All Hallows Evening Prayer for Sunday Evening (January 23, 2022)

 

PROCLAMATION OF THE LIGHT

One or more candles may be lit.

Light and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord
Thanks be to God

EVENING HYMN

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!

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

Dear Jesus,
as hen covers her chicks with her wings
to keep them safe, do thou this night
protect us under your golden wings. Amen.

SCRIPTURE

Luke 4: 14-21 Jesus Begins His Work in Galilee; He Goes to His Hometown

Jesus went back to Galilee with the power of the Spirit. Stories about him spread all over the area around Galilee. He began to teach in the synagogues, and everyone praised him.

Jesus traveled to Nazareth, the town where he grew up. On the Sabbath day he went to the synagogue as he always did. He stood up to read. The book of Isaiah the prophet was given to him. He opened the book and found the place where this is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me.
He has chosen me to tell good news to the poor.
He sent me to tell prisoners that they are free
and to tell the blind that they can see again.
He sent me to free those who have been treated badly
and to announce that the time has come for the Lord to show his kindness.”

Jesus closed the book, gave it back to the helper, and sat down. As everyone in the synagogue watched him closely, he began to speak to them. He said, “While you heard me reading these words just now, they were coming true!”

Silence is kept.

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

HOMILY

An Act of God’s Kindness

The words Jesus read from the Book of Isaiah pleased the people of Nazareth gathered in their synagogue on the sabbath. What Jesus went on to say did not please them. They attempted to lynch him, throw him off the top of the hill on which the town stood.

What are we to make of the passage that Jesus read from the book of Isaiah and Jesus’ explanation of the passage? What Jesus told the people of Nazareth was that he was the fulfillment of the prophesy contained in the passage. The words of the prophesy were being fulfilled in their very presence.

What would anger the people of Nazareth was his announcement that they would not be the beneficiaries of the prophesy’ fulfillment as they themselves believed. They would reject him He goes on to tell them that God sent prophet Elijah to a Phoenician widow and the prophet Elisha to a Syrian general. Both the widow and the general were Gentiles, non-Jews. They were not God’s chosen people, the people of Israel. This infuriated them even more.

Let’s take a look at the prophesy itself, the words that Jesus read. Their main thrust is the last verse, “…to announce that the time has come for the Lord to show his kindness.” This verse is sometime translated as to announce the year of the Lord’s favor. The Easy-to-Read Version’s rendering of this verse is more in line with what Jesus tells the people of Nazareth after he has read the passage. Jesus is not referring to an ordinary Jubilee year, one year in seven, when in which debts would be remitted, lands restored to their original owners, and slaves freed. He was referring to something much greater, something that would affect Gentiles as well as Jews.

When we read all four Gospels, we see God’s kindness in Jesus’ teaching, the way he treats people, his healings, exorcisms, raising of the dead, and other miracles, and ultimately in Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection. While Jesus in one passage narrowly restrict his ministry to the people of Israel, nonetheless his actions reveal a different picture. He delivers the daughter of a Syriophoenecian woman from an evil spirit, and he heals the servant of a Roman officer. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the example of someone who shows true neighborliness, which Jesus gives is a Samaritan, a member of a mixed-race despised and hated by the Jews. He spoke to a Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob and offered her salvation. In the Acts of the Apostles, which completes Luke’s Gospel, it is clear that the way to salvation that Jesus opened on the cross is available to all people, not just Jews.

God’s kindness did not end when Jesus ascended into heaven and took his place at the Father’s right hand. Jesus’ ministry and the events that took place while he was here on earth was just the beginning. The year of the Lord’s favor was not contained in one year, a single year of Jubilee. It continues to this day. Our time is a time in which God shows his kindness too. The way of salvation is open to those who believe in Jesus, to those who accept him as their Savior and Lord.

Those who turn to Jesus, trust him, trust his words, surrender their lives to him, emulate his character and follow his teaching and example, will embark on a new relationship with God. They will begin a new life, a life that is in tune with God’s will for us. They will undergo a transformation of their character. Their love of God will grow and with that love will grow their love of others. They will become more and more like their better self, the self so many of us desire to be, a self that is not hiding somewhere within us but is an act of God’s kindness to us, a gift of his grace.

Silence is kept.

SONG OF PRAISE

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.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

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 grace alone you call us and accept us in your service. Strengthen us by your Spirit, and make us worthy of your call; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

RESPONSE

Open this link in a new tab to hear John Michael Talbot’s “The Spirit of the Lord Is Upon Me.”

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me
Because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring gladd tidings to the poor
And to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captive,
And to set the prisoner free,
To announce a year of favor of the Lord
To comfort all who mourn.

The Spirit of God
Is upon me
The Spirit of God
Has anointed me
The Spirit of God
Now does send me
To the poor, to heal the brokenhearted.

The Spirit of God
Is upon me
The Spirit of God
Has anointed me
The Spirit of God
Now does send me
To the poor, to heal the brokenhearted.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.

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.

BLESSING

May the One who began a good work in us
bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ
and may the blessing of God Almighty, the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be with us
and remain with us always. Amen.