All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (December 22, 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 John Scott’s arrangement of “Creator of the Stars of Night.”

Creator of the stars of night
Thy people’s everlasting light
O Jesus, Saviour of us all
Regard thy servants when they call

Thou, grieving at the bitter cry
Of all creation doomed to die
Didst come to save a ruined race
With healing gifts of heav’n’ly grace

Thou camest, bridegroom of the bride
As drew the world to eveningtide
Proceeding from a virgin shrine
The Son of Man, yet Lord divine

At thy great name, majestic now
All knees must bend, all hearts must bow
And things in heav’n and earth shall own
That thou art Lord and King alone

To thee, O holy One, we pray
Our judge in that tremendous day
Preserve us, while we dwell below
From ev’ry onslaught of the foe

All praise, eternal Son, to thee
Whose advent sets thy people free
Whom with the Father we adore
And Spirit blest, for evermore. Amen.

Thanksgiving

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, ruler of the universe,
creator of light and darkness.
In this holy season.
you renew your promise to reveal among us
the splendor of your glory,
enfleshed and visible to us in Jesus Christ your Son.
Through the prophets
you teach us to hope for his reign of peace,
Through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit,
you open our blindness to the glory of his presence.
Strengthen us in our weakness.
Support us in our stumbling efforts to your will
and free our tongues to sing your praise.
For to you all honour and blessing are due,
Now and for ever. Amen.

Psalm 141 is sung and incense may be burned.


Open this link in a new tab to hear Peter Inwood’s 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 Kiran Young Wimberly’s adaptation of Psalm 27, “The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation.”

The Lord is my light and my salvation
Whom shall I fear, whom shall I fear?
Enemies will stumble and fall,
My heart will not fear, though war should rage

One thing I ask, one thing I seek
To dwell in the house of the Lord all of my life
To behold the beauty of God all the days of my life

The Lord is my light and my salvation
Whom shall I fear, whom shall I fear?
Enemies will stumble and fall,
My heart will not fear, though war should rage

Hear me when I call, O Lord!
Be merciful to me and answer me,
Your face, O Lord, I seek.
I seek your face.

Silence is kept.

God, our light and our salvation,
illuminate our lives,
that we may see your goodness in the land of the living,
and, looking on your beauty,
may be changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Proclamation of the Word

The Reading

1 John 4:7-12 Loving One Another

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

Silence is kept.

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

Homily

The Fullness of God’s Love

On Tuesday I posted an article titled “The Need for Christian Love” on my blog and on Facebook. Kyle Sims who wrote the article made some points which I thought deserved our attention.

In his teaching Jesus places a strong emphasis on love in the lives of his disciples. Indeed, the love that they exhibit for each other and for all people should set them apart from everyone else. Love was to be their trademark. It would be something very noticeable that his disciples typically exhibited. The first thing that would catch other people’s attention would be the clearly seen love that his disciples had for each other. It would be unavoidable.

Sims noted that our love for each other should go beyond acceptance. Our love should work for each other’s best interest. It should be a far greater love than world’s love.

Sims writes—

“God calls you to love others, which is a challenge because being a Christian does not free us from the hurts and misunderstandings of relationships. However, it does give us a different perspective. It provides us with hope beyond hurts. It teaches the power of forgiveness, especially as wretched sinners saved by amazing grace. The church's love is different from the world's love. The world can love its own, but we can love even our enemies. This love must be more than words. It must be a love that moves our actions and forms our words in all our relationships.”

Following Jesus’ example, we must initiate love. Sims writes, “We do not wait for others to act. True love compels us to love those around us.”

Sims makes the point that love obliges us to work through broken relationships. If we have a broken or strained relationship with someone such as a family member, a relative, a friend, a coworker, or a fellow Christian, we need to do something about it. We need to deal with “unspoken issues and unresolved conflicts” with them. Among the questions that he suggests is that we ask ourselves are how would Jesus have us love these folks? How do we actively love them?

One thing that Sims does not address in his article is the nature of Christian love. For a better understanding of the kind of love that Jesus wanted his disciples to exhibit, we must look to Jesus’ character, teaching, and example, and to the teaching of the apostles.

Paul describes that kind of love in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7:

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”

It is quite evident that Pual is not describing sexual love or romantic love. His description does not exclude feeling affection and concern for someone or deeply caring about them. It does not exclude forming an emotional attachment to them. It is difficult to see how we can love each other if we do not feel any connection to each other.

Loving and being loved can be difficult. We are faced with uncertainty. We must trust God’s goodness, his goodwill toward us, something that many people struggle to do. We are asked to relinquish our control over our lives and to surrender it to God. We do not know what will happen if we do. We do have this promise and this assurance, a promise and an assurance found in today’s reading:

“But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.”

We will know not only our love for each other, but also we will know AND become the fullness of God’s love for us and for all people.

Silence is kept.

The Gospel Canticle

Open this link in a new tab to hear Chaz Bower’s choral arrangement of “My Soul Proclaims Your Greatness, Lord.”

My soul proclaims your greatness, Lord;
I sing my Savior’s praise!
You looked upon my lowliness,
and I am full of grace.
Now ev’ry land and ev’ry age
this blessing shall proclaim—
great wonders you have done for me,
and holy is your name.

To all who live in holy fear
Your mercy ever flows.
With mighty arm you dash the proud,
Their scheming hearts expose.
The ruthless you have cast aside,
the lowly throned instead;
the hungry filled with all good things,
the rich sent off unfed.

To Israel, your servant blest,
(To Israel, your servant blest,)
your help is ever sure;
(your help is ever sure;)
the promise to our parents made
(the promise to our parents made)
their children will secure.
(their children will secure.)
Sing glory to the Holy One,
(Sing glory to the Holy One,)
give honor to the Word,
{give honor to the Word,}
and praise the Pow’r of the Most High,
(and praise the Pow’r of the Most High,)
one God, by all adored,
(one God by all adored,)
on God, by all adored.

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

Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come.
With your abundant grace and might,
free us from the sin that binds us,
that we may receive you in joy
and serve you always,
for you live and reign
with the Father and Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer is said.

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 Mark Sirett’s anthem, “Let Us Love One Another.”

Let us love one another
for love is from God
Let us love one another
for love is from God

Everyone who loves God
is born of God
and knows God
God is love

Let us love one another
for love is from God
Let us love one another
for love is from God

God sent his Son
so that we might live
God sent his Son
so that we might be forgiven

God is love
God is love
all who live
all who live in love
live in God
and God lives in them

Let us love one another
for love is from God
Let us love one another
for love is from God
love is from God
love is from God

The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
Let us praise the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

May God bless us with an abiding sense

of his loving presence, to guide us, to

protect us, and to help us; and may we know

what it is walk close with him all our life

long. Amen.