All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (January 1, 2022)
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, Lord our God,
our eternal Father and David’s King.
You have made our gladness greater and increased our joy
by sending to dwell among us
the Wonderful Counselor, the Prince of Peace.
Born of Mary,
proclaimed to the shepherds,
and acknowledged to the ends of the earth,
your unconquered Sun of righteousness
destroys our darkness and establishes us in freedom.
All glory in the highest be to you,
through Christ, the Son of your favour,
in the anointing love of the Spirit,
this night and for ever and 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 139, “You Have Searched Me and Known Me.”
You have searched me and known me, Holy Lord;
Know when I sit and rise
You’re acquainted with my ways
Where I go and where I lie
You know each word completely,
before I speak it, Lord
You lay your hand upon me;
hem me in behind, before
Where can I flee from your spirit;
Or from your presence go?
If I rise up to the heavens,
Or descend to the depths below
If I take the wings of the dawn to
the far side of the sea,
Even there, your hand will hold me fast,
your right hand will guide me.
For you formed my inmost being,
within my mother’s womb
When I dwelt within that secret place,
I was not hid from you
You ordained that the days before me
be filled with love and grace,
Made me beautiful and wonderful,
for this I give you praise
How precious is your every thought,
how vast the sum of them
Though I try to count them,
they are more than every grain of sand
O that you would pull down the ones who
do harm and seek to gain
My heart is heavy and I long
for goodness and love to reign
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
know every anxious thought
And lead me on the path of
your everlasting way.
Silence is kept.
Creator God,
may every breath we take be for your glory,
may every footstep show you as our way,
that, trusting in your presence in this world,
we may, beyond this life, still be with you
where you are alive and reign
for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Proclamation of the Word
The Reading
Ephesians 1:3-14 Praise God for what he has done for us Christians!
Praise be to God for giving us through Christ every possible spiritual benefit as citizens of Heaven! For consider what he has done—before the foundation of the world he chose us to become, in Christ, his holy and blameless children living within his constant care. He planned, in his purpose of love, that we should be adopted as his own children through Jesus Christ—that we might learn to praise that glorious generosity of his which has made us welcome in the everlasting love he bears towards the Son.
It is through the Son, at the cost of his own blood, that we are redeemed, freely forgiven through that full and generous grace which has overflowed into our lives and opened our eyes to the truth. For God had allowed us to know the secret of his plan, and it is this: he purposes in his sovereign will that all human history shall be consummated in Christ, that everything that exists in Heaven or earth shall find its perfection and fulfilment in him.
And here is the staggering thing—that in all which will one day belong to him we have been promised a share (since we were long ago destined for this by the one who achieves his purposes by his sovereign will), so that we, as the first to put our confidence in Christ, may bring praise to his glory! And you too trusted him, when you heard the message of truth, the Gospel of your salvation. And after you gave your confidence to him you were, so to speak, stamped with the promised Holy Spirit as a guarantee of purchase, until the day when God completes the redemption of what he has paid for as his own; and that will again be to the praise of his glory.
Silence is kept.
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory
Homily
Marked as God’s Own
God marks us as his own with his Holy Spirit, his own presence living in us. Yes, God himself comes and dwells in our innermost being.
How then do we know that we have the Holy Spirit?
Someone who has the Holy Spirit will consider Jesus to be Lord, to be God. They will not see Jesus as an ordinary lord but as “the” Lord, to whom we as his disciples and friends owe our allegiance and loyalty before everything else in our lives.
Someone who has the Holy Spirit will recognize his sinfulness and his need for God’s forgiveness. They will recognize that they cannot put things right between God and themselves by their own efforts. They will recognize that they need a Savior and God has provided them with one. God has opened the way to salvation to us through his Son, Jesus.
Someone who has the Holy Spirit will manifest the presence of God in the form of what the apostle Paul calls the “gifts of the Spirit.” Everyone does not have the same gifts, nor must we manifest a particular gift of the Holy Spirit in order to have the Holy Spirit.
In his letter to the Romans Paul warns us against cherishing exaggerated ideas of ourselves or our importance. As in Corinth, it appears that some Christians in Rome believed that they were superior to their fellow Christians because they possessed a particular gift. In Corinth it was speaking in tongues. Paul draws to the Roman Christians’ attention that it is through the grace of God that we have different gifts. It is by God’s merciful kindness that we have the particular gifts that we have (Romans 12:3-8). God does not give us a particular gift to single us out from our fellow Christians.
Because we have a particular gift, we should not let it go to our head. The gifts are not for us but for the particular local expression of the body of Christ of which we are a part. We are given the gifts of the Holy Spirit not to give us an overinflated view of ourselves but to build up the body of Christ.
If we meet someone who claims to have the gift of tongues but who is hazy about the Lordship of Jesus, does not recognize their sinfulness or their need for God’s forgiveness, feels no need to have peace with God; and shows no evidence of the Spirit’s fruit, there is a strong likelihood that they do not have the Holy Spirit. God is not going to infill us with the Holy Spirit and not give us a makeover, transforming us into a better person.
Someone who has the Holy Spirit will bear the fruit of the Spirit. In his letter to the Galatians Paul writes, “The Spirit however, produces in human life fruits such as these: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, fidelity, tolerance and self-control…” (Galatians 5: 22).
God does not stop with salvation. God will fill our life with his grace and nudge us to make use of it. God puts us on the path of what John Wesley called “Christian perfection.” It is the path of sanctification. While our righteousness is rags, old, torn pieces of clothing, compared to God’s, having brought us to a living faith in Jesus and imputed to us Jesus’ righteousness in response to our faith, God works in us to heal and restore his image in us, damaged and spoiled by sin. God undertakes our renovation, repairing and improving us so that we are in better condition than we were before we turned away from sin to Jesus. He makes such improvements in us, which he considers or judges to be necessary or desirable. God transforms our character, changing completely the particular combination of qualities in us so that we become a new person, a better person. God also fills us with love for him.
As we grow in our love for God, we also grow in our love for our fellow human beings and our brothers and sisters in Christ. Our love of God is inseparable from our love of others. The two are connected to each other. We become a far more loving person, a person whose love is directed toward God and toward those whom Jesus identified as being our neighbors. It is a love which encompasses even those who hate us and try to hurt us. It is a love that takes no pleasure in wrongdoing, and which seeks to do good to others.
When Jesus spoke of his disciples’ love for one another as showing the world that they were indeed his disciples, he was talking about the outward manifestation of the inward transformation that they would be undergoing. They were becoming a new person, a more spiritually mature person if you wish, and growing in their love of God.
One caution: If we find ourselves comparing ourselves to others and patting ourselves on the back for being more spiritually mature than them, it is a sign that we are not spiritually mature. One of the fruit of the Spirit is humility, a meekness of spirit which recognizes that we have no special importance that makes us better than others.
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 ti 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
Almighty God
by whom the world has been filled
with the light of your Incarnate Word:
grant, we pray,
that as he kindles the flame of faith and love in our hearts
so his light may shine forth in our lives ;
who now lives and reigns with you
in the unity of 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 link in a new tab to hear Richard Irwin’s adaptation of Margaret Olds “Spirit of God, Unseen as the Wind.”
Spirit of God, unseen as the wind,
Gentle as the dove;
Touch us with love and teach us to sing
Joy to you Lord above.
Your voice the sound, heard in the wind,
O’er fields and hills you sing;
Now I can hear, the joy, my Lord,
the peace your song will bring.
Spirit of God, unseen as the wind,
Gentle as the dove;
Touch us with love and teach us to sing
Joy to you Lord above.
Love in our hearts, praise in prayers,
We follow on your way;
Lord of the sky, Lord of the earth,
Answer us when we pray.
Spirit of God, unseen as the wind,
Gentle as the dove;
Touch us with love and teach us to sing
Joy to you Lord above.
The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
Let us praise the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
May the light of faith shine in all that we do
and may the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit be with us and remain with us always. Amen.
Someone who has the Holy Spirit will manifest the presence of God in the form of what the apostle Paul calls the “gifts of the Spirit.” Everyone does not have the same gifts, nor must we manifest a particular gift of the Holy Spirit in order to have the Holy Spirit.
In his letter to the Romans Paul warns us against cherishing exaggerated ideas of ourselves or our importance. As in Corinth, it appears that some Christians in Rome believed that they were superior to their fellow Christians because they possessed a particular gift. In Corinth it was speaking in tongues. Paul draws to the Roman Christians’ attention that it is through the grace of God that we have different gifts. It is by God’s merciful kindness that we have the particular gifts that we have (Romans 12:3-8). God does not give us a particular gift to single us out from our fellow Christians.
Because we have a particular gift, we should not let it go to our head. The gifts are not for us but for the particular local expression of the body of Christ of which we are a part. We are given the gifts of the Holy Spirit not to give us an overinflated view of ourselves but to build up the body of Christ.
If we meet someone who claims to have the gift of tongues but who is hazy about the Lordship of Jesus, does not recognize their sinfulness or their need for God’s forgiveness, feels no need to have peace with God; and shows no evidence of the Spirit’s fruit, there is a strong likelihood that they do not have the Holy Spirit. God is not going to infill us with the Holy Spirit and not give us a makeover, transforming us into a better person.
Someone who has the Holy Spirit will bear the fruit of the Spirit. In his letter to the Galatians Paul writes, “The Spirit however, produces in human life fruits such as these: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, fidelity, tolerance and self-control…” (Galatians 5: 22).
God does not stop with salvation. God will fill our life with his grace and nudge us to make use of it. God puts us on the path of what John Wesley called “Christian perfection.” It is the path of sanctification. While our righteousness is rags, old, torn pieces of clothing, compared to God’s, having brought us to a living faith in Jesus and imputed to us Jesus’ righteousness in response to our faith, God works in us to heal and restore his image in us, damaged and spoiled by sin. God undertakes our renovation, repairing and improving us so that we are in better condition than we were before we turned away from sin to Jesus. He makes such improvements in us, which he considers or judges to be necessary or desirable. God transforms our character, changing completely the particular combination of qualities in us so that we become a new person, a better person. God also fills us with love for him.
As we grow in our love for God, we also grow in our love for our fellow human beings and our brothers and sisters in Christ. Our love of God is inseparable from our love of others. The two are connected to each other. We become a far more loving person, a person whose love is directed toward God and toward those whom Jesus identified as being our neighbors. It is a love which encompasses even those who hate us and try to hurt us. It is a love that takes no pleasure in wrongdoing, and which seeks to do good to others.
When Jesus spoke of his disciples’ love for one another as showing the world that they were indeed his disciples, he was talking about the outward manifestation of the inward transformation that they would be undergoing. They were becoming a new person, a more spiritually mature person if you wish, and growing in their love of God.
One caution: If we find ourselves comparing ourselves to others and patting ourselves on the back for being more spiritually mature than them, it is a sign that we are not spiritually mature. One of the fruit of the Spirit is humility, a meekness of spirit which recognizes that we have no special importance that makes us better than others.
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 ti 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
Almighty God
by whom the world has been filled
with the light of your Incarnate Word:
grant, we pray,
that as he kindles the flame of faith and love in our hearts
so his light may shine forth in our lives ;
who now lives and reigns with you
in the unity of 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 link in a new tab to hear Richard Irwin’s adaptation of Margaret Olds “Spirit of God, Unseen as the Wind.”
Spirit of God, unseen as the wind,
Gentle as the dove;
Touch us with love and teach us to sing
Joy to you Lord above.
Your voice the sound, heard in the wind,
O’er fields and hills you sing;
Now I can hear, the joy, my Lord,
the peace your song will bring.
Spirit of God, unseen as the wind,
Gentle as the dove;
Touch us with love and teach us to sing
Joy to you Lord above.
Love in our hearts, praise in prayers,
We follow on your way;
Lord of the sky, Lord of the earth,
Answer us when we pray.
Spirit of God, unseen as the wind,
Gentle as the dove;
Touch us with love and teach us to sing
Joy to you Lord above.
The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
Let us praise the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
May the light of faith shine in all that we do
and may the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit be with us and remain with us always. Amen.
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