All Hallows Evening Prayer for Sunday Morning (July 3, 2022)

 

PROCLAMATION OF THE LIGHT

One or more candles may be lit.

Grace, mercy and peace to us
from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

You are in the midst of us, O Lord;
and we are called by your name.

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 Ian Worsfold and Paul Wood’s “Beyond These Walls of Worship.”

Beyond these walls of worship
In the stress and joy of life,
Can we offer you our bodies
As a living sacrifice?
Will we keep you at the centre
Far beyond the Sunday call?
Will return to you,
Be transformed by you;
Still declare you God of all?

Beyond these walls of worship,
In the times of work and rest,
Will we display your love for all
When are faith's put to the test?
When the people that surround us
Deny that you are there,
Will we display our faith in you
In life, in praise, in prayer?

Beyond the walls of worship
may your Spirit strengthen us
To make the whole of life our worship
As we witness to your love.
From this hour in your presence
Send us out now to proclaim
That will live our life as a sacrifice
To the glory of your name.

SCRIPTURE

Luke 10:1-11 Jesus Sends Out His Disciples

The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road.

“Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.

“If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you. Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’ But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show that we have abandoned you to your fate. And know this—the Kingdom of God is near!’

Silence is kept.

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

HOMILY

Time to Get Off Our Bums and Go!

One thing that stands out about Jesus' earthly ministry was that he did not start a school in Jerusalem or a neighboring town or village and expect people to come to him as did the rabbis of the time. Jesus went to where the people are. He visited the towns and villages of Galilee and Judaea and neighboring regions. He went to Jerusalem for the major festivals when the temple courts and the streets would be thronging with people.

In today’s gospel reading, Luke 10:1-1, Jesus sends out teams of his followers ahead of him to the towns and places that he intends to visit. Among the instructions that he gives them is not to stop to greet anyone on the road. In other words, they are not to allow anyone to distract them from their appointed task, which is to heal the sick and to proclaim that God’s Kingdom is near.

How different is Jesus’ ministry and the ministry of these disciples from our own, the ministry of the contemporary local church. We expect people to come to us rather than going to them. We then wonder why Christianity is losing its influence in Canada, the United States, and other Western countries; why church attendance is declining; and why young people are drifting away from our churches.

We are tempted to blame our changing culture for these developments, but the blame falls squarely on our own shoulders. We are not following Jesus’ example and going to the people. We are not engaging in acts of mercy as Jesus instructed the disciples he sent out to do. We are not proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. We are not praying for the Lord of the harvest to send more workers into the harvest, including ourselves. We are sitting on our bums and doing nothing.

Why was John Wesley’s ministry so successful in the eighteenth century? Wesley followed the example of Jesus and went to where the people where. As his reputation spread, Wesley found that local parish churches were closed to him. Those that were not closed to him were often closed to the people whom he was trying to reach. Wesley chose to go where the people whom he believed needed him the most were. He preached in the open air. He organized those newly-awakened by his preaching into large groups—societies—and small groups—classes. The latter for mutual accountability, support, and encouragement. He provided them with guidance in how they could live as followers of Jesus in the form of the three General Rules for Methodist societies.

While field preaching might not work in twenty-first century North America as it did in eighteenth century England, we, like Wesley, need to follow Jesus’ example and go to where the people are. They are not going to come to us.

In a time when those who identify themselves as Christians are hesitant to share their faith with others, we need to be winsome witnesses to and for Jesus, individuals whose lives as well as their words point to Jesus. We need to take a page from Wesley’s playbook and organize new believers into small groups and to disciple them in these groups. We need to help them grow and mature as followers of Jesus.

The place to start is to do as Jesus instructed the seventy-two disciples he sent out—to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send more workers into the harvest, and then to be prepared to go ourselves.

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

O God,
you are working still,
breaking down and building up;
open our eyes to discern your hands
so that we may take our place
as labourers together with you.
Hear this prayer for your love’s sake.
Amen.

RESPONSE

Open this link in a new tab to hear Liturgical Folk’s setting of the Trisagion, "Holy God."

Holy God
holy and mighty
holy immortal one
have mercy
mercy
mercy upon us

Repeat 5 more times.

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.