Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (Thursday, December 28, 2023)

Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows. 

In this evening’s reading we recall an event that followed Jesus’ birth, and which foreshadowed his suffering and death on the cross. It is also a reminder of the evil which human beings are capable of and which Christians must keep watch for in themselves.

GATHER IN GOD’S NAME

A lamp or a candle may be lit.

The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
The Word became flesh and lived among us,
and we have beheld Christ’s glory.
To us a child is born, to us a Son is given.
In the Word was life, and the life was the light of all people.

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

Open this link in a new tab to hear Elise Massa’s arrangement of the ancient lamp lighting hymn Phos hilaron, “O Gladsome Light.”

1 O Gladsome Light, pure brightness of
the everliving Lord in heaven.
O Jesus Christ, O Light from Light,
we worship you, holy and blessed.

2 Now as we come to eventide,
our eyes behold the vesper light.
We sing your praises, Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit, Three in One,

3 Christ, you are worthy at all times
By happy voices to be praised.
O Son of God, Giver of Life,
through all the worlds, be glorified

The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.

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

Blessed are you, Lord our God,
our eternal Father and David’s king.
You have made our gladness greater and increased our joy
by sending to dwell among us
the Wonderful Counsellor, the Prince of Peace.
Born of Mary,
proclaimed to the shepherds,
and acknowledged to the ends of the earth,
your unconquered Sun of righteousness
destroys our darkness and establishes us in freedom.
All glory in the highest be to you,
through Christ, the Son of your favour,
in the anointing love of his Spirit,
this night and for ever and ever. Amen.

Open this link in a new to hear Timothy Dudley-Smith’s “Come Quickly, Lord (Psalm 141).”

1 Come quickly, Lord, and hear the cries
my heart and hands uplifted raise;
and let my prayer as incense rise,
an evening sacrifice of praise.
Guard now the lips that speak your Name,
lest they, and I, be put to shame.

2 And if my steps should go astray
and from the path of truth I move,
restore me to your narrow way
and in your mercy, Lord, reprove;
from love of self my soul defend,
and wound me as a faithful friend.

*3 When at the last, O Lord our God,
we look to you alone to save,
the plough of judgment breaks the clod,
and bones are scattered from the grave:
our Rock, our Refuge and our Tower,
protect us in the final hour.

4 We fix our eyes upon you, Lord,
and tune our ears to hear your voice;
our hearts by faith receive your word
and in your promises rejoice.
Till morning breaks and night is gone,
in God we trust, and journey on.

*Omitted in the video.

Silence

Lord God, our protector and guide,
who made us knowing both good and evil:
receive our prayer and, by your wisdom,
help us to discern and desire all that is good,
that the offering of our lives may be acceptable to you;
through Jesus Christ,
who suffered the darkness of torment and trial
and now is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
for ever and ever. Amen.


Open this link to hear Andrea Sandifer’s “Call Me In,” based on Psalm 143.

Lord, I seek you
I trust in you
My faith is in you, Lord
Lead me far from my heart’s desire
My understanding, Lord

Call me in
Lift my soul
Be my guide
Spirit alone
Call me in
Draw me close
Father, God
Your will alone

The dawn of morning
Sheds light on your unfailing love
Yet, my soul seeks out
My days ordained
Secured in heaven above

Call me in
Lift my soul
Be my guide
Spirit alone
Call me in
Draw me close
Father, God
Your will alone

On holy knees, Lord,
prayers lifted
Jesus sought your will removed
Yet body weak and spirit willing
Your plan shone through

Forgive me my desire
To clearly see
What lies before me,
No, Spirit lead me on level ground
The way that I should go

Call me in
Lift my soul
Be my guide
Spirit alone
Call me in
Draw me close
Father, God
Your will alone

Call me in
Lift my soul
Be my guide
Spirit alone
Call me in
Draw me close
Father, God
Your will alone

Silence

God of justice,
we fail to act justly
and depend upon the power of righteousness:
look with compassion upon those surrounded by danger
and guide us all along the path of life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Loreena McKennitt’s arrangement of Robert Croo’s “The Coventry Carol.”

Loolay, laloo,
thou little tiny child,
by by, loolay, loolay.

1 O sisters too,
how may we do
for to preserve this day
this poor youngling,
for whom we sing
by by, loolay loolee?

Loolay, laloo,
thou little tiny child,
by by, loolee, loolay

2 Herod the king,
in his raging,
charged he told this day
his men of might,
in his own right,
all young children to slay.

Loolay
thou little tiny child,
by, by, loolay, loolee.

3 That woe is me,
poor child for thee!
and ever morn and day,
for thy parting
neither say nor sing
by by, loolee loolay!

Loolee, loolay,
Thou little tiny child
By, by, loolee, loolay

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

A reading from the New Testament (Matthew 2:13–18)

After the wise men had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”

Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

“A cry was heard in Ramah—
weeping and great mourning.
Rachel weeps for her children,
refusing to be comforted,
for they are dead.”

Silence

This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Ryan Flanigan’s arrangement of the Magnificat, "The Almighty Has Done Great Things.”

Intro
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.

1 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.

2 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.

Outro
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.

Herod’s Massacre of the Innocents: A Lesson for Today

Several lesser feasts traditionally fall during the Twelve days of Christmas. One of these feasts is the Feast of the Holy Innocents, also known as Holy Innocents Day. It commemorates the massacre of all the boys, two years of age or younger, in Bethlehem and the surrounding countryside, ordered by Herod the Great.

While some historians question whether Herod ordered such a massacre, it fits with the reputation of his brutality and treachery. He banished his first wife Doris and their son Antipater so he could marry Mariamne, the granddaughter of a previous ruler of Judaea. Herod later would execute several members of his own family, including his wife Mariamne.

From what we know about Herod, having gained a throne, he was not one to easily relinquish it to another. He had at least one possible rival for his throne assassinated. He adopted a number of measures to win the favor of the populace, including the rebuilding of the Second Temple at Jerusalem. At the same time, he ruled with a heavy hand and did not brook any opposition. He employed secret police to ferret out those who opposed him and anyone who did oppose him was imprisoned, killed, or disappeared.

One of the lessons we can learn from Herod’s massacre of the innocents is the great lengths that evil individuals will go to gain and keep power and the terrible suffering that they can cause others.

The last century saw a number of such individuals—Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, Idi Amin, Pol Pot. The twenty-first century can be expected to produce its own share of evil men like them.

As C. S. Lewis put it in Out of the Silent Planet, the first book in his Perelandria trilogy, human beings are “bent.” We are inclined to do evil. Evil men seeking to gain unlimited power over the lives of others will appeal to that inclination in us.

They will appeal to our evil thoughts and desires, to our willingness to believe the worst about others, to hate them, to wish them ill, to treat them unkindly, and even to kill them; to our willingness to not only believe lies and half-truths but also to perpetuate them, to turn a blind eye to wrongdoing or explain it away; to listen to those who tell us what we want to hear rather than what we need to hear as the people of Israel listened to the false prophets; and to clamor for a king like they did while rejecting their true King, God himself, and his warnings.

The children who were killed by Herod’s soldiers had done nothing wrong. Neither had their mothers. It was fear, hate, an insatiable thirst for power, an overinflated opinion of one’s importance, a human will determined to always have its way, heedless of the suffering it would cause, which killed each child and robbed each mother of her child.

In seeking to snuff out Jesus’ life, Herod may be regarded as an anti-Christ. The Bible tells us that there will not be one anti-Christ but many. They will oppose Jesus in various ways and exult themselves. They may be political figures, pastors, or ordinary people. They may use religious language and claim a divine anointing. They may give lip service to Jesus. However, their words and actions will reveal that they are not one of his disciples. Jesus, his message, and his teaching will not appear to be an appreciable influence in their lives. Nor will the fruit of the Spirit, those qualities of character described by the apostle Paul in Galatians 5: 22-23, “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control,” be evident. They will say things that they believe the people whom they are addressing want to hear. They will encourage bad ideas and feelings in them. Rather than helping to reduce or eliminate barriers to the spread of the gospel, they will contribute to the erection of more barriers. To those who do not fall under their spell it will be apparent that they seek to occupy in people’s hearts and minds the place that is rightly Jesus’.

Jesus’ warning that false Messiahs and false prophets will deceive many before he returns also applies to anti-Christs. He told his disciples that they must always be on their guard against such individuals lest they too be led astray. Among the dangers to Christians is that they will become helpers and accomplices to the evil deeds that a particular anti-Christ perpetrates by making it possible by their actions or their inaction for these things to happen or be done.

As Jesus told his disciples, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other…” (Matthew 6:24 NLT). When we by our actions or by our inaction enable an anti-Christ to do evil, we show to which master we are devoted, and it is not Jesus.

As Jesus also told his disciples, “Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me” (John 14:21 NLT). It is not Jesus’ commandment to hate others, to harbor ill-will toward them, and to seek to do them harm. Indeed, it is the direct opposite of what Jesus taught and exemplified.

If we genuinely have faith in Jesus and our profession of faith is not empty words, then we will live in accordance with his teaching and example. The way we live will testify to our faith. As the apostle Paul put it, “For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love” (Galatians 5:6 NLT)..

A profession of faith is meaningless if it does not give rise to deeds of compassion, forgiveness, and kindness. They are the fruit of faith and “a tree is identified by its fruit” (Luke 6:44 NLT).

Silence

Open this link to hear Ryan Flannigan’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.

THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER

For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the church of God,
and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy,

For this dwelling place and for all who offer here their worship and praise.
Lord, have mercy.

For the health of the creation, for abundant harvests that all may share,
and for peaceful times, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For public servants, for government, and those who protect us;
for those who work to bring peace, justice, healing and protection
In this and every place, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For those who travel, for those who are sick and suffering,
and for those who are in captivity, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For deliverance in times of affliction, wrath, danger, and need,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For …… our pastor and all servants of the church, for this gathering,
and for all people who await from the Lord great and abundant mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Other petitions may be added.

Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.

Silence

Giving thanks for all who have gone before us and are at rest, rejoicing in the communion of …… and all the saints, we commend ourselves, one another, and our whole life to you. Through Christ our Lord.
To you, O Lord.

Holy Father,
your Son was saved from the slaughter of infants
at the hand of Herod;
grant that we may never be indifferent
to the sufferings of your children,
but may bring them help and compassion
in your unfailing love;
for he is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever.
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.

Let us join together in the prayer Jesus gave 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, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

THE SENDING OF GOD’S PEOPLE

Open this link to hear Olaf Christiansen’s “Light Everlasting.”

O Light Everlasting, O Love never failing.
Illumine our darkness and draw us to thee.
May we from thy spirit receive inspiration
As children together thy wisdom may see.
Make known to all nation thy peace and salvation,
And help us O Father, thy temple to be

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Open this link to hear Margaret Rizza’s “A Celtic Blessing.”

The guarding of the God of Life
be on you,
the guarding of loving Christ be
on you,
the guarding of the Holy Spirit
be on you,
to aid and uphold you each day
and night of your life.

The guarding of the God of Life
be on you,
the guarding of loving Christ be
on you,
the guarding of the Holy Spirit
be on you,
to aid and uphold you each day
and night of your life.

The guarding of God
The guarding of Christ
The guarding of the Spirit
be upon you.

The guarding of God
The guarding of Christ
The guarding of the Holy Spirit
be upon you.

The guarding of the God of Life
be on you,
the guarding of loving Christ be
on you,
the guarding of the Holy Spirit
be on you,
to aid and uphold you each day
and night of your life.

The guarding of God
The guarding of Christ
The guarding of the Holy Spirit
be upon you.

Those present may share a sign of peace with these words.

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