All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (March 5, 2022)
PROCLAMATION OF THE LIGHT
One or more candles may be lit. Bless be God who forgives all our sins
God’s mercy endures forever
EVENING HYMN
Open this link in a new tab to hear Joyous Light of Glorious God from Kent Gustavson’s Mountain Vespers.
Joyous light of glorious God,
heavenly, holy, Jesus Christ,
We have come to the setting of the Sun
and we look to the ev’ning light.
We sing to Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Our voices pure voices together.
O precious God, giver of life,
we sing your praises forever.
Joyous light of glorious God,
heavenly, holy, Jesus Christ,
We have come to the setting of the Sun
and we look to the ev’ning light.
We sing to Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Our voices pure voices together.
O precious God, giver of life,
we sing your praises forever.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Blessed are you, O Lord our God,
the shepherd of Israel,
their pillar of cloud by day,
their pillar of fire by night.
In these forty days you lead us
into the desert of repentance
that in this pilgrimage of prayer
we might learn to be your people once more.
In fasting and service
you bring us back to your heart.
You open our eyes to your presence in the world
and you free our hands to lead others
to the radiant splendour of your mercy.
Be with us in these journey days
for without you we are lost and will perish.
To you alone be dominion and glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Psalm 141 from Kent Gustavson's Mountain Vespers.
Let my prayer rise before you as incense,
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
O God, I call you; come to me quickly;
Hear my voice when I cry to you.
Let my prayer rise before you as incense,
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Set a watch before my mouth,
and guard the doors of my lips.
Let not my heart incline to any evil thing;
Never occupied in wickedness.
Let my prayer rise before you as incense,
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
My eyes are turned to you, O God,
in you I take refuge.
My eyes are turned to you, O God,
Strip me not of my life.
Let my prayer rise before you as incense,
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Silence is kept.
May our prayers come before you, O God, as incense, and may your presence surround and fill us, so that in union with all creation, we might sing your praise and your love in our lives. Amen.
SCRIPTURE
Romans 10: 4-13 Salvation Is for Everyone
For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.
For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands. But faith’s way of getting right with God says, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven?’ (to bring Christ down to earth). And don’t say, ‘Who will go down to the place of the dead?’ (to bring Christ back to life again).” In fact, it says,
“The message is very close at hand;
it is on your lips and in your heart.”
And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Silence is kept.
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory
HOMILY
A Faith That Is Alive
In his Notes on St. Paul’s Epistles to the Romans John Wesley makes several observations which merit careful thought. The sum of the gospel, he states, is that if our heart believes in Jesus and our life confesses him, we shall be saved. Confessing Jesus with our mouths means confessing him even in time of persecution when our confession may cost us our lives. It is not enough to believe with our understanding only. We must believe with our heart. When we believe in Jesus, we are restored to a right relationship with God. We are reckoned to be righteous in his eyes, and we are put right with him. When we confess Jesus with our mouth, we obtain final salvation. Wesley notes that confession in this passage implies the whole of outward religion as believing implies the root of all inward religion.
The reason that I am drawing attention to Wesley’s notes on today’s reading is that he recognizes that being put right with God and being saved involve more than an intellectual acceptance of the claim that Jesus was raised from the dead. Our belief in Jesus’ resurrection must be a heartfelt conviction. It is not enough for us to walk to the front of the church when the pastor gives the invitation and pray a “sinner’s prayer,” make a public declaration of faith in baptism, or make a profession of faith at a service of confirmation and receive the prayers of the church. Our statement of what we believe must be made publicly not only with our mouths but with our lives. Our lives must embody what we say that we believe—Jesus is Lord. God raised him from the dead and made him Lord of all.
This goes beyond reciting the Apostles’ Creed every Sunday. It goes beyond praying the Lord’s Prayer. It means faithfully representing Jesus in the world and in the church, living according to his teachings and his example. It means showing that Jesus is indeed the Lord of our hearts and the Lord of our lives.
This is also where many of us run into difficulty. We may believe that since we have prayed a “sinner’s prayer,” have been baptized in the presence of witnesses, or formally accepted as a member of the Christian Church with laying-on-of-hands and prayer, we have done all that we need to do.
We may believe that we must shout to the rooftops at every opportunity that we are a Christian.
But where we fail is that we neglect to confess Jesus with our lives. Our lives do not show that the risen Jesus is the one who is in control our lives. Indeed, our lives differ little from the lives of the non-Christians around us.
Both the apostle James and the apostle Paul in their own way draw to our attention that a faith which puts us right with God and saves us is a faith that is alive. It is a faith that is shown clearly through our actions. We live out the teachings and example of Jesus.
The apostle James tells us:
What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? (James 2: 14-20 NLT)
James goes on to use the patriarch Abraham and the prostitute Rahab to illustrate what he is saying. He concludes:
Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. (James 2: 26 NLT).
James is not just talking about performing acts of kindness as important as they are but living our lives fully according to Jesus’ teaching and example. Jesus not only went about doing good during his earthly ministry, but he taught his disciples to do good even to their enemies. He taught them to treat others exactly as they would wish to be treated.
The apostle Paul tells us that the saving faith which puts us right with God and saves us is “faith expressing itself in love” (Galatians 5:6 NLT). It is shown in loving actions toward others. Paul is also talking about spending our lives in a way patterned upon Jesus’ teachings and example.
Now living out Jesus’ teachings and example cannot save us. What saves us is a vital faith evidenced by a life lived Jesus’ way.
Jesus himself taught:
“A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart” (Luke 6:43-45).
Likewise, a living faith is identified by what it produces. It will yield a life patterned on Jesus’ teachings and example. We may not exhibit such a life right away. It will not spring up overnight. But as we grow in faith, our faith will become more and more evident in our life.
How then do we grow in faith? God’s grace is working in our lives, not only enabling us to have faith but also to invigorating and strengthening our faith and proving its truth which may not have previously been certain. The Holy Spirit nudges us to act upon the faith which we have. Acting upon our faith helps it to grow. Failing to act upon our faith weakens it.
Life is filled with lots of choices, big ones and little ones. With each choice we are invited to trust God, trust his word, trust his goodness, trust his faithfulness. When we trust God in making a decision, we stretch our faith. When we stretch our faith, it increases.
The outcome of our decision does not matter. What matters is our trusting God. We may not see the outcome that we had desired, but we give God our trust. We do not trust God in hopes that he will bestow blessings on us. We trust God because God is most worthy of our trust.
We live out Jesus’ teachings and example, trusting that they originated with God and therefore are the right and proper thing to do. Our living out of his teachings and example is an act of faith as well as evidence of faith.
Giving our full attention to “all the ordinances of God,” as John Wesley described “the public worship of God; the ministry of the Word, either read or expounded; the Supper of the Lord; family and private prayer; searching the Scriptures; and fasting or abstinence” also helps our faith to grow. They stir and nourish our faith.
We can like the father of Mark 9:24 who implored Jesus to help his unbelief ask God to increase our faith. Asking for more faith is itself an act of faith in which we stretch our faith.
One thing to keep in mind about faith. God will give us more faith, but we will not know that we have it unless we exercise it. In this regard it is like going on a journey. To start the journey, we must first step outside our house. We will go nowhere if we do nothing. It is the same with faith. We must take that first step. Faith comes with that first step. The more steps we take, the more our faith will grow. There is no point in wrangling over who is taking the initiative—God or ourselves. What matters most is that we take that first step.
Silence is kept.
SONG OF PRAISE
Open this link in a new tab to hear the Magnificat from Kent Gustavson’s Mountain Vespers.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
1 You O God have done great things
and holy is your name.
You have mercy on those who fear you
n ev’ry generation.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
2 You have shown the strength of your arm,
you have scattered the proud in their conceit.
You have cast the might down from thrones
and have lifted up the lowly.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
3 You have filled the hungry with good things,
the rich you have sent away empty.
You have come to the help of your servant Israel
you’ve remembered your promise of mercy.
The promise you made
to Sarah and Abraham.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
Glory to you, O Lord our God
With your love and power.
Glory to you, O Lord our God
With your love and power.
Amen
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
With confidence and trust let us pray to the Lord, saying, “Lord, have mercy.”
For the one holy catholic and apostolic Church throughout the world, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the mission of the Church, that in faithful witness it may preach the gospel to the ends of the earth, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those preparing for baptism and for their teachers and sponsors, we pray to you, Lord.
Both the apostle James and the apostle Paul in their own way draw to our attention that a faith which puts us right with God and saves us is a faith that is alive. It is a faith that is shown clearly through our actions. We live out the teachings and example of Jesus.
The apostle James tells us:
What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? (James 2: 14-20 NLT)
James goes on to use the patriarch Abraham and the prostitute Rahab to illustrate what he is saying. He concludes:
Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. (James 2: 26 NLT).
James is not just talking about performing acts of kindness as important as they are but living our lives fully according to Jesus’ teaching and example. Jesus not only went about doing good during his earthly ministry, but he taught his disciples to do good even to their enemies. He taught them to treat others exactly as they would wish to be treated.
The apostle Paul tells us that the saving faith which puts us right with God and saves us is “faith expressing itself in love” (Galatians 5:6 NLT). It is shown in loving actions toward others. Paul is also talking about spending our lives in a way patterned upon Jesus’ teachings and example.
Now living out Jesus’ teachings and example cannot save us. What saves us is a vital faith evidenced by a life lived Jesus’ way.
Jesus himself taught:
“A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart” (Luke 6:43-45).
Likewise, a living faith is identified by what it produces. It will yield a life patterned on Jesus’ teachings and example. We may not exhibit such a life right away. It will not spring up overnight. But as we grow in faith, our faith will become more and more evident in our life.
How then do we grow in faith? God’s grace is working in our lives, not only enabling us to have faith but also to invigorating and strengthening our faith and proving its truth which may not have previously been certain. The Holy Spirit nudges us to act upon the faith which we have. Acting upon our faith helps it to grow. Failing to act upon our faith weakens it.
Life is filled with lots of choices, big ones and little ones. With each choice we are invited to trust God, trust his word, trust his goodness, trust his faithfulness. When we trust God in making a decision, we stretch our faith. When we stretch our faith, it increases.
The outcome of our decision does not matter. What matters is our trusting God. We may not see the outcome that we had desired, but we give God our trust. We do not trust God in hopes that he will bestow blessings on us. We trust God because God is most worthy of our trust.
We live out Jesus’ teachings and example, trusting that they originated with God and therefore are the right and proper thing to do. Our living out of his teachings and example is an act of faith as well as evidence of faith.
Giving our full attention to “all the ordinances of God,” as John Wesley described “the public worship of God; the ministry of the Word, either read or expounded; the Supper of the Lord; family and private prayer; searching the Scriptures; and fasting or abstinence” also helps our faith to grow. They stir and nourish our faith.
We can like the father of Mark 9:24 who implored Jesus to help his unbelief ask God to increase our faith. Asking for more faith is itself an act of faith in which we stretch our faith.
One thing to keep in mind about faith. God will give us more faith, but we will not know that we have it unless we exercise it. In this regard it is like going on a journey. To start the journey, we must first step outside our house. We will go nowhere if we do nothing. It is the same with faith. We must take that first step. Faith comes with that first step. The more steps we take, the more our faith will grow. There is no point in wrangling over who is taking the initiative—God or ourselves. What matters most is that we take that first step.
Silence is kept.
SONG OF PRAISE
Open this link in a new tab to hear the Magnificat from Kent Gustavson’s Mountain Vespers.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
1 You O God have done great things
and holy is your name.
You have mercy on those who fear you
n ev’ry generation.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
2 You have shown the strength of your arm,
you have scattered the proud in their conceit.
You have cast the might down from thrones
and have lifted up the lowly.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
3 You have filled the hungry with good things,
the rich you have sent away empty.
You have come to the help of your servant Israel
you’ve remembered your promise of mercy.
The promise you made
to Sarah and Abraham.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
Glory to you, O Lord our God
With your love and power.
Glory to you, O Lord our God
With your love and power.
Amen
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
With confidence and trust let us pray to the Lord, saying, “Lord, have mercy.”
For the one holy catholic and apostolic Church throughout the world, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the mission of the Church, that in faithful witness it may preach the gospel to the ends of the earth, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those preparing for baptism and for their teachers and sponsors, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For peace in the world, that a spirit of respect and reconciliation may grow among nations and peoples, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the poor, the persecuted, the sick, and all who suffer; for refugees, prisoners, and all in danger; that they may be relieved and protected, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy
For all whom we have injured or offended, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For grace to amend our lives and to further the reign of God, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
Free Prayer
In silent or spontaneous prayer all bring before God the concerns of the day.
The Collect
Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ
fasted forty days in the wilderness,
was tempted as we are, and yet did not sin:
Give us grace to discipline ourselves
in obedience to your Spirit,
and, as you know our weakness,
so may we know your saving power;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
RESPONSE
Open this link in a new tab to hear Thomas H Cain’s “Eternal Lord of Love.”
1 Eternal Lord of love, behold your church
walking once more the pilgrim way of Lent,
led by your cloud by day, by night your fire,
moved by your love and toward your presence bent:
far off yet here--the goal of all desire.
2 So daily dying to the way of self,
so daily living in your way of love,
we walk the road, Lord Jesus, that you trod,
knowing ourselves baptized into your death:
so we are dead and live with you in God.
3 If dead in you, so in you we arise,
you the firstborn of all the faithful dead;
and as through stony ground the green shoots break,
glorious in springtime dress of leaf and flower,
so into life and glory shall we wake.
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.
SOLEMN PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE
Look with compassion, O Lord,
upon this your people;
that rightly observing this holy season
they may learn to know you more fully,
and to serve you with a more perfect will;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
For peace in the world, that a spirit of respect and reconciliation may grow among nations and peoples, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the poor, the persecuted, the sick, and all who suffer; for refugees, prisoners, and all in danger; that they may be relieved and protected, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy
For all whom we have injured or offended, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For grace to amend our lives and to further the reign of God, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
Free Prayer
In silent or spontaneous prayer all bring before God the concerns of the day.
The Collect
Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ
fasted forty days in the wilderness,
was tempted as we are, and yet did not sin:
Give us grace to discipline ourselves
in obedience to your Spirit,
and, as you know our weakness,
so may we know your saving power;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
RESPONSE
Open this link in a new tab to hear Thomas H Cain’s “Eternal Lord of Love.”
1 Eternal Lord of love, behold your church
walking once more the pilgrim way of Lent,
led by your cloud by day, by night your fire,
moved by your love and toward your presence bent:
far off yet here--the goal of all desire.
2 So daily dying to the way of self,
so daily living in your way of love,
we walk the road, Lord Jesus, that you trod,
knowing ourselves baptized into your death:
so we are dead and live with you in God.
3 If dead in you, so in you we arise,
you the firstborn of all the faithful dead;
and as through stony ground the green shoots break,
glorious in springtime dress of leaf and flower,
so into life and glory shall we wake.
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.
SOLEMN PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE
Look with compassion, O Lord,
upon this your people;
that rightly observing this holy season
they may learn to know you more fully,
and to serve you with a more perfect will;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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