All Hallows Evening Prayer for Sunday Evening (September 4, 2022)

 

PROCLAMATION OF THE LIGHT

One or more candles may be lit.

Whoever does not carry the cross and follow Jesus cannot be his disciple. Luke 14:27

EVENING HYMN

Open this link in a new tab to hear F. Bland Tucker’s translation of the Phos hilaron, “O Gracious Light, Lord Jesus Christ.”

O Gracious Light, Lord Jesus Christ,
In you the Father’s glory shone.
Immortal, holy, blest is he,
And blest are you, his holy Son.

Now sunset comes, but light shines forth,
the lamps are lit to pierce the night.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Who dwells in the eternal light.

Worthy are you of endless praise,
O Son of God, Life-giving Lord;
Wherefore you are through all the earth
And in the highest heaven adored.

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 Earnest Bode’s hymn, “O Jesus, I Have Promised.”

1 O Jesus, I have promised
To serve thee to the end;
Be thou for ever near me,
My Master and my friend:
I shall not fear the battle
If thou art by my side,
Nor wander from the pathway
If thou wilt be my guide.

2 O let me feel thee near me:
the world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle,
The tempting sounds I hear;
my foes are ever near me,
Around me and within;
But, Jesus, draw thou nearer,
And shield my soul from sin.

3 O let me hear thee speaking
In accents clear and still
above the storms of passion,
The murmurs of self-will;
O speak to reassure me,
To hasten or control;
O speak, and make me listen,
Thou guardian of my soul.

4 O Jesus, thou hast promised
To all who follow thee,
that where thou art in glory
There shall thy servant be;
and, Jesus, I have promised
To serve thee to the end:
O give me grace to follow,
My Master and my friend.

5 O let me see thy foot-marks,
and in them plant mine own;
my hope to follow duly
is in thy strength alone:
O guide me, call me, draw me,
uphold me to the end;
and then in heaven receive me,
my Saviour and my Friend.

SCRIPTURE

Luke 14:25-33 The Cost of Being a Disciple

A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.

“But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’

“Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.

Silence

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

HOMILY

Following Jesus Comes with a Cost

Is Jesus contradicting himself when in today’s gospel reading, Luke 14:25-33, he tells the large crowd who are following him that they will have to hate everyone else if they want to be his disciple? Doesn’t Jesus teach us to love others, even those who don’t love us, and to particularly love one another?

While at first blush he may appear to be saying the opposite of what he said on other occasions that one of them must be wrong, Jesus is not contradicting himself. When he speaks about hating our father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even our own life, he is talking about being willing to severe all our ties with people with whom we are connected, especially family relationships, to become his disciple. We must place Jesus first in our life. We must place our loyalty to him and to his teaching above all else.

With exception of God, loyalty to kith and kin were paramount, more important than anything else, in the Jewish society of the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Jesus is claiming the loyalty that God alone could command.

Without family and relatives, an individual would also struggle to survive. Widows without sons, married daughters, or friendly kin to support them would be forced to beg as would an orphaned children who had no relatives to whom they could turn. There was no social safety net of any kind in those days. Life was harsh as it is in many parts of the world today.

As well as being willing to severe all ties with family and relatives, disciple wannabes must be willing to give up all their possessions, Jesus also tells the crowd. This is the same thing that Jesus told the rich young man. As he pointed to the attention of his disciples, no one can serve two masters. They would neglect one for the other.

As for carrying a cross, only someone who was good as dead carried a cross, the method of their execution to the place where they would be executed. In the eyes of those whom they passed on their way to their execution, they were dead.

These are the costs that Jesus is telling the crowd that they must weigh before they become one of his disciples. They are the same costs that we must weigh before we take up our cross and follow Jesus. Are we willing to pay the price of complete loyalty to Jesus and to his teaching? It comes with a cost and Jesus does not lead us to believe otherwise.

Whether we are preparing for baptism, confirmation, or reaffirmation of faith, or reflecting upon these events in our life, the commitment that we are about to make or which we have made is not one to take lightly. We must treat it with the seriousness with which Jesus tells the crowd to treat becoming one of his disciples in today’s gospel reading. Jesus requires no less from us.

Silence

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH

Let us affirm our faith in the words of the Apostles Creed.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen.

SONG OF PRAISE

Open this link in a new tab to hear David Haas’ adaptation of the Magnificat, “Holy Is His Name.”

My soul is filled with joy
as I sing to God my savior;
you have looked upon your servant,
you have visited your people.

And holy is your name.
through all generations!
Everlasting is your mercy
to the people you have chosen,
and holy is your name!

I am lowly as a child,
but I know from this day forward
that my name will be remembered,
for all will call me blessed.

And holy is your name.
through all generations!
Everlasting is your mercy
to the people you have chosen,
and holy is your name!

I proclaim the pow’r of God,
you do marvels for your servants;
though you scatter the proud hearted
and destroy the might of princes.

And holy is your name.
through all generations!
Everlasting is your mercy
to the people you have chosen,
and holy is your name!

To the hungry you give food,
Send the rich away empty;
In your mercy you are mindful
of the people you have chosen.

And holy is your name.
through all generations!
Everlasting is your mercy
to the people you have chosen,
and holy is your name!

In your love you now fulfill
what you promised to your people
I will praise you, Lord my savior
everlasting is your mercy.

And holy is your name.
through all generations!
Everlasting is your mercy
to the people you have chosen,
and holy is your name!

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

(Let us offer our prayers to the source of all love and all life, saying, “Lord, hear our prayer.”)

Merciful Lord, we pray for all who call themselves Christians: that we may be faithful disciples of your Son Jesus Christ.
Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for N our pastor, for all pastors, and for all who serve Christ in his Church: that they may remain faithful to their calling and rightly proclaim the word of truth. Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for the leaders of the nations, and all in authority: that your people may lead quiet and peaceable lives.
Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for our community and those who live here, the poor and the rich, the elderly and the young, men and women: that you will show your favor and goodwill to all.
Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for those who are in any kind of trouble or need that you will deliver them from their distress.
Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for _______________________.
Lord, hear our prayer.

We give thanks for all the saints who have found favor in your sight from earliest times, prophets, apostles, martyrs, and those whose names are known to you alone: and we pray that we too may be counted among your faithful witnesses.
Lord, hear our prayer.

Free Prayer

In silent or spontaneous prayer all bring before God the concerns of the day.

The Collect

Servant God,
grant us opportunity,
give us willingness
to serve you day by day;
that what we do
and how we bear each other’s burdens,
may be our sacrifice to you.
Hear this prayer for your love’s sake.
Amen.

RESPONSE

Open this link in a new tab Fernado Ortaga’s setting of the Trisagion, “Holy God.”

Holy God,
holy and mighty,
holy immortal one
have mercy
have mercy on us.

Holy God,
holy and mighty,
holy immortal one
have mercy
have mercy on us.

Holy God,
holy and mighty,
holy immortal one
have mercy
have mercy
have mercy
have mercy
have mercy on us.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.

As our Savior 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.