Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (Thursday, September 14, 2023)

Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows.

It has been observed that the pace of life is slowing down in North America, and it is a good time to adopt the habit of beginning and ending each day with prayer (if we have not adopted that habit already.) It is also a good time to revive that habit if it was our practice at one time. Beginning and ending the day with prayer will help us keep our hearts and minds on God and to walk humbly with God throughout the day.

WE GATHER IN GOD’S NAME

A lamp or candle may be lit.

You, O Lord, are my lamp;
my God, you make my darkness bright.

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

As this evening hymn is sung, more lamps and candles may be lit.

Open this link in a new tab to hear The Braeded Cord’s arrangement of the Lutheran Service Book’s translation of the Phos Hilaron. “Joyous Light of Glory of the Immortal Father.”

Joyous light of glory of the immortal Father.
Heavenly, holy, blessed Jesus Christ.
You are worth of being praised with pure voices
forever.
You are worth of being praised with pure voices
forever.
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
The universe declares your glory.
We have come to the setting of the sun
And we look to the evening light.
We sing to God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
You are worth of being praised with pure voices
forever.
You are worth of being praised with pure voices
forever.
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
The universe declares your glory.
The universe declares your glory.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night:
to you be praise and glory for ever.
As darkness falls you renew your promise
to reveal among us the light of your presence.
By the light of Christ, your living Word,
dispel the darkness of our hearts
that we may walk as children of light
and sing your praise throughout the world.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
Blessed be God for ever. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Roger Holtz and Jane Terwillinger’s setting of Psalm 8, “O Lord, Our God, How Wonderful.”

O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name,
how wonderful your name,
in all the earth!

When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you set in place -
What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him?

O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name,
how wonderful your name,
in all the earth!

You have made him little less than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet:

O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name,
how wonderful your name,
in all the earth!

All sheep and oxen,
yes, and the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name,
how wonderful your name,
in all the earth!

Silence

We bless you, Master of the heavens,
for the wonderful order which enfolds this world;
grant that your whole creation
may find fulfilment in the Son of Man,
Jesus Christ our Savior.
Hear this prayer for your love’s sake. Amen.

Open this link to hear Kiran Young Wimberly’s adaptation of Psalm 121, “I Lift My Eyes Up to the Hills.”

I lift my eyes up to the hills
where does my help come from?
I lift my eyes up to the hills
where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord above,
the Lord of heaven and earth.
The One who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleeps

[Instrumental interlude]

The Lord who watches over Israel
is your shade at your right hand.
The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon harm you by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm;
and will watch over your life.
watch over you as you come and go
now and forevermore.

[Instrumental interlude]

The Lord will keep you from all harm;
and will watch over your life.
watch over you as you come and go
now and forevermore,
now and forevermore.

Silence

Lord, ever watchful and faithful,
we look to you to be our defense
and we lift our hearts to know your help;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Simple Hymns “Glory to the Father Give.”

1 Glory to the Father give
God in Whom
We move and live
His children’s prayers
He deigns to hear
How their songs
Delight His ear
Oh glory to the Father give

2 Glory to the Son we bring
Christ our Prophet
Priest and King
Oh children raise
Your sweetest strain
To the Lamb
For He was slain
Oh glory to the Son
We bring

Glory to the Father
Up above
Glory to the Son
Who came for us
Glory to the Spirit
Who dwells
In those You love
Glory
To the Father Spirit Son

3 Glory to the Holy Ghost
Who reclaims
The sinner lost
His children’s minds
May He inspire
And touch their tongues
With holy fire
Oh glory to the Holy Ghost

Glory in the highest be
To the blessed Trinity
For the Gospel from above
For the word
That God is love
Oh glory in the highest be

Glory to the Father
Up above
Glory to the Son
Who came for us
Glory to the Spirit
Who dwells
In those You love
Glory
To the Father Spirit Son

Glory to the Father
Up above
Glory to the Son
Who came for us
Glory to the Spirit
Who dwells
In those You love
Glory
To the Father Spirit Son

Glory
To the Father Spirit Son

WE HEAR GOD’S WORD

A reading from the New Testament (Matthew 9: 14-17)

Then the followers of John the Baptist came to Jesus, asking, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don't fast at all?”

Jesus answered, “Do you expect the guests at a wedding party to be sad as long as the bridegroom is with them? Of course not! But the day will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

“No one patches up an old coat with a piece of new cloth, for the new patch will shrink and make an even bigger hole in the coat. Nor does anyone pour new wine into used wineskins, for the skins will burst, the wine will pour out, and the skins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins, and both will keep in good condition.”

Silence

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

Bigger Holes and Burst Wineskins: A Lesson for Today

In his teaching Jesus often drew upon the common life experiences of those whom he was teaching. In our time, in our part of the world, these experiences may no longer form a part of our lives. While a few people may continue to patch a hole or tear in a garment, most will throw the garment away and buy a new one or if they cannot afford to buy a new garment will keep wearing the old garment despite the hole or tear.

The wine we drink, if we drink wine, comes from glass bottles or plastic wine barrels or casks. We most likely would react with a blank look if someone asked us about wineskins. The only kind of wineskin seen in the United States are plastic and are seen at Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans and its suburbs.

While traveling overseas, a few of us might buy as a souvenir a leather wine skin like the kind Jesus is talking about, a bottle made from goat or sheep skin. We might hang it as a decoration on a wall of our home, a reminder of the trip we took.

What the people to whom Jesus was speaking would have known that a piece of cloth must be preshrunk before it is used to patch a garment. If the hole in the garment is a small one and the garment has places from which a piece of cloth might be cut for a patch without affecting the appearance of the garment when it is worn, the cloth for the patch would be cut from the garment itself. All garments in Jesus’ time were hand-made and those who made them also were able to mend them without spoiling their appearance. They might include additional fabric in a garment for future repairs. Only th wealthy had a large wardrobe of clothes and could afford to have new clothes made for them when they wanted new clothes. Everyone else made do with what they had.

When leather wineskins are new, they are pliable and will stretch without bursting as the new wine ferments within them, producing carbon dioxide and expanding the wineskin. Old wineskins, on the other hand, lack the pliability of new wineskins and will crack instead of expanding as the new wine ferments. They will burst. Whoever is making the wine will lose both the wineskins and the wine. While old wineskins may have other uses, storing new wine is not one of them.

We may be scratching our heads at this moment, saying to ourselves, “What do these two illustrations have to do with fasting?” Elsewhere in Matthew’s Gospel, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructed his disciples—

“And when you fast, do not put on a sad face as the hypocrites do. They neglect their appearance so that everyone will see that they are fasting. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. When you go without food, wash your face and comb your hair, so that others cannot know that you are fasting—only your Father, who is unseen, will know. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.” Matthew 6: 16-18 GNT

Jesus does not say anything without having a purpose for saying it. He does not say things to impress those who are listening to him, something that the Pharisees and teachers of religious law might do. One of the purposes of his illustrations and stories is to encourage those to whom he is speaking to think about what he is saying. Let us consider the principle that what he says about patching old clothing and bottling new wine illustrates.

The principle is that one does not do something without considering the effects of what one is about to do. One gives thought to what one is going to do and the outcome.

Jesus has already pointed to the attention of John the Baptist’s disciples that it did not make sense for his disciples to fast when he was with them. There was no need for them to fast. They did not need to fast because others, John’s disciples and the Pharisees, were doing it.

In a sense Jesus is inviting John the Baptist’s disciples to consider why they are fasting. Are they fasting because it is a customary religious practice? And as in the case of the Pharisees, they want to appear to be very pious and to receive the praise and admiration of their co-religionists? Are they doing it to genuinely humble themselves before God? What are their motives?

We may have heard the old saying, “monkey see, monkey do.” It refers to the tendency observed in human beings and monkeys to mimic what they see other human beings or monkeys doing. Implied is behaving in similar way to someone or something, or copying the behavior, practices, and other similar things of someone or something, very often with limited knowledge or concern for the consequences.

In the nineteenth century churches were built to imitate the divided chancel medieval church, not just Anglican churches but also Methodist, Lutheran, and Presbyterian. While the divided chancel medieval church was considered the ideal form for a church at that time, the passage of time has shown that this particular form of church is ill-suited for the worship of Christians in these denominations. The congregation has difficulty hearing the choir and the altar’s primary use has become decorative, often adorned with brass candelabras, brass candlesticks, candles, brass crosses, and flower arrangements. On Communion Sundays a smaller communion table is placed in the space between the two sides of the choir or in a space closer to the congregation.

Among the implications of what Jesus is saying is that we do not have to slavishly follow the practices of other churches and groups of Christians. This is not to say that a particular practice may be wrong in itself but rather it may not be right for us and our particular situation. Jesus did not reject the practice of fasting, but he did not consider that it was something that disciples needed to do at that particular time.

Does what Jesus says about patching old clothing and bottling new wine illustrate any other principle? Does it have any other application?

Jesus is not telling us to avoid using new methods or ideas or adopting new practices. But he is saying to give careful thought to the possible results of implementing these methods or ideas or introducing these new practices in a particular set of circumstances. This may be include sizing up the ability of a particular group of people to adapt to change. Some people are more open to new methods, ideas, and practices than others. For example, church leaders might conclude that launching a new service and new congregation would be their best option to reach a larger segment of the unchurched population than to try to make changes in a existing service in which the congregation is resistant to change.

Whatever we do may have unforeseen consequences. We may not be able to anticipate everything that will happen if and when we take a particular course of action. What would be consistent with what Jesus is saying is to strike a balance between throwing all caution to the wind and letting an excess of caution prevent us from doing anything.

Jesus is certainly not saying do nothing. If we do not patch an old garment or replace it, we will end up wearing rags. If we do not make new wine, we will drink up the old wine and have no wine at all. If we leave the old wine in the old wine skins, it will eventually turn to vinegar, and we will not be able to drink it. Doing nothing has consequences. We cannot avoid what may prove to be an undesirable or unpleasant situation by not doing anything at all.

One of the things that can be concluded from today’s reading is that we as a church and as individual Christians need to give more thought to what we are doing, why we are doing it, and what we are accomplishing. It is not enough to say to ourselves, “This is how we have always done it” or “This is what we are accustomed to doing” and rationalize what we are doing. The human brain is good at coming up with reasons for doing things or not doing them even though doing them or not doing them has negative consequences or is completely pointless. It is very good at self-deception.

We need to look at our particular situation and ask, “Does what we are doing make sense in these circumstances?” We chose to do things not because they are longstanding religious practices but because they are the right things to do in our particular circumstances. They genuinely serve the mission that Jesus has entrusted to us. They really and sincerely show our love for our Lord and our obedience to his commandments.

Silence

WE RESPOND

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.

WE PRAY FOR GOD’S WORLD


Let us pray for all people and the Church throughout the world.

Let us first confess our sins to God…….., let pray for God’s forgiveness.

Silence

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

Let us pray for peace in the life of the world, let us pray for God’s peace:

Silence

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

Let us pray for all who suffer injury, sickness, and loss…, let us pray for all the afflicted:

Silence

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

Let us pray for all who are struggling to meet their basic needs, let us pray for all who are seeking to help them.

Silence

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

Let pray for all who wield authority and influence, let us pray for all who exercise power:

Silence

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

Let us pray for all whom we have wronged, let us pray for all who hate us:

Silence

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

Let us pray for all pastors and other ministers and for all who serve Christ in his church, let us pray for all God’s people:

Silence

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

Let us pray for ourselves and each other, our families, those with whom we work or learn, our neighbors, and our friends , let us pray for all whom God has placed in our lives:

Intercessions may be offered by anyone present.

Let us pray for….

Silence

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

Let us give thanks for all in whom Christ has been honored,
(especially….)

Silence

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

All these mercies we ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who taught us to pray with the confidence of children.

We therefore dare to say:

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, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

WE GO FORTH TO SERVE

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

Open this link in a new tab to John Fennelly’s hymn, “Christ Be Near at Either Hand.”

1 Christ be near at either hand,
Christ behind, before me stand,
Christ with me where e’er I go,
Christ around, above, below.

2 Christ be in my heart and mind,
Christ within my soul enshrined.
Christ control my wayward heart;
Christ abide and ne’er depart.

3 Christ my life and only way,
Christ my lantern night and day;
Christ be my unchanging friend,
guide and shepherd to the end.

4 Christ be near at either hand,
Christ behind, before me stand,
Christ with me where e’er I go,
Christ around, above, below.

Those present may exchange a sign of peace.

The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.