All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (May 21, 2022)
PROCLAMATION OF THE LIGHT
One or more candles may be lit. God is love. Since God loves us, we should love one another.
EVENING HYMN
Open this link in a new tab to hear the Liturgical Folk’s setting of the Phos hilaron, “O Gracious Light.”
Oooh gracious Light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
Oooh gracious Light,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Oooh gracious Light,
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
Oooh gracious Light,
O Son of God, O Giver of life, and to be glorified through all the worlds.
Oooh gracious Light,
Oooh gracious Light,
Oooh gracious Light,
Oooh gracious Light.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
We praise and thank you, O God our Father,
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through him you have enlightened us
by revealing the light that never fades,
for dark death has been destroyed
and radiant life is everywhere restored.
What was promised is fulfilled:
we have been joined to God,
through renewed life in the Spirit of the risen Lord.
Glory and praise to you, our Father,
through Jesus your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Spirit,
in the kingdom of light eternal,
for ever and ever. Amen.
HYMN OF THE DAY
Open this link in a new tab to hear Dan Schute’s “These Alone Are Enough For Me.”
Take my heart, O Lord, take my hopes and dreams.
Take my mind with all its plans and schemes.
Give me nothing more than your love and grace.
These alone, O God, are enough for me.
Take my thoughts, Oh Lord, and my memory.
Take my tears, my joys, my liberty.
Give me nothing more than your love and grace.
These alone, O God, are enough for me.
I surrender, Lord, all I have and hold.
I return to you your gifts untold.
Give me nothing more than your love and grace.
These alone, O God, are enough for me.
When the darkness falls on my final days,
take the very breath that sang your praise.
Give me nothing more than your love and grace.
These alone, O God, are enough for me.
SCRIPTURE
Acts 16:9-15 The Gospel Comes to Europe
They made their way through Phrygia and Galatia, but the Holy Spirit prevented them from speaking God’s message in Asia. When they came to Mysia they tried to enter Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them. So they passed by Mysia and came down to Troas, where one night Paul had a vision of a Macedonian man standing and appealing to him in the words: “Come over to Macedonia and help us!”
As soon as Paul had seen this vision we made every effort to get on to Macedonia, convinced that God had called us to give them the good news.
So we set sail from Troas and ran a straight course to Samothrace, and on the following day to Neapolis. From there we went to Philippi, a Roman garrison-town and the chief city in that part of Macedonia. We spent some days in Philippi and on the Sabbath day we went out of the city gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place for prayer. There we sat down and spoke to the women who had assembled. One of our hearers was a woman named Lydia. (She came from Thyatira and was a dealer in purple-dyed cloth.) She was already a believer in God, and she opened her heart to accept Paul’s words. When she and her household had been baptised, she appealed to us, saying, “If you are satisfied that I am a true-believer in the Lord, then come down to my house and stay there.” And she insisted on our doing so.
Silence is kept.
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory
HOMILY
Who Is Your Lydia?
Among the things that stand out in today’s reading, Acts 16: 9-15, is that it was the Holy Spirit that kept Paul and his companions from going to Asia and Bithynia. It was also the Holy Spirit which directed Paul to go to Macedonia. Macedonia is on the north shore of the Agean Sea. It is a part of modern-day Europe.
Their first European convert was a woman named Lydia. Lydia was a businesswoman. She was a merchant, a dealer in purple cloth, and had her own household. Purple cloth was generally worn by the wealthier members of society in the Greco-Roman world. This means that she may have had dealings with the elites of the day.
Luke does not tell us the composition of her household. It may have consisted of servants or members of her family. Luke did not regard its composition as significant to his narrative. What is worthy of note is that her household was baptized with her. Luke tells us that Lydia opened her heart to Paul’s words but says nothing about her household doing the same.
Paul and his companions met Lydia at a place on the banks of a river where the Jewish women of Philippi gathered to pray on the Sabbath. There were apparently not enough Jewish men at Philippi to form a minyan for a synagogue. A minyan requires a minimum of ten men.
Luke does not tell us whether Lydia was Jewish. He only tells us that she was a believer in God. She could have been Jewish. She also could have been a Gentile God-fearer, a Gentile who worshiped God as did the Jews.
After she and her household are baptized, Lydia offers Paul and his companions the hospitality of her house and was very insistent that they accept their offer. This suggests that Lydia could be a very persuasive woman.
A church would be established in Thyatira, the town from which Lydia came. We do not know if Lydia played a role in the planting of that church.
What does Luke’s narrative mean for us?
Luke's narrative tells us that we should look to the Holy Spirit for guidance and direction for our mission efforts.
We do not know how Paul and his companions were blocked from going to Asia and Bithynia. Luke does not provide us with the details. and they are not relevant his account of what happened. They were prevented from carrying out their plans to go to these regions.
Paul then has a vision in which a man of Macedonia urges him to come to that part of the ancient world. This vision which he believed was God’s doing gave him the determination to go there.
Going to Macedonia meant crossing the Agean Sea. The Jews historically were not seamen, and they had a dread of the sea. This may explain why Paul had not initially considered Macedonia or any other region north of the Agean Sea or the Mediterranean Sea.
Before embarking on any enterprise, any mission undertaking, it is wise to engage in a season of prayerful discernment and then become involved where we discern the Holy Spirit to be active. As Psalm 121:1 reminds us—
“Unless the Lord builds a house,
the work of the builders is wasted.
Unless the Lord protects a city,
guarding it with sentries will do no good.”
Too often we are tempted to make our own plans and then ask God’s blessing on them rather than joining with God in what he is already doing.
Luke's narrative tells us that where the Holy Spirit guides and directs us, the Holy Spirit may have already been preparing hearts and minds to receive our message. This is the grace that goes before—what is called “prevenient grace” from the Latin word previnere, to go before. Like a farmer, God tills the soil, plants the seed, germinates it, and waters and manures the young plant. We may be the ones tasked with reaping the harvest. Or our task may be to tend and to water the young plant as it grows to maturity and others may be tasked with reaping it when it is ready for harvest.
A second example of prevenient grace that we find in the Acts of the Apostles is the Ethiopian eunuch whom Philip encounters on the road, puzzling over the text of the Book of Isaiah on his way home from Jerusalem where he had visited the Temple. God is already working in him and what seem at first like a chance encounter is God’s doing.
Luke's narrative tells us that we ourselves should be open to the people to whom the Holy Spirit is guiding and directing us. When Paul and his companions did not find a synagogue in Phillipi, they did not move on to another city in the region. They sought out the place where the Jewish woman of the city gathered for prayer. They did not entirely have fixed notions of who would be the most receptive to their message. When we read the Acts of the Apostles, we discover that God repeatedly drew to the attention of Peter, Paul, and the others that the good news was not just for the Jews. It was for everybody. It is not for us to determine with whom we share the good news. That is up to God.
How then can we put these truths to work for the good of others?
One thing we can do is show people where God is already at work in their lives. We can point to the evidence of God’s grace in their lives, the evidence that God indeed loves them and desires their salvation.
We can also accept their hospitality. If they invite us to eat with them, we should take them up on their invitation. We should make use of every opportunity to build a relationship with them. God will use that relationship to draw them to himself.
Lydia was the first European to become a follower of Jesus. God led Paul and his companions to her.
Lydia was the first European to become a follower of Jesus. God led Paul and his companions to her.
God has planted Lydias in our lives. Just as he sent Paul and his companions to Lydia in Phillipi, God is sending us to them. Ask God to open your eyes and show you the Lydias that he has planted in your life. Ask God what he would have you do and then trusting in the power of his grace, do it.
Silence is kept.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Open this link to hear the Liturgical Folk’s setting of our Lord’s Summary of the Law, “Jesus Creed.”
Jesus said
The first commandment is this:
Hear O Israel
The Lord our God is the only Lord.
Love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
Love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.
Amen.
SONG OF PRAISE
Open this link in a new tab to hear the Liturgical Folk’s setting of the Magnificat, “Song of Mary.”
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel,
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
In the power of the resurrection
we offer our prayers to God.
Let us pray.
Remember, O Lord, in your love
the Church throughout the world . . .
those recently baptized and confirmed . . .
those who minister to others . . .
Silence
May your whole Church know your power
and be a sign that Christ is risen.
Lord of life,
hear us in your love.
Remember in your love the world you have made . . .
those who seek a fair and proper use of the
world’s resources . . .
those who strive for justice and peace
among the nations . . .
Silence
May the whole earth be transformed by mercy and rejoice in hope.
Lord of life,
hear us in your love.
Remember in your love those who suffer . . .
the victims of violence and injustice . . .
those who mourn . . .
Silence
May all in need find comfort, strength and freedom in the living Christ.
Lord of life,
hear us in your love.
Remember in your love those who have died:
those who have confessed the faith
and those whose faith is known to you
alone.
Silence
May all your children receive grace and light according to their needs and come at last to share with all the saints in life eternal.
Lord of life,
hear us in your love.
Gracious God, we ask these prayers through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord and Saviour. Amen.
The Collect
Almighty God,
you sent your Holy Spirit to the disciples,
filling them with joy and boldness
to preach the gospel;
send us out in the power of the same Spirit
to witness to your redeeming love
and draw all people to you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and forever.
Amen.
RESPONSE
Open this link in a new tab to hear Alan Dale and Hubert Richards’ “Go Tell Everyone.”
God’s Spirit is in my heart,
He has called me and set me apart.
This is what I have to do,
what I have to do.
He has sent me to give the Good News to the poor,
Tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more,
Tell blind people that they can see,
And set the downtrodden free
And go tell everyone the news that Kingdom of God has come,
And go tell everyone the news that God’s Kingdom has come.
Just as the Father sent me,
So I’m sending you out to be
My witnesses throughout the world,
The whole of the world.
He has sent me to give the Good News to the poor,
Tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more,
Tell blind people that they can see,
And set the downtrodden free
And go tell everyone the news that Kingdom of God has come,
And go tell everyone the news that God’s Kingdom has come.
Don’t carry a load in your pack,
You don’t need two shirts on your back
A workman can earn his own keep,
Can earn his own keep.
He has sent me to give the Good News to the poor,
Tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more,
Tell blind people that they can see,
And set the downtrodden free
And go tell everyone the news that Kingdom of God has come,
And go tell everyone the news that God’s Kingdom has come.
Don’t worry what you have to say,
Don’t worry because on that day
God’s Spirit will speak in your heart,
Will speak in your heart.
He has sent me to give the Good News to the poor,
Tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more,
Tell blind people that they can see,
And set the downtrodden free
And go tell everyone the news that Kingdom of God has come,
And go tell everyone the news that God’s Kingdom has come.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
As our Saviour taught his disciples,
we pray:
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
God the Father,
by whose glory Christ was raised from
the dead,
strengthen us
to walk with him in his risen life;
and may almighty God bless us,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Silence is kept.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Open this link to hear the Liturgical Folk’s setting of our Lord’s Summary of the Law, “Jesus Creed.”
Jesus said
The first commandment is this:
Hear O Israel
The Lord our God is the only Lord.
Love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
Love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.
Amen.
SONG OF PRAISE
Open this link in a new tab to hear the Liturgical Folk’s setting of the Magnificat, “Song of Mary.”
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel,
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
In the power of the resurrection
we offer our prayers to God.
Let us pray.
Remember, O Lord, in your love
the Church throughout the world . . .
those recently baptized and confirmed . . .
those who minister to others . . .
Silence
May your whole Church know your power
and be a sign that Christ is risen.
Lord of life,
hear us in your love.
Remember in your love the world you have made . . .
those who seek a fair and proper use of the
world’s resources . . .
those who strive for justice and peace
among the nations . . .
Silence
May the whole earth be transformed by mercy and rejoice in hope.
Lord of life,
hear us in your love.
Remember in your love those who suffer . . .
the victims of violence and injustice . . .
those who mourn . . .
Silence
May all in need find comfort, strength and freedom in the living Christ.
Lord of life,
hear us in your love.
Remember in your love those who have died:
those who have confessed the faith
and those whose faith is known to you
alone.
Silence
May all your children receive grace and light according to their needs and come at last to share with all the saints in life eternal.
Lord of life,
hear us in your love.
Gracious God, we ask these prayers through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord and Saviour. Amen.
The Collect
Almighty God,
you sent your Holy Spirit to the disciples,
filling them with joy and boldness
to preach the gospel;
send us out in the power of the same Spirit
to witness to your redeeming love
and draw all people to you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and forever.
Amen.
RESPONSE
Open this link in a new tab to hear Alan Dale and Hubert Richards’ “Go Tell Everyone.”
God’s Spirit is in my heart,
He has called me and set me apart.
This is what I have to do,
what I have to do.
He has sent me to give the Good News to the poor,
Tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more,
Tell blind people that they can see,
And set the downtrodden free
And go tell everyone the news that Kingdom of God has come,
And go tell everyone the news that God’s Kingdom has come.
Just as the Father sent me,
So I’m sending you out to be
My witnesses throughout the world,
The whole of the world.
He has sent me to give the Good News to the poor,
Tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more,
Tell blind people that they can see,
And set the downtrodden free
And go tell everyone the news that Kingdom of God has come,
And go tell everyone the news that God’s Kingdom has come.
Don’t carry a load in your pack,
You don’t need two shirts on your back
A workman can earn his own keep,
Can earn his own keep.
He has sent me to give the Good News to the poor,
Tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more,
Tell blind people that they can see,
And set the downtrodden free
And go tell everyone the news that Kingdom of God has come,
And go tell everyone the news that God’s Kingdom has come.
Don’t worry what you have to say,
Don’t worry because on that day
God’s Spirit will speak in your heart,
Will speak in your heart.
He has sent me to give the Good News to the poor,
Tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more,
Tell blind people that they can see,
And set the downtrodden free
And go tell everyone the news that Kingdom of God has come,
And go tell everyone the news that God’s Kingdom has come.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
As our Saviour taught his disciples,
we pray:
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
God the Father,
by whose glory Christ was raised from
the dead,
strengthen us
to walk with him in his risen life;
and may almighty God bless us,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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