All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (June 8, 2022)

 

PROCLAMATION OF THE LIGHT

One or more candles may be lit.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 1 John 4: 16b

EVENING HYMN

Open this link in a new tab to hear the Liturgical Folk’s setting of the Phos hilaron, “O Gracious Light.”

O gracious Light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
O gracious Light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
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 thy praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Thou art worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
thou art worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.

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, ruler of the universe!
Your word brings on the dusk of evening,
your wisdom creates both night and day.
You determine the cycles of time,
arrange the succession of seasons,
and establish the stars in their heavenly courses.
Lord of the starry hosts is your name.
Living and eternal God, rule over us always.
Blessed be the Lord, whose word makes evening fall.
Amen.

HYMN OF THE DAY

Open this link in a new tab to hear John L. Bell's "Love One Another"

Love one another for love is of God,
Those who live in love,
Live in God and God lives in them.

Love one another for love is of God,
Those who live in love,
Live in God and God lives in them.

Those who show love are the children of God,
Father and mother is God to each of them.

Love one another for love is of God,
Those who live in love,
Live in God and God lives in them.

Love one another for love is of God,
Those who live in love,
Live in God and God lives in them.

God showed his love in the face of the Son;
Christ lives in us so that we might live in him.

Love one another for love is of God,
Those who live in love,
Live in God and God lives in them.

Love one another for love is of God,
Those who live in love,
Live in God and God lives in them.

Love has no place for the menace of fear;
Fear is abandoned where perfect love is found.

Love one another for love is of God,
Those who live in love,
Live in God and God lives in them.

Love one another for love is of God,
Those who live in love,
Live in God and God lives in them.

Love has its purpose in God's holy will;
We learn to love from the one who loved us first.

Love one another for love is of God,
Those who live in love,
Live in God and God lives in them.

Love one another for love is of God,
Those who live in love,
Live in God and God lives in them.

SCRIPTURE

1 John 4: 7-21 Loving One Another

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.

If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.

Silence is kept.

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

HOMILY

Live Like Jesus

During the months after their birth and during the years of their early childhood we keep close watch on children to make sure that they are growing and developing properly and not showing any telltale signs of developmental or health problems. We weigh them and measure their length when they are infants, and we weigh them and measure their height when they are older. We compare their development at particular ages with what is considered normal development at that age.

We do our best to feed them a healthy diet, to make sure that they get plenty of exercise, and to provide them with the kind of activities which will stimulate their intellectual and motor development. We may enroll them in a pre-school or early childhood development program and when they are old enough, we enroll them in kindergarten and then elementary school. We watch their progress in elementary school, middle school, and high school and we do what we can to offer them encouragement and support.

We want to see our children and grandchildren grow into healthy, well-adjusted adults and become loving, caring parents to the children in their care.

More parents are homeschooling their children so this description may only partially fit what they are doing. Parents who homeschool their children are no less attentive to their children’s growth and development, their social adjustment, and academic performance than parents who enroll their children in parochial, private, or public schools. In some cases, they may be more so.

I also realize that this description does not fit some parents at all. I was involved in child welfare work for the better part of three decades and I worked with parents who were for one reason and another unable to adequately care for a child.

Some were children themselves, young teen mothers. Others were intellectually impaired, had psychological or emotional problems, were addicted to alcohol or other drugs, were involved in an abusive relationship with a partner who may have not been the father of the child, or lacked the resources and support system to provide adequate care to a child, particularly one with special needs. These parents and the children in their care came to the attention of my agency due to a whole gamut of problems—abandonment, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, medical neglect, educational neglect, emotional neglect, lack of supervision, delinquency, truancy, sexual exploitation, and other forms of exploitation—and court referrals.

Whatever a child’s home environment the things that are used in assessing a child’s growth and development are the same—weight, length and then height, and the developmental, physical, and social milestones. If an infant or child is underweight or overweight, is not the length or height one would expect for an infant or child of a particular age, or has not reached the various milestones by the age most infants or children do, then it is an indicator that something may be wrong.

For example, a 9-month-old failure to thrive baby may resemble a 3-month old infant, may be seriously underweight, listless, and show no interest in their environment. In such a case the baby is at serious risk of dying if they do not receive proper care and even with such care their development may be delayed. They may show evidence of abusive treatment.

What then does this have to do with today’s Scripture reading—1 John 4: 7-21?

In this reading the apostle John lays out an important criterion by which we can measure our own spiritual development and growth as well as the spiritual development and growth of others. He also provides an explanation of why this criterion is important. Just as we weigh a child and measure their length or height and compare their development and growth to various milestones, we can also assess how we and others are progressing spiritually, how we and others are growing in maturity of character and love of God as a disciple of Jesus.

This is not to deny the belief that our spiritual condition is fully known only to God but to recognize what Jesus himself taught. We can form an opinion of a tree based upon the fruit that it produces. A healthy tree will not produce wizened, unhealthy-looking fruit. It will produce plump, healthy-looking fruit. If a tree is not producing te kind of fruit that is should be producing something is wrong with the environment in which the tree is growing or with the tree itself or both.

We can also form an opinion of our own spiritual health and the spiritual health of others.in the same way, based on the particular traits that we or others exhibit.

It is tempting in our day and age to view someone’s religious or spiritual beliefs and practices as personal and private. Jesus, however, did not take such a view. He drew to his disciples’ attention where he believed the Pharisees and the Gentile erred in their beliefs and practices. He gave instructions to his disciples on a range of subjects—righteousness, mercy, forgiveness, prayer, fasting, how they should treat others, and so on. We cannot say, “I will follow Jesus my way….” If we are going to follow Jesus as his disciple, we must follow him the way that he taught and exemplified. Otherwise, to put it bluntly, we are really not a disciple of his.

One of the reasons for the confusion today is the notion that our profession of faith in Jesus in the rite of baptism or the rite of confirmation is the final milestone in our spiritual journey. In reality, it is only the first milestone. It is comparable to a baby’s first faltering steps. We have a long journey ahead of us in which we will grow in Christian maturity, in which God’s grace will sanctify us and perfect us.

It is here where our love of our fellow-believers, manifest in our attitude and actions toward them, is a measure of our Christian maturity. This was a point John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, made in his preaching and his writing. Our love of God is reflected in our love of our fellow-believers. If we are hindered in some way in loving our fellow believers or one particular believer, we are hindered in loving God. It can impede our spiritual growth. Loving God and loving our fellow-believers are tied to each other.

This explains in part why Jesus emphasized in his teaching the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation, of not holding anything against someone because of what they did, or we imagined them to have done, of letting go of any ill-will and bitterness that we experience toward them, and of seeking to find a way in which we can become friendly again with those with whom we have become angry and displeased. As long as we choose not to take these steps, we are limiting our own spiritual growth and the growth of our relationship with God. We are in a sense not fully trusting God, not taking God fully at his word.

One of the reasons that we struggle with loving our fellow believers is that we associate love with a feeling of the heart. But love is not a feeling but an attitude of the mind. It is also an act of the will. C. S. Lewis put it well when he said, “Love is not an affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.” We show our love for our fellow believers, not just in our words but also in our actions. We show them respect, kindness, and most of all grace, the same kind of favor and good will God shows us, unmerited and undeserved. 

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

Let us pray.

God, most gracious and most holy,
grant us the help of your Spirit
as we pray for the Church and the world.

We pray for the Church in every land . . .
for this church and for other local churches . . .
that we may worship and serve you
with reverence and joy.

Silence

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

We pray for the peoples of the world . . .
and for the leaders of the nations . . .
that all may work together for justice and peace.

Silence

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

We pray for those who are ill or distressed . . .
for the lonely and the bereaved . . .
and for those in any other need or trouble . . .
that they may be comforted and sustained.

Silence

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Father, we remember before you
all your servants who have died in the faith of Christ . . .
We pray that we too may lead faithful and godly lives in this world,
and finally share with all the saints in everlasting joy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Collect

Lord God almighty,
come and dispel the darkness from our hearts,
that in the radiance of your brightness
we may know you, the only unfading light,
glorious in all eternity.
Amen.

RESPONSE

Open this link in a new tab to hear Micah Massey, Ryan Flanigan, Matt Armstrong, and Nate Moore’s “Let Us Be Known by Our Love.”

Let us be known by our love
In every word, in every deed honor the Son
Let our light shine in every eye
Let us be known by our love

For the glory of the Father
For the glory of the Son
For the glory of the Spirit
Let us be known by our love

Let us be known by our joy
In every home, in every heart sing to the Lord
Let our life show goodness and hope
Let us be known by our joy

For the glory of the Father
For the glory of the Son
For the glory of the Spirit
Let us be known by our joy

Let us be known by our peace
In every town, in every tribe Jesus is King
Let us go forth, heal and restore
Let us be known by our peace

For the glory of the Father
For the glory of the Son
For the glory of the Spirit
Let us be known by our peace

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

The blessing of God,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
remain with us always. Amen.