All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Eveing (December 8, 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 Tony Alonso’s responsorial setting of the evening psalm, “Psalm 141—Like Burning Incense, O Lord.”

Like burning incense, O Lord,
let my rise to you.
Like burning incense, O Lord,
let my prayer rise to you.

1 I call out to you,
Come quickly to my aid.
My song cries out to you,
O listen to me now.
I raise my hands in off’ring to you.

Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)

2 Let me speak your truth;
watch over all I say.
Keep my thoughts on you;
let goodness rule my heart.
Keep me far from those who do harm.

Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)

3 Never let me dine
with those who seek to harm.
Keep your holy ones
always at my side.
Plant your wisdom deep in my soul.

Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)

4 I look to you for help;
I seek your loving eyes.
Guard my life for you;
Spare me from all wrong.
Keep all evil far from my heart.

Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)

5 Glory be to God
and to God’s only Son,
glory to the Spirit,
three in one,
now and for ever. Amen.

Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)

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 to hear It’s About the Word’s adaptation of Psalm 143, “Show Me the Way."

O Lord, hear my pray
Listen to my cry for mercy
In your faithfulness
Come to my relief
As your servant Lord
Save me from your judgement
For no one is righteous before you

Show me the way that I should go
Only to you I lift my soul
Your unfailing Love and mercy fill my days
Teach me to do your will much more
Than I ever have before
Let me hide myself in you
For your name sake
Show me the way

I consider the past
And the ways you have shown your mercy
I'm amazed most of all
By what your hands have done
In your steadfast Love
You shelter me from evil
For I am here to serve you, Lord

Show me the way that I should go
Only to you I lift my soul
Your unfailing Love and mercy fill my days
Teach me to do your will much more
Than I ever have before
Let me hide myself in you
For your name sake
Show me the way

Silence is kept.

Jesus, our companion,
when we are driven to despair,
help us, through the friends and strangers
we encounter on our path,
to know you as our refuge,
our way, our truth and our life.
Amen.

The Proclamation of the Word

The Reading

Isaiah 63:15-64:4 A Prayer for Mercy and Help

Lord, look upon us from heaven, where you live in your holiness and glory. Where is your great concern for us? Where is your power? Where are your love and compassion? Do not ignore us. You are our father. Our ancestors Abraham and Jacob do not acknowledge us, but you, Lord, are our father, the one who has always rescued us. Why do you let us stray from your ways? Why do you make us so stubborn that we turn away from you? Come back, for the sake of those who serve you, for the sake of the people who have always been yours.

We, your holy people, were driven out by our enemies for a little while; they trampled down your sanctuary. You treat us as though you had never been our ruler, as though we had never been your people.

Why don't you tear the sky open and come down? The mountains would see you and shake with fear. They would tremble like water boiling over a hot fire. Come and reveal your power to your enemies, and make the nations tremble at your presence! There was a time when you came and did terrifying things that we did not expect; the mountains saw you and shook with fear. No one has ever seen or heard of a God like you, who does such deeds for those who put their hope in him.

Silence is kept.

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

Homily

Children of God, Disciples of Jesus

The appeal for God’s mercy and help in today's reading would be fitting for our time although the circumstances are different. When this passage was first recorded, the people of Israel were God’s chosen people. They were the nation that God had chosen from among all the peoples of the earth to be his own. God had made a covenant with them. If they obeyed him, he would bless and protect them. If they, however, were disobedient, he would withdraw his blessing and his protection.

What did people of Israel do? Rather than obey God, they demanded an earthly king like the rulers of the surrounding nations. They proved faithless and pursued other gods.

To quote a verse from the King James Bible, “…they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not so” (Judges 2:17).

To go a whoring means to go looking for other gods like one would go looking for prostitutes with whom to have sexual intercourse rather than being faithful to one’s spouse.

This is not entirely figurative language. The other gods whom they pursued were often served by temple prostitutes, both men and women. Having sex with these prostitutes was considered away of worshiping these gods and earning their favor.

We certainly as a nation could benefit from God’s mercy and help. We are beset by serious pandemic, which has caused much suffering and taken many lives. Our nation is fragmenting into tribes that see each other in a negative light, exaggerating each other’s shortcomings and feeling at liberty to hate and despise each other for the least little thing. Christians are following pastors and politicians and not Jesus. People are turning their backs on their fellow human beings and denying any responsibility for helping them or doing good to them. We have become infected with selfishness and indifference. While they may not be carved from wood or stone or cast from gold, we are bowing down to idols of our own.

One difference between ourselves and the people of Israel is that God has not made a covenant with us as a nation despite what some may say. That notion can be traced to the doctrine of manifest destiny, a nineteenth century belief that Americans adopted to justify intervening in the affairs of other nations and joining with the great powers of Europe in establishing overseas colonies.

Our only covenant is the covenant that was made in the blood of Jesus and by which those who believe in Jesus and surrender their lives to him are bound. It is not a covenant that extends to the whole nation but only to those who are faithful disciples of Jesus.

If we are going to appeal to God for mercy and help for our nation, our first step is to give heed to the words of Psalmist in Psalm 143, “Show me the way I should go…Teach me to do your will much more.”

We should not forget that God was in Jesus not only reconciling humanity to himself but also teaching humanity, showing us how to become HIS disciples. And what did God teach?

To be merciful as God is merciful, to be kind as he is kind.

To love God with our whole being and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

To love those who are not our friends, to pray for them when they treat us badly, to do good to them.

To treat other people exactly as we would have them treat us.

To forgive other people’s faults.

To measure them with a measure by which we would wish to be measured.

To make allowances for them.

To seek reconciliation, the restoration of friendly relations and a better relationship, with those from whom we have become estranged, and to make peace with them.

To pursue holiness and uprightness far more genuine than that of the Pharisees and the scribes whose holiness and uprightness were mere show.

To spread the good news of God's kingdom and to make disciples of all people groups.

To love one another as Jesus loved us.

The place to start is to learn or relearn these lessons and then to apply them in our daily lives—to show ourselves to be truly children of God, disciples of Jesus.

Silence is kept.

The Gospel Canticle

Open this link in a new tab to hear Ann Krentz’s choral arrangement of the Magnificat, “My Soul Proclaims Your Greatness.”

My soul proclaims your greatness, O Lord;
I sing my Savior’s praise!
Great wonders you have done for me,
and holy is your name.

1 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.

My soul proclaims your greatness, O Lord;
I sing my Savior’s praise!
Great wonders you have done for me,
and holy is your name.

2 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 lonely throned instead;
the hungry filled with all good things,
the rich sent off unfed.

My soul proclaims your greatness, O Lord;
I sing my Savior’s praise!
Great wonders you have done for me,
and holy is your name.

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

My soul proclaims your greatness, O Lord;
I sing my Savior’s praise!
Great wonders you have done for me,
and holy is your name,
and holy is your name.

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 of our salvation,
you straighten the winding ways of our hearts
and smooth the paths made rough by sin:
keep our hearts watchful in holiness,
and bring to perfection the good you have begun in us.
We ask this through him whose coming is certain,
whose Day draws near,
your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity f the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. 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 in a new tab to hear The Little Sisters of Jesus', "Lord Jesus, You Shall Be My Song as I Journey."

1 Lord Jesus, you shall be my song as I journey;
I'll tell everybody about you wherever I go:
you alone are our life and our peace and our love.
Lord Jesus, you shall be my song as I journey.

2 Lord Jesus, I'll praise you as long as I journey;
May all of my life be a faithful reflection of you.
May the earth and the sea and the sky join my song.
Lord Jesus, I'll praise you as long as I journey.

3 As long as I live, Jesus, make me your servant,
to carry your cross and to share all your burdens and tears.
For you saved me by giving your body and blood.
As long as I live, Jesus, make me your servant.

4 I fear in the dark and the doubt of my journey;
but courage will come with the sound of your steps by my side.
And will all of the family you saved by your love,
we'll sing to your dawn at the end of our journey,
we’ll sing to your dawn at the end of our journey.

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.