All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (November 19, 2022)

 

THE BLESSING OF THE LIGHT

A lamp or candle may be lit.

The Lord is my light and my salvation:
my God shall make my darkness to be bright.

The light and peace of Jesus Christ be with you
and also with you.

Blessèd are you, Christ our King,
enthroned in highest heaven.
Blessèd are you to whom the Father has given a kingdom
which shall never be destroyed.
All nations will come and bow down before you.
All people on earth will see the glory of your majesty.
The heavens proclaim your eternal reign;
your servants here below join in your praise,
with all the hosts of heaven.
Light of all who are on the side of truth,
hope of all believers,
ruler of your faithful people,
Blessèd are you, O Christ, our Lord and our King. Amen.

Other candles may be lit as the following is sung.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Alan G. McDougall’s translation and Anne Le Croy’s revision of the evening hymn, “Christ, Mighty Savior.”

1 Christ, mighty Savior, Light of all creation,
you make the daytime radiant with the sunlight
and to the night give glittering adornment,
stars in the heavens.

2 Now comes the day's end as the sun is setting:
mirror of daybreak, pledge of resurrection;
while in the heavens choirs of stars appearing
hallow the nightfall.

3 Therefore we come now evening rites to offer,
joyfully chanting holy hymns to praise you,
with all creation joining hearts and voices
singing your glory.

4 Give heed, we pray you, to our supplication:
that you may grant us pardon for offenses,
strength for our weak hearts, rest for aching bodies,
soothing the weary.

5 Though bodies slumber, hearts shall keep their vigil,
forever resting in the peace of Jesus,
in light or darkness worshiping our Savior
now and for ever.

As Psalm 141 — A Song of the Evening Sacrifice, is sung, incense may be burned.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Tony Alonso’s responsorial setting of the evening psalm, “Psalm 141—Like Burning Incense, O Lord.”

Like burning incense, O Lord,
let my rise to you.
Like burning incense, O Lord,
let my prayer rise to you.

1 I call out to you,
Come quickly to my aid.
My song cries out to you,
O listen to me now.
I raise my hands in off’ring to you.

Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)

2 Let me speak your truth;
watch over all I say.
Keep my thoughts on you;
let goodness rule my heart.
Keep me far from those who do harm.

Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)

3 Never let me dine
with those who seek to harm.
Keep your holy ones
always at my side.
Plant your wisdom deep in my soul.

Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)

4 I look to you for help;
I seek your loving eyes.
Guard my life for you;
Spare me from all wrong.
Keep all evil far from my heart.

Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)

5 Glory be to God
and to God’s only Son,
glory to the Spirit,
three in one,
now and for ever. Amen.

Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
Like burning incense, O Lord,
(Like burning incense, O Lord,)
let my prayer rise to you.
(let my prayer rise to you.)
O Lord, let my prayer rise before you as incense,
my hands like an evening offering.

This opening prayer is said.

That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,
so may your mercy come down upon us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free to sing your praise
now and for ever.
Amen.

THE WORD OF GOD

PSALMODY

Open this link in a new tab to hear the Liturgical Folk’s arrangement of Psalm 100, “Be Joyful in the Lord.”

Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands;
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.

Know this: The Lord himself is God;
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.

For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting;
For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting;
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.
his faithfulness endures from age to age.
his faithfulness endures.

Silence is kept.

O Christ, door of the sheepfold,
may we enter your gates with praise
and go from your courts to serve you
in the poor, the lost and the wandering,
this day and all our days. Amen.

HYMN

Open this link in a new tab to hear Sarah Hart’s “Great and Wonderful Lord.”

1 You are holy, you are Lord,
and your works are wonderful,
great and strong Most High almighty.

2 You are Father, you are king,
good and wise, true and living.
You are peace and rest abiding.

You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
Wonderful Lord.

3 You are beauty, you are friend,
our protector, you defend.
You are hope and faith, our Savior.

You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
Oh wonderful Lord
Oh you are wonderful Lord

4 You are mercy, you are love,
all we need, more than enough,
for in you is life everlasting.

Oh you are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
Oh you are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
Oh wonderful, Lord.

You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
Wonderful Lord,
wonderful Lord
so so wonderful.

Silence may be kept.

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Isaiah 11: 1-9 A Branch from David’s Line

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—
yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.
And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
He will delight in obeying the Lord.
He will not judge by appearance
nor make a decision based on hearsay.
He will give justice to the poor
and make fair decisions for the exploited.
The earth will shake at the force of his word,
and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.
He will wear righteousness like a belt
and truth like an undergarment.

In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;
the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.
The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,
and a little child will lead them all.
The cow will graze near the bear.
The cub and the calf will lie down together.
The lion will eat hay like a cow.
The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra.
Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.
Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,
for as the waters fill the sea,
so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord.

Silence is kept.

1 Timothy 6:11-16 Paul’s Final Instructions

But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses. And I charge you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, that you obey this command without wavering. Then no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. For,

At just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will. All honor and power to him forever! Amen.

Silence is kept.

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

HOMILY

Life in a Goldfish Bowl

One of the central beliefs of the Christian faith is that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah foretold in Old Testament prophesy such as this evening’s reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, Isaiah 11: 1-9. This prophesy was only partly fulfilled in Christ’s first coming. Christ is the Greek word for Messiah. Both words mean “Anointed One.”

The Spirit of the Lord was indeed upon Jesus. He delighted to do God’s will, and he urged others to do the same. He did not judge by appearance, nor did he make decisions based on hearsay. He wore righteousness around him as we might a belt and truth close to his skin as we might an undergarment.

However, complete fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy awaits Christ’s promised second coming to which Paul refers in this evening’s New Testament reading from his first letter to Timothy, 1 Timothy 6: 11-16.

Among other core beliefs of the Christian faith is that Christ will return some day, at a time of God’s choosing. The second time Christ comes, he will not come as a babe who was born in humble surroundings but in glory. He will not come as a savior but as a judge to whom all humankind, both the living and the dead, give an account of how they led their lives and who will determine how they spend eternity.

Christians affirm this belief when they recite the Apostles Creed.

I believe in God the Father Almighty,
maker 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 to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again 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 the life everlasting. Amen

In this evening’s New Testament reading Paul, after telling his protégé Timothy to to avoid various forms of evil, Paul gives him these instructions:

"Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses."

If he does not waver in following Paul’s instructions, Paul writes Timothy, no one will find fault with him from the present to the day of Christ’s second coming.

Christians will want to live the way that Paul directs Timothy to live because it conforms to Jesus’ own teaching and example and witnesses to the power of his influence upon their lives. It shows to non-believers that they take seriously what the One whom they call Lord taught and practiced.

One of the criticisms that is often leveled at those identify themselves as Christians is that they are hypocrites. They claim to be disciples of Jesus, but they do not follow his teachings or example. They are only pretend disciples. Fakes. Not the real thing. They do a poor job of representing Jesus to the world. Their lives are no different from the lives of non-believers.

Whether we realize it, those who identify themselves as Christians, as followers of Jesus, live in a goldfish bowl. If you are not familiar with a goldfish bowl, it is a bowl that is usually round and made from glass and is used for keeping pet fish in, especially goldfish. Every movement of the pet fish can be observed in the bowl. Nothing escapes observation.

To those around them Christians are like the pet fish in the goldfish bowl. While we do not live in an actual glass bowl, everything we do and say, however, is scrutinized and judged. Every inconsistency between what we say and what we do is noted.

For this reason, it is important for us to live in a manner that embodies what Jesus himself taught and practiced. Otherwise, non-believers will dismiss us as hypocrites. They will conclude that believing in Jesus makes no difference in the lives of those who believe in him.

Silence is kept.

GOSPEL CANTICLE

Open this link in a new tab to hear Owen Alstott’s setting of the Magnificat, “My Soul Proclaims the Greatness of the Lord.”

1 My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
My spirit sings to God, my saving God,
Who on this day above all others favored me
And raised me up, a light for all to see.

2 Through me great deeds will God make manifest,
And all the earth will come to call me blest.
Unbounded love and mercy sure will I proclaim
For all who know and praise God's holy name.

3 God's mighty arm, protector of the just,
Will guard the weak and raise them from the dust.
But mighty kings will swiftly fall from thrones corrupt.
The strong brought low, the lowly lifted up.

4 Soon will the poor and hungry of the earth
Be richly blest, be given greater worth.
And Israel, as once foretold to Abraham,
Will live in peace throughout the promised land.

5 All glory be to God, Creator blest,
To Jesus Christ, God's love made manifest,
And to the Holy Spirit, gentle Comforter,
All glory be, both now and ever more.

Silence may be kept.

PRAYERS

Particular intercessions and thanksgivings may be offered before any section.

Periods of silence may be kept.

Blessed are you eternal God,
to be praised and glorified for ever.

Heavenly Father, hear us as we pray for the unity of the Church.
May we all be one that the world may believe.

Grant that every member of the Church
may truly and humbly serve you,
that the life of Christ may be revealed in us.

We remember those who have died.
Father, into your hands we commend them.

(Remembering N)
We praise you for all your saints
who have entered your eternal glory.
May we also come to share your heavenly kingdom.

Have compassion on those who suffer from sickness,
grief or trouble.
In your presence may they find strength.

Look with your kindness on our homes and families.
Grant that your love may grow in our hearts.

Make us alive to the needs of our community.
Help us to share one another’s joys and burdens.

Inspire and lead those who hold authority
in the nations of the world.
Guide us and all people in the way of justice and peace.

Strengthen all who minister in Christ’s name.
Give us courage to proclaim your Gospel.

We pray in silence for our own needs and the needs of others...

Silence is kept.

Praise to you, abundant God,
for when we ask, you give;
when we seek, you show the way.
When we knock, you answer.
Praise to you for your unfailing grace.
Make us now your faithful people.
Amen.

THE COLLECTS

Almighty and everlasting God, 

whose will it is to restore all things 

in your well-beloved Son, 

the King of kings and Lord of lords: 

Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, 

divided and enslaved by sin, 

may be freed and brought together
under his most gracious rule; 

who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, 

now and for ever. Amen.

Gracious God,
you have given us much today;
grant us also a thankful spirit.
Into your hands we commend ourselves
and those we love.
Be with us still, and when we take our rest
renew us for the service of your Son Jesus Christ.
Amen.

In darkness and in light,
in trouble and in joy,
help us, heavenly Father,
to trust your love,
to serve your purpose,
and to praise your name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

As Christ teaches us, 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.

CLOSING SONG

Open this link in a new tab to hear Marty Haugen’s “All Is Gift and AlI is Grace.”

All is gift and all is grace;
joys that we treasure, sorrows that we face.
Blessed is the pilgrim who learns to embrace
That all is gift and all is grace.

1 O Holy One, your blessings make holy all our days
through those who form and love us in rich and countless ways.
So make us ever grateful for all we did not earn,
and emptied, humbled, open, new wisdom we might learn that

All is gift and all is grace;
joys that we treasure, sorrows that we face.
Blessed is the pilgrim who learns to embrace
that all is gift and all is grace.

2 O Holy One, you meet us as stranger on the road,
in foe and friendless outcast who bears life’s heavy load.
When fear or rage consume us, help blinded eyes discern
your presence in the other so, bent toward love, we learn that

All is gift and all is grace;
joys that we treasure, sorrows that we face.
Blessed is the pilgrim who learns to embrace
that all is gift and all is grace.

* 3 O Holy One, you lead us down roads we would not choose,
through dark and death we stumble and mourn for what we lose.
We pray, that frail and failing, our broken hearts might turn
and, through the song of sorrow, new wisdom we might learn that

All is gift and all is grace;
joys that we treasure, sorrows that we face.
Blessed is the pilgrim who learns to embrace
that all is gift and all is grace.

4 O Holy One, you suffer with us in grief and loss,
we trace upon our bodies the pattern of your cross.
So grant us hope ‘mid suff’ring to see our loss as gain,
and pray, pray as you prayed: raise us to life again, for

All is gift and all is grace;
joys that we treasure, sorrows that we face.
Blessed is the pilgrim who learns to embrace
that all is gift and all is grace.
All is gift and all is grace.

*Omitted on the video.

THE CONCLUSION

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The almighty and merciful God bless us
and keep us now and for ever. Amen.