All Hallows Evening Prayer for Sunday Evening (February 6, 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 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 5: 1-11 Jesus Calls the First Disciples

One day Jesus was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret while the people pushed their way up to him to listen to the word of God. He saw two boats pulled up on the beach; the fishermen had left them and were washing the nets. Jesus got into one of the boats—it belonged to Simon—and asked him to push off a little from the shore. Jesus sat in the boat and taught the crowd.

When he finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Push the boat out further to the deep water, and you and your partners let down your nets for a catch.”

“Master,” Simon answered, “we worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I will let down the nets.” They let them down and caught such a large number of fish that the nets were about to break. 7 So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats so full of fish that the boats were about to sink. When Simon Peter saw what had happened, he fell on his knees before Jesus and said, “Go away from me, Lord! I am a sinful man!”

He and the others with him were all amazed at the large number of fish they had caught. The same was true of Simon's partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Jesus said to Simon, “Don't be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”

They pulled the boats up on the beach, left everything, and followed Jesus.

Silence is kept.

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

HOMILY

How Jesus Calls Us

Most of us will not witness a miracle like Simon, James, and John witnessed before Jesus called them be his disciples. We may feel a tug on our hearts. Our thoughts may turn to Jesus. Jesus may speak to us through someone else. We may not heed Jesus’ call right away. We may have to hit rock bottom before we pay attention to it. But having chosen us, Jesus is not going to give up on us. He did not give up on the apostle Paul although Paul kept resisting him.

If you have received Jesus as your Saviour and embraced him as your Lord, you have some idea of what I am talking about. Jesus’ call to follow him happen to each of us differently. There is no one experience that fits all. God’s grace works in us differently, enabling us to believe in Jesus and to trust in him.

I grew up in a church-going family. I was baptized as an infant and confirmed as a teenager. I drifted away from my church in university—a complicated story—and did not return until I was in my 30s. But I did not take following Jesus as seriously as I might have until one summer while on vacation in western Kentucky where I now live. I found myself faced with a choice. I could choose to live in a world of which God and Jesus were very much a part, or I could choose to live in a world without God or Jesus.

I made the same kind of choice that the Marsh Wiggle Puddleglum makes in C. S. Lewis children’s novel The Silver Chair. He concluded that a world in which Aslan and Narnia were a part was a better world than one without them even if Aslan and Narnia were figments of his imagination. I chose the world in which God and Jesus were very much a part. Only later did I realize that God had been gently nudging me to make that choice.

God never forces himself on someone. Jesus is the same way. After all, God and Jesus are one. Jesus did not force himself on Paul on the road to Damascus. But he did catch Paul’s attention.

When Jesus told his disciples to leave the place where he was about to ascend into heaven and make disciples of all people groups on the earth, he appointed them and us to be his heralds. A herald is a person who carries important messages and makes announcements. Among the important messages that he has entrusted to us is the invitation to follow him. We are to share this message with everyone. It is a message that we not only share with words but also actions.

As Jesus’ disciples we are not only expected to believe and value what he taught and exemplified, but also we are expected to live according to his teaching and example. Following his teaching and example is not optional, something that we can choose to do if we want to do it. It is an integral part of being a disciple of Jesus. If we are not making reasonable effort to live according to Jesus’ teaching and example, it is questionable whether we can consider ourselves one of his disciples.

Being a disciple of Jesus entails more than going to church services, listening to sermons, and receiving the sacrament of Holy Communion. While we should attend these ordinances: they are means of grace, attending them does not make us disciples.

As well as extending his invitation to discipleship through his followers, Jesus invites people to follow him directly, that is without anybody else being involved. Most often, however, Jesus calls us in more than one way. This is similar to the way that God’s grace works in our lives. His grace works through the people whom he has placed in our lives and directly in ourselves. God’s grace also works through Scripture, prayer, and the sacraments.

Jesus may use several different people to call us at different points in our lives. We may resist his call as did Paul and like an ox pulling a plow kick against the goad, a stick for poking an ox to make it do what the ploughman wants. But Jesus will persist. He will continue to call us in a determined way even if when we resist him. He will not stop because we cannot make up our mind. Nicodemus who visited Jesus in secret did not follow him right away. Simon Peter who was one of his first disciples denied him.

Most of us, I suspect, follow Jesus in fits and spurts rather than steadily. Sometimes we pull ahead. Other times we are lag behind.

When I was a boy, the head teacher would summon the village children to the village school by ringing a hand bell. After the bell was rung, one could observe the village children on their way to the school. Some walked smartly and soon were lining up in the front of the school, ready to go in. Others dragged their feet. They were usually last in line or even late for the morning assembly.

People respond to Jesus’ call to discipleship in much the same way. Jesus’ parable of the vineyard workers is a reminder that no matter how late we arrive, the reward will be the same. We may have less time to practice godliness and to pursue holiness, but God will not turn us away. We responded to Jesus’ call, denied ourselves, took up our cross, and followed him.

Silence is kept.

SONG OF PRAISE

Open this link in a new tab to hear Kiran Young Wimberly’s adaptation of Psalm 67. “May God Be Gracious Unto Us.”

May God be gracious unto us
Make God’s face shine on to us
That your way be known on earth
And your power among all nations

Let the peoples praise you, God,
All the peoples praise you, God,
And be glad and sing for joy
Guide the peoples of all nations

God, our God, has blessed us kindly
Blessed us and sustained us kindly
God be gracious unto us
And God’s face shine on all nations

May God be gracious unto us
May God’s face shine on to us
God be gracious unto us
And God’s face shine on all nations

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

Most holy God,
the earth is filled with your glory,
and before you angels and saints stand in awe.
Enlarge our vision to see your power at work in the world,
and by your grace make us heralds of your Son,
Jesus Christ, Our Savior and Lord. Amen.

RESPONSE

Open this link in a new tab to hear Cecil Frances Alexander’s hymn, “Jesus Calls Us O’er the Tumult.”

1. Jesus calls us o'er the tumult
of our life's wild restless sea;
day by day his dear voice soundeth
saying, 'Christian, follow me.'

2. As of old Saint Andrew heard it
by the Galilean lake,
turned from home and toil and kindred,
leaving all for his dear sake.

3. Jesus calls us from the worship
of the vain world's golden store,
from each idol that would keep us,
saying, 'Christian, love me more.'

[Instrumental interlude]

4. In our joys and in our sorrows,
days of toil and hours of ease,
Still he calls, in cares and pleasures,
'Christian, love me more than these.'

5. Jesus calls us: by thy mercies,
Saviour, may we hear thy call,
give our hearts to thy obedience,
serve and love thee best of all.

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.