All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (February 2, 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 hen covers her chicks with her wings
to keep them safe, do thou this night
protect us under your golden wings. Amen.
SCRIPTURE
Galatians 3: 1-14 Law or Faith
You foolish Galatians! Who put a spell on you? Before your very eyes you had a clear description of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross! Tell me this one thing: did you receive God's Spirit by doing what the Law requires or by hearing the gospel and believing it? How can you be so foolish! You began by God's Spirit; do you now want to finish by your own power? Did all your experience mean nothing at all? Surely it meant something! Does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you because you do what the Law requires or because you hear the gospel and believe it?
Consider the experience of Abraham; as the scripture says, “He believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous.” You should realize, then, that the real descendants of Abraham are the people who have faith. The scripture predicted that God would put the Gentiles right with himself through faith. And so the scripture announced the Good News to Abraham: “Through you God will bless all people.” Abraham believed and was blessed; so all who believe are blessed as he was.
Those who depend on obeying the Law live under a curse. For the scripture says, “Whoever does not always obey everything that is written in the book of the Law is under God's curse!” Now, it is clear that no one is put right with God by means of the Law, because the scripture says, “Only the person who is put right with God through faith shall live.” But the Law has nothing to do with faith. Instead, as the scripture says, “Whoever does everything the Law requires will live.”
But by becoming a curse for us Christ has redeemed us from the curse that the Law brings; for the scripture says, “Anyone who is hanged on a tree is under God's curse.” Christ did this in order that the blessing which God promised to Abraham might be given to the Gentiles by means of Christ Jesus, so that through faith we might receive the Spirit promised by God.
Silence is kept.
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory
HOMILY
Sidetracked?
In today’s reading from his letter to the Galatians Paul chides the Galatians for allowing the Judaizers to persuade them that they needed to obey the Law, to follow the rules and regulations of the Mosaic Code. He reminds them that they are put right with God by faith in Jesus Christ and not by their own efforts. He points to their attention that the real descendants of Abraham are the people who have faith. Those who are put right with God through faith will also through faith receive the Holy Spirit promised by God.
The mistake the Galatians made is not an uncommon one. It is one that Christians make in our own time. The Galatians got off to a good start but then they got sidetracked. They were influenced by the thinking of the Judaizers, Jewish Christians who insisted that Gentiles, non-Jews, must become Jews and follow the Mosaic Code in order to be followers of Jesus Christ. They essentially believed that God’s kindness was meant for Jews alone and for Gentiles to experience God’s kindness, they needed to become Jews. This attitude was contrary to what Jesus said after reading a passage from the Book of Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth.
Christians get sidetracked in several different ways. Their attention may be directed away from what is important to what is less important or not important at all.
How then do they get sidetracked? One way is that they come to believe that a person must adopt certain beliefs, principles, and ways of acting before they may become a Christian. These beliefs, principles, and ways of acting may have nothing to do with what Jesus taught and practiced or the teaching that was passed on to apostles like Paul who were not one of the original disciples. They may be beliefs, principles, and ways of acting that a particular Christian tradition has been following for a long time. The churches in that particular Christian tradition may mistakenly that because these beliefs, principles, and ways of acting are old and even wide-spread, they must not be wrong or false.
A second way is to insist that after one becomes a Christian, one must adopt a set of beliefs, principles, and ways of acting like those described in the previous paragraph.
A third way Christians become sidetracked is that they are led to believe that when they become Christians, they can keep feeling, thinking, and behaving the way that they did before they became Christians. They do not need to make any changes in their feelings, opinions, or ways of behaving. God accepts and affirms them exactly as they are.
A fourth way is that Christians believe that a person who has made a decision to receive Jesus as their Savior does not need to embrace him as their Lord. They are also not bound by any requirements of the Old Testament Law.
How do these four ways Christians get sidetracked stack up to what Jesus taught and practiced. First, Jesus did not require those who became his followers to make changes in their lives before they became his followers. He did expect them to trust in him and in what he taught and practiced.
Second, Jesus did not encourage his disciples to adopt attitudes, beliefs, and behavior that did not have their basis in the Scriptures. He warned them against the traditions of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law.
At the same time, he did expect them to follow his teaching and example and to make changes in their lives to that end.
In his teaching Jesus did stress obedience to the commandments which are called moral. In his teaching about what makes someone “unclean,” Jesus taught, “For from your heart come the evil ideas which lead you to kill, commit adultery, and do other immoral things; to rob, lie, and slander others.” (Matthew 15:19) In his conversation with the rich young man Jesus also stressed the moral commandments. “Jesus answered, ‘Do not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not accuse anyone falsely; respect your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as you love yourself.’” (Matthew 19: 18-19)
Third, while Jesus mingled with all kinds of people, social outcasts as well as the respected members of Jewish society, and accepted their hospitality, he also told the woman caught in adultery, having saved her life and forgiven her, not to sin anymore. In other words, he conveyed to her the expectation that she would change her ways. In his teaching he conveyed the expectation that those who became his disciples would follow his teaching. They would show their love for him by obeying his commands. Jesus may have met them where they were but after they became his disciples, they were expected to make changes in their lives.
When Jesus was told that his mother and his brothers were looking for him, Jesus’ response was, “He looked at the people sitting around him and said, ‘Look! Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does what God wants is my brother, my sister, my mother.’” (Mark 3:34-35) What does God want? God wants us to obey Jesus in whom he is well-pleased.
The implications are clear. We cannot go on ghosting friends because we have found a new friend who is more exciting, more fun, and more interesting, and we no longer willing to forgive or overlook our old friend's faults and mistakes as we once did. We are no longer free to ignore someone’s existence because acknowledging their existence is inconvenient to us and causes us problems or difficulties. Such behavior is not consistent with what Jesus taught and practiced and therefore it is not suitable or right for one of his disciples.
The belief that God does not require us to make any changes in our lives when we become a follower of Jesus can be significant obstacle to our being open to the sanctifying, perfecting grace that God supplies us for the very purpose of transforming our lives and to our making effective use of that grace. It can keep us from becoming like Jesus in our thoughts, feelings, words, and actions.
Fourth, we cannot separate receiving Jesus as Savior from embracing him as Lord. Trusting in Jesus involves more than trusting in his saving work on the cross. It involves trusting in his words as well as his actions. As both the apostles James and Paul point to our attention, a vital faith shows itself clearly through actions, through deeds of kindness, as James puts it; through love, as Paul puts it.
Loving others, whether our neighbors, our enemies, or our brothers and sisters in Christ, can be seen as a test of our faith in Jesus. It means that we cannot adopt an attitude of indifference or unfriendliness toward them. When the opportunity present itself, it means showing them our love, our kindness, and our attention. It does not mean evading them or avoiding such opportunities.
This may not be easy. We may not find a particular individual especially loveable. Due to our past experiences, we may be uncomfortable around them. We may struggle to give others love, kindness, and attention because we ourselves have not received much love, kindness, and attention. God, however, supplies us with abundant grace to fulfill his will. He enables us to will what he wills and when we do will what he wills to keeping willing what he wills. He also gives us the power to carry out his will. If we hang back and do not avail ourselves of his grace, the Holy Spirit will gently nudge us to make use of God’s grace. He will encourage us to get back on track.
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
O Lord,
you have taught us
that all our doings without love are worth nothing:
send your Holy Spirit,
and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love,
the true bond of peace and of all virtues,
without which whoever lives is counted dead before you;
Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.
RESPONSE
Open this link in a new tab to hear Shirley Erena Murray’s “Go Gently, Go Lightly.”
Go gently, go lightly,
go safe in the Spirit,
live simply, don't carry
much more than you need:
go trusting God's goodness,
go spreading God's kindness,
stay centered on Jesus
and where he will lead.
Go singing, go bringing
the gifts of the Spirit,
go hopefully searching
for things that are true:
in living, in loving,
whatever befalls you,
God keep you, God bless you
in all that you do.
[Instrumental interlude]
Go gently, go lightly,
go safe in the Spirit,
live simply, don't carry
much more than you need:
go trusting God's goodness,
go spreading God's kindness,
stay centered on Jesus
and where he will lead.
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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