All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (November 26, 2022)

 

PREPARATION

A candle may be lit.

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

Your faithful servants bless you.
They make known the glory of your kingdom.

More candles and lamps may be lit as the following is sung.

*Open this link in a new tab to hear David Erby’s setting of Psalm 134, “Behold, Bless the Lord.”

[1] Behold, bless the Lord,
All you servants of the Lord,
Who by night stand in the house of the Lord!

[2] Lift up your hands in the sanctuary,
And bless the Lord.

[3] The Lord who made heaven and earth
Bless you from Zion!

*This setting is sung as a three-part canon.

THE WORD OF GOD

PSALMODY

Open this link in a new tab in a new tab to hear Omer Westendorf’s “Praise God in His Holy Dwelling,” based on Psalm 150: 1-6.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

1 Praise God in his holy dwelling.
Praise him on his mighty throne
Praise him for his wonderful deeds
Praise him for his sovereign majesty!

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

2 Praise him with the blast of trumpet;
Praise him now with lyre and harp;
Praise him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise him with the sound of string and reed.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Praise him with resounding cymbals;
With cymbals that crash give praise;
O let ev’rything that has breath,
Let all living creatures praise the Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Praise God, the almighty Father;
Praise Christ, his beloved Son;
Give praise to the Spirit of love;
Forever the triune God be praised.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Silence is kept.

God of life and love,
whose Son was victorious over sin and death,
make us alive with his life,
that the whole world may resound with your praise;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

NEW TESTAMENT CANTICLE

Open this link in a new tab to hear Timothy Dudley-Smith's metrical paraphrase of the Magna et Mirabilia, "The Glory of Our God and King."

1 The glory of our God and King,
the splendour of his throne,
let heaven and earth unite to sing
and all creation own.
The one eternal Father bless
before whose state and crown,
whose reign of perfect righteousness,
the nations all bow down.

2 His mercies shown, his triumphs won,
unnumbered saints proclaim,
the deeds his mighty arm has done,
his great and glorious Name.
In honour throned, in love adored,
how just and true his ways:
of all the ages King and Lord,
to everlasting days!

Silence may be kept.

SCRIPTURE READING

Matthew 11: 20-30 Judgment for the Unbelievers

Then Jesus began to denounce the towns where he had done so many of his miracles, because they hadn’t repented of their sins and turned to God. “What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse. I tell you, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you.

“And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead. For if the miracles I did for you had been done in wicked Sodom, it would still be here today. I tell you, even Sodom will be better off on judgment day than you.”

At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!

“My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Silence is kept.

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

HOMILY

Faith Makes the Difference

If you are not familiar with Tyre and Sidon, they are two cities that have existed since ancient times. Of the two, Sidon is the oldest. Tyre was originally a colony of Sidon. Both are located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in what is now modern-day Lebanon.

The exact location of Sodom is not known. It may have been located on the east side of the Jordan River in what is now the modern day kingdom of Jordan. Sodom was one of the five cities of the plains. It is believed to have been near the Dead Sea.

According to the Old Testament narrative Sodom was destroyed with the neighboring city of Gomorrah by a rain of fire due to the great wickedness of their inhabitants. An Akkadian poem also describes the destruction of several cities by a rain of fire but does not name them. Akkadian was a language spoken by the people of Akkad, a city in the central part of ancient Mesopotamia. Its location is also unknown.

Archeologists excavating an ancient city near the Dead Sea believe that the city and the surrounding area may have been destroyed by a large meteorite or small asteroid. They have not been able to link the city with Sodom. In any event all three cities would come to symbolize great wickedness in the Bible.

In saying that the inhabitants of these three Jewish cities of would be judged more severely than these three Gentile cities despite their reputation of great wickedness Jesus is emphasizing the extent and the seriousness of the unbelief in Korazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, cities where he had taught and performed miracles and in the case of Capernaum, had also lived. The inhabitants of the three Jewish cities had heard his teaching and they had witnessed his miracles but they were unmoved.

The implication is that those who were given an opportunity to repent of their sins and turn to God but did not would be judged more severely on judgment day than those who had no such opportunity. 

A core belief of the Christian faith is that one day Jesus will return. When he returns, he will judge the living and the dead. Tis is the judgment day to which he refers in this evening's reading. The dead will be bodily resurrected and will appear with the living before him as their judge. On that day every thought, that we had, every word that we said, and every thing that we did will be made known, even our deepest, darkest secrets, and judged. The good will be separated from the evil, the righteous from the wicked. The righteous will go to eternal reward in heaven while the wicked, those who refused to repent of their sins and turn to God, will depart to hell, a place or state where they must suffer the consequences of their rejection of union with God and God's justice and mercy. Whether someone is numbered among the righteous or the wicked will be based upon their faith in Jesus although God will also look at and consider their good deeds. 

In preparation for Jesus' return Anglican, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, and Roman Catholic churches and many other churches observe the Season of Advent, a season begins this Sunday and continues until Christmas Eve, and the beginning of the Twelve Days of Christmas. It is a season in which the faithful devote themselves to self-examination, repentance, and prayer. It is also a season in which they reflect upon what Jesus taught his disciples about preparing for his return and recommit themselves to putting into practice what he taught--to be ready and watching for his return, faithfully carrying out what he charged his disciples to do until his return. 

"The childlike" in Jesus' prayer of thanksgiving is a reference to those who hear his words and believe them. They are like children in the sense that they are humble and they are trusting. Children will naturally trust their parents and other caregivers unless their parents and caregivers demonstrate that they cannot be trusted. It is this kind of trust that Jesus on several occasions taught was essential to entering the Kingdom of God. It is the kind of trust which lies at the heart of faith in him. 

What Jesus says next underlies another core belief of the Christian faith. 

“My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

If we want to know what God is like, we must look at Jesus. Through Jesus God reveals himself to us, in Jesus' words, his actions, in his laying down of his own life for others. Jesus is the visible image of an invisible God. If we wish to know God better, we must seek to know Jesus better. We come to know Jesus better not only studying what he said and did but also by living what he taught and exemplified. 

Psychologists and others who observe human behavior tell us that when we seek to establish a relationship with someone else, whether it is a friendship, a romantic relationship, or a lifelong partnership, we not only endeavor to learn more about them but we also imitate them and we seek to be near them and to spend time with them. We share their aspirations and their interests. We are vulnerable with them. We do the same things when we respond to God's grace working in us and enter into a life-giving relationship with Jesus. 

The words with which Jesus concludes this evening's reading draw to our attention that he and he alone can free us from the burdens that weigh us down--from the guilt of sin and the power of sin in our lives.

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Sin is anything that keeps us from enjoying an unhindered, harmonious relationship with God, anything that creates a gulf between us and God. It can be words and actions but it also can be an attitude and a way of thinking. In essence, we put ourselves before God. We make our own desires and wishes the god to which we bow. 

Through faith in Jesus we are put right with God. The gulf that yawns between us and God is closed. Those who believe in Jesus also receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, God's own indwelling presence. We are united to God. The power of the Holy Spirit working in us transforms us into likeness of Jesus. We become more and more like Jesus in our character and our way of life. 

As we begin the Season of Advent, let us not only give thought to these things but also make them a part of our lives. When Jesus comes again as he said that he would, let us be among those  in whom he finds faith, among those who have taken his words to heart and acted on them. Let our prayer always be, "Lord, strengthen my faith! Help me to overcome my unbelief!" Having sought God's help in prayer, let us then step forward in faith, trusting that God will indeed provide us the help we need. 

Silence is kept.

HYMN OF THE DAY

Open this link in a new tab to hear Ben Walther and Sarah Hart’s “Jesus, Meek and Humble.”

1 Jesus, meek and humble, heaven’s gift to earth,
Word from Word among us spoken from the first.
Song of our salvation rising from the fall,
Jesus, meek and humble, heaven’s hope for all.

2 Jesus, meek and humble, teaching by the shore,
casting nets to gather broken, lame, and poor.
Living bread you offer, hungry we receive.
Jesus, meek and humble, teach us to believe.

3 Jesus, meek and humble, mercy born of pain
on the Cross we fashioned from our sin and shame.
God himself providing Lamb and sacrifice.
Jesus, meek and humble, in this death is life,
Life.
In your death is life, life.

4 Jesus, meek and humble, by the break of day
heaven now awaking, love has made a way
Light from Light embracing all that once was dark
Jesus, meek and humble, lead us to your heart.
Jesus, meek and humble, lead us to your heart.

Silence may be kept.

GOSPEL CANTICLE

Open this link to hear Lori True’s adaptation of the Magnificat, “Magnificat, Magnificat.”

Magnificat, magnificat anima mea Dominum.
Magnificat, magnificat anima mea Dominum.

1 I sing with all my heart, my spirit leaps for joy.
Who am I that you should honor me?
By your saving grace all will call me blest;
and proclaim the greatness of your name!

Magnificat, magnificat anima mea Dominum.
Magnificat, magnificat anima mea Dominum.

2 How great your gifts to us, how wonderful your works,
with your pow’r you strengthen all the weak.
Your mercy will endure: steadfast is your love
All the faithful follow and believe.

Magnificat, magnificat anima mea Dominum.
Magnificat, magnificat anima mea Dominum.

3 You scatter all the proud, the rich you send away.
All the mighty vanish in your sight.
You fill each hungry heart, raising up the least.
You are hope for all who are in need.

Magnificat, magnificat anima mea Dominum.
Magnificat, magnificat anima mea Dominum.

4 You rescue all the poor, your servant Israel.
You preserve your promise long foretold.
You keep your saving word, faithful is your name.
Ev’ry generation sings your praise!

Magnificat, magnificat anima mea Dominum.
Magnificat, magnificat anima mea Dominum.

Silence may be kept.

PRAYERS

That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful:
we pray to you, O Lord.

That your holy angels may lead us in the paths of peace and goodwill:
we pray to you, O Lord.

That we may be pardoned and forgiven for our sins and offences:
we pray to you, O Lord.

That there may be peace in your Church and for the whole world:
we pray to you, O Lord.

That we may be bound together by your Holy Spirit,
in communion with [N and with] all your saints,
entrusting one another and all our life to Christ:
we pray to you, O Lord.

Let us commend ourselves, and all for whom we pray,
to the mercy and protection of God.

Open prayer may be offered and silence is kept.

THE COLLECTS

Praise and honour to you living God;
your coming will be like a thief in the night,
like lightning flashing across the sky.
Grant that we may be ready,
and our hearts answer, Come Lord Jesus.
Hear this prayer for your love’s sake.
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

Let us pray with confidence as our Savior has taught us:

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 Ian Callanan’s “Love Is the Boat for the Journey.”

1 You are the way to heaven’s yielding fold.
You are the truth bringing freedom.
You are the life burning deep within our hearts,
for you are the boat for the journey.

2 You are the stream where flows the path of life,
guiding the way for disciples.
Though storms may arise you calm the fear inside,
for you are the boat for the journey.

[Instrumental interlude]

3 You are our God, the living, saving Word,
You are the banquet of justice.
You know our pain, you lift us from our shame,
for you are the boat for the journey.

4 We’ll sing this song of never ending joy,
filled with the truth of your gospel.
With faith, hope, and love,
we claim your living Word,
for you are the boat for the journey.

Love is the boat for the journey.

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.