All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (February 19, 2022)
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 a hen covers her chicks with her wings
to keep them safe, do thou this night
protect us under your golden wings. Amen.
SCRIPTURE
Luke 6: 27-36 Love Your Enemies
“But I say to all of you who will listen to me: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who treat you badly.
“As for the man who hits you on one cheek, offer him the other one as well!
And if a man is taking away your coat, do not stop him from taking your shirt as well. Give to everyone who asks you, and when a man has taken what belongs to you, don’t demand it back.”
“Treat men exactly as you would like them to treat you.”
“If you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that, And if you lend only to those from whom you hope to get your money back, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners and expect to get their money back. No, you are to love your enemies and do good and lend without hope of return. Your reward will be wonderful and you will be sons of the most high. For he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked!
“You must be merciful, as your father in Heaven is merciful.”
“Don’t judge other people and you will not be judged yourselves. Don’t condemn and you will not be condemned. Make allowances for others and people will make allowances for you. Give and men will give to you—yes, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will they pour into your lap. For whatever measure you use with other people, they will use in their dealings with you.”
Silence is kept.
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory
HOMILY
What Did Jesus Teach? Judging Others
What does Jesus mean in today's reading when he says, “Don’t judge other people and you will not be judged yourselves. Don’t condemn and you will not be condemned. Make allowances for others and people will make allowances for you.” When it comes to judging others, I believe that Jesus’ words are frequently misunderstood.
When we judge someone, we form, give, or have an opinion, or decide about them, hopefully after thinking carefully. It can also mean expressing a bad opinion of someone’s behavior, because we may think that we are better than them. It can simply mean deciding whether we think someone is good, bad, effective, and other similar things.
Too often Jesus’ words are interpreted to mean that we should not form an opinion of anyone, and we should not express concerns about anyone or their character, thoughts, feelings, words or actions. We should keep our opinion of them, their character, thoughts, feelings, or actions to ourselves. We should not voice our concerns or draw them to the attention of the person in question or anyone else.
Jesus is also not telling us that we should adopt an attitude of indifference toward other people or an attitude of unconcern toward their character, thoughts, feelings, words, or action. We should not think about them or take an interest in them. Jesus is not saying that we should be permissive, allowing behavior that other people would disapprove of.
This interpretation of Jesus’ words, however, contradict what Jesus himself did. He did form opinions of people and he openly expressed concerns about them, their character, thoughts, feelings, actions, and words. He was far from indifferent to people or disinterested in them. While Jesus disagreed with the Pharisee’s interpretation of Scripture and emphasized God’s mercifulness, God’s willingness to be kind and forgiving, Jesus did not teach unlicensed freedom to act.
So, what then did Jesus mean? The key is found in these words “Don’t condemn and you will not be condemned. Make allowances for others and people will make allowances for you.” “For whatever measure you use with other people, they will use in their dealings with you.” Jesus’ words in Matthew 7: 1-2 are also helpful in understand what Jesus meant. “Don’t criticise people, and you will not be criticised. For you will be judged by the way you criticise others, and the measure you give will be the measure you receive.”
When we condemn someone, we criticize them strongly. We show strong disapproval of them. We express strong disagreement with them. What Jesus is saying is that if we are strong in expressing our disapproval of someone or our disagreement with the, we should not be surprised if they treat us in the same way. They use the same measure for us as we used for them. By making allowances for others, Jesus means that we should think about their characteristics and not judge them too severely.
Among the things that Jesus is saying is that we should not be too hasty in forming our opinions of someone, their character, thoughts, feelings, words, and actions. We should take our time and give everything careful thought. We should not accept anything as true without question or proof. We should not make guesses about something without having much or any proof or based on how it seems and not on proof.
While Jesus did not make a specific reference to this particular bias or use the terminology that we use to describe it in our time, Jesus appears to be fulyl aware of what we call the “negativity bias,” the tendency to quickly form negative personal opinions and to allow them to influence our judgment. We tend to think negatively about other people, to give more weight to negative information about them than positive information, to fill in negative details that are the product of our imagination when we have insufficient information, to exaggerate in our own minds the seriousness of any negative behavior or any negative character traits or qualities, and to form the worst possible opinion of someone. This bias is common to all humankind and is hard-wired into our brain. It allows our feelings to color our thoughts and when we have scant facts, it encourages us to fit them into our hastily-formed personal opinions, rather than to gather more facts and then form an opinion based upon them.
In his Notes on the Gospel according to St. Luke John Wesley makes this observation: “With the same measure that ye mete with, it shall be measured to you again - Amazing goodness! So we are permitted even to carve for ourselves! We ourselves are, as it were, to tell God how much mercy he shall show us! And can we be content with less than the very largest measure? Give then to man, what thou designest to receive of God.” If we desire that God should be generous in his mercy to us, it is only right and proper that we should be generous in our mercy to our fellow human beings, to our enemies, and to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Jesus is not saying that we should not form an opinion about someone else, but that we should be generous in the opinion which we form. Hopefully, this knowledge will enable us to reconsider our opinion of others and be more loving and kinder toward them.
Silence is kept.
SONG OF PRAISE
Open this link in a new tab to hear Miriam Winter’s “My Soul Gives Glory to My God.”
1 My soul gives glory to my God,
My heart pours out its praise.
God lifted up my lowliness
In many marvelous ways.
2 My God has done great things for me:
Holy is the Name.
All people will declare me blessed,
And blessings they shall claim.
3 From age to age to all who fear,
Such mercy love imparts,
Dispensing justice far and near,
Dismissing selfish hearts.
4 Love casts the mighty from their thrones,
Promotes the insecure,
Leaves hungry spirits satisfied;
The rich seem suddenly poor.
5 Praise God, whose loving covenant
Supports those in distress,
Remembering past promises
With present faithfulness
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
God of compassion,
keep before us the love you have revealed in your Son,
who prayed even for his enemies.
In our words and deeds
Help us to be like him, through whom we pray,
Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen.
RESPONSE
Open this link in a new tab to hear Omer Westendorf’s translation of Ubi Carita, “Where Charity and Love Prevail.”
1 Where charity and love prevail,
There God is ever found;
Brought here together by Christ’s love,
By love we are thus bound.
2 With grateful joy and holy fear
His charity we learn;
Let us with heart and mind and soul
Now love Him in return.
3 Forgive we now each other’s faults
As we our faults confess;
And let us love each other well
In Christian holiness.
4 Let strife among us be unknown,
Let all contention cease;
Be his the glory that we seek,
Be ours his holy peace.
5 Let us recall that in our midst
Dwells God’s begotten Son;
As members of his body joined,
We are in Him made one.
6 No race nor creed can love exclude
If honored be God’s name;
Our family embraces all
Whose Father is the same.
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 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.
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