All Hallows Evening Prayer for Sunday Evening (April 3, 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

John 12: 1-8 Jesus Anointed at Bethany

Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.

But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.

Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

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

HOMILY

The Most Important Resource of All

It is not uncommon to hear or read Jesus’ words, “you will always have the poor among you…,” in today’s reading (John 12: 1-8) interpreted misleadingly. They are misinterpreted to give people the wrong idea about what Jesus taught concerning the poor. What Jesus is telling Judas Iscariot and the others is that they will have plenty of opportunities to help the poor. He, on the other hand, would not be always around.

Jesus is making a pretty straightforward statement. He is not suggesting anything more than what he says. He was not going to be physically always with his disciples. They can help the poor when he is gone.

Jesus is not suggesting that we should make no effort to reduce or eliminate poverty because there will always be poor people. Many of the conditions that cause poverty are remediable. We can do something about these conditions.

If we truly believed what Jesus taught about loving others and doing good to them, would not be looking for excuses not to do anything.

I worked as a social worker for more than a quarter of a century in the poorer districts of New Orleans and the smaller surrounding communities and I am well-acquainted with the obstacles to a better life, which the urban poor face. I am also familiar with the challenges that the rural poor face.

There is nothing wrong with giving poor people a leg-up when we can.

Taking an attitude of indifference to the plight of the poor or exhibiting hostility to poor people does not square with what Jesus taught or practiced.

Jesus himself knew poverty. For their purification offering Jesus’ parents offered a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, the kind of offering which only poor people made (Luke 2:24). When someone told Jesus that they would follow him wherever he went, Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head” (Luke 9:58). Pual in his second letter to the Corinthians reminds us, “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor…” (2 Corinthians 8:9 NLT).

Among the things that Jesus taught his disciples was that they should be unstintingly generous toward others. In his own attitude and the attitude that he instructed his disciples to adopt, Jesus mirrors God’s attitude toward the poor as revealed in numerous passages in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. It is very clear from these passages in the Bible and from Jesus’ own teaching, we have a God-given responsibility to care for those in need.

The apostle James makes an important point in his letter: a living faith manifests itself in acts of compassion, kindness, and generosity.

“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.” (James 2: 14-17 NLT)

As well as supporting our own church’s efforts to alleviate poverty in our community, we also should support with our tax dollars local, state, and federal government programs to help those who lack the resources for reasonably comfortable living. This includes supporting programs which have proven their effectiveness such as Head Start, WICK, and SNAP (food stamps). It also includes supporting programs that train the unemployed, equip them with works skills that they may lack such getting along with supervisors and coworkers, and place them in jobs; reduce teenage and adult illiteracy; provide affordable housing; subsidize childcare, energy bills, and rent; offer medical assistance and affordable health insurance, and expand public transportation.

Local churches by themselves cannot address the needs of the poor in their communities. They can do much to help the poor, but they cannot carry the entire burden of helping those in need.

While the economies of some communities are thriving, others are not. Job availability may be high nationally and unemployment, low, but this does mean everyone is in a situation where they have access to employment by which they can support themselves and their families, in which they are employable, and in which they have all the supports in place, which they need to work.

Among the factors that affect the rural poor, for example, is few employment opportunities where they live, no grocery stores and supermarkets, hospitals or medical clinics near to where they live, and no means of transportation to communities where employment opportunities and these resources are available. They are not only living in what is described as a food desert but also an employment and medical care desert. They may have no access to the internet, which is becoming increasingly indispensable nowadays and may live in a cellular phone “dead zone.”

We may not entirely be able to eliminate poverty, but we can certainly take steps to reduce it. What is interesting is that in the Old Testament God promises the people of Israel that there will be no poor among them if they obey the commands God gives them (Deuteronomy 15: 4-5). Jesus in today’s reading is not contradicting what God says in this passage in the Book of Deuteronomy. He is acknowledging Israel’s failure to do what God commanded and thereby to secure this blessing.

If we think about, if more people genuinely accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord and lived their lives according to his teachings and example, showing the kind of generosity toward each other, which Jesus taught his disciples to show to all people, there might be far less poverty in this country than there is and there might even be no poor among us.

Loving others goes well beyond just taking care of our own. It means showing all people grace and kindness, showing them the same kind of unearned, unmerited goodwill and favor that God shows us and treating them with the same gentleness, caring, and helpfulness that God treats us. It is a high standard to attain and keep but God gives us the will and the power to do so, enabling us to imitate him as beloved children.

Something that we should always bear in mind is that when we minister to the poor, we not just ministering to other human beings like ourselves. We are ministering to Jesus (Matthew 25: 31-46). The compassion and mercy that we show them, we are showing to Jesus. Whenever we help someone in need, directly or indirectly, we are helping Jesus.

We do not show that we love Jesus by gathering in large crowds and listening to celebratory preachers and praise bands. We show that we love him by doing what he taught us to do and by following his example. We are mindful of the words of the apostle John, “…if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see…” (1 John 4: 20 NLT). Loving those that we can see and caring for them as we would care for those close to us, we demonstrate our love for God whom we cannot see.

Even a small congregation can do that. It may not have a lot in terms of money and material resources, but it does have its members. They are the most important resource of all.

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, your Son Jesus Christ came into the world to free us all from sin and death. Grant that by the help of your grace we may be raised to new life in him and serve you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through the same 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 Les Petites Soers de Jésus and L'Arche Community’s “Lord Jesus, You Shall Be My Song as I Journey.”

1 Lord Jesus, you shall be my song as I journey;
I'll tell everybody about you wherever I go:
you alone are our life and our peace and our love.
Lord Jesus, you shall be my song as I journey.

2 Lord Jesus, I'll praise you as long as I journey;
May all of my joy be a faithful reflection of you.
May the earth and the sea and the sky join my song.
Lord Jesus, I'll praise you as long as I journey.

3 As long as I live, Jesus, make me your servant,
to carry your cross and to share all your burdens and tears.
For you saved me by giving your body and blood.
As long as I live, Jesus, make me your servant.

4 I fear in the dark and the doubt of my journey;
but courage will come with the sound of your steps by my side.
And will all of the family you saved by your love,
we'll sing to your dawn at the end of our journey.

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.