All Hallows Evening Prayer for Sunday Evening (January 2, 2022)

 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 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 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

John 1: 10-18 The Son Has Made the Father Know

He came into the world—the world he had created—and the world failed to recognise him. He came into his own creation, and his own people would not accept him. Yet wherever men did accept him he gave them the power to become sons of God. These were the men who truly believed in him, and their birth depended not on the course of nature nor on any impulse or plan of man, but on God.

So the word of God became a human being and lived among us. We saw his splendour (the splendour as of a father’s only son), full of grace and truth. And it was about him that John stood up and testified, exclaiming: “Here is the one I was speaking about when I said that although he would come after me he would always be in front of me; for he existed before I was born!” Indeed, every one of us has shared in his riches—there is a grace in our lives because of his grace. For while the Law was given by Moses, love and truth came through Jesus Christ. It is true that no one has ever seen God at any time. Yet the divine and only Son, who lives in the closest intimacy with the Father, has made him known.

Silence is kept.

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

Homily

The Face of God

The apostle John ends today’s reading with these words, “For while the Law was given by Moses, love and truth came through Jesus Christ. It is true that no one has ever seen God at any time. Yet the divine and only Son, who lives in the closest intimacy with the Father, has made him known.”

Let us savor those words for a moment. “… love and truth came through Jesus Christ.” “…the divine and only Son, who lives in the closest intimacy with the Father, has made him known.”

Jesus revealed the face of God and the face that Jesus revealed was the face of a loving God, the face of a God who not only shows mercy to us but who desires that we show mercy to our fellow human beings. The face Jesus revealed was not the face of a cruel and capricious God but that of a kind and constant God, a God who is generous, helpful, and caring; a God who stays the same.

This is something worth keeping in mind as we begin a new year. We do not know what the new year holds us. We hope for a better year than the old year, which was filled with tragedy. But anxiety, doubt, and uncertainty grip us.

Psychologists tell us that human brain is wired to expect the worst. This may have survival value for us, but as a result we have a negative outlook on life. In expecting the worst to happen, we can also cause the worst to happen—self-fulfilling prophesy.

For this reason, it is a good idea to keep God’s goodness at the forefront of our mind. As Jesus told the multitude in his sermon on the mountain, God is good even to the ungrateful and the wicked. While we may be tempted to not feel certain or confident about God’s friendly attitude toward us and to have difficulty believing that God causes good things to happen to us, we do well to trust Jesus’ words and to not let our negativity get the better of us. God has a way of coming through for us when we do not expect it.

Some things that we think cannot be good for us or do not meet our idea of what is good for us may be better for us that we can imagine. We may believe that the friendship of a particular individual is of little or no value to us, but that person may have been put in our lives for our good. They may have been put there for a time when we need them.

Whatever happens in this new year, whether it is what we hoped would happen, or it is more disappointments, more pain, more sadness, and more heartaches, let us keep trusting in God’s goodwill toward us, in his love for us, in his merciful kindness toward us. Let cling steadfastly to the belief that God is all that Jesus said that he was.

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

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 Steven C. Warner’s arrangement of Julian of Norwich’s “All Will Be Well.”

All will be well,
and all will be well,
all manner of things will be well.

1 Our Lord said that all would be well,
All manner of things would be well.

All will be well,
and all will be well,
all manner of things will be well.

2 With all the sadness wrought in the world,
the good shall always prevail.

All will be well,
and all will be well,
all manner of things will be well.

3 In all the doubts that shroud simple truths,
we pray for the wisdom of God.

All will be well,
and all will be well,
all manner of things will be well.

4 Give us the faith to trust in your love,
when things are concealed from our view.

All will be well,
and all will be well,
all manner of things will be well.

5 Our faith is firm and stands on the Word,
the Word that endures for all time.

All will be well,
and all will be well,
all manner of things will be well.

6 And so we pray to trust in the hope
that all manner of things shall be well.

All will be well,
and all will be well,
all manners of things will be well.
will be well, will be well.

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.