We'll go on with thee beside us,
And with joy we'll persevere!

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