Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (December 4, 2025)


Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows.

In this evening’s service we continue the message series on the teachings of Jesus. The topic of this evening’s message is Jesus’ commandment to love one another.

GATHER IN GOD’S NAME

Open this link in a new tab to hear Robert Mueller’s arrangement of LET US EVER WALK WITH JESUS for oboe and piano.

Silence

Watch, for you know not when the master of the house
will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or
in the morning; lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.
Mark 13:35-36

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth
is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and
just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 
1 John 1:8-9

Let us now confess our sins to almighty God.

Silence

Almighty and most merciful Father,
we have strayed from your ways like lost sheep.
We have followed too much
the devices and the desires of our own hearts.
we have offended against your holy laws,
we have left undone what we ought to have done,
and we have done what we ought not to have done.
Yet, good Lord, have mercy on us;
restore those who are penitent,
according to your promises declared
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Grant, most merciful Father, for his sake,
that we may live a godly, righteous, and sober lives,
to the glory of your holy name. Amen.


Merciful Lord,
grant to your faithful people pardon and peace,
that we may be cleansed from all our sins,
and serve you with a quiet mind;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Open our lips, O Lord;
And we shall declare your praise.
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory to God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:
as in the beginning, so now, and for ever. Amen.
Let us praise the Lord.
The Lord’s name be praised.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Fred Pratt Green’s “Christ Is the World's Light.”

1 Christ is the world's light,
Christ and none other;
Born in our darkness,
he became our brother.
If we have seen him,
we have seen the Father:
Glory to God on high!


2 Christ is the world's peace,
Christ and none other;
No one can serve him
and despise another.
Who else unites us,
one with God the Father?
Glory to God on high!


3 Christ is the world's life,
Christ and none other;
Sold once for silver,
murdered here, our brother.
He who redeemed us
reigns with God the Father:
Glory to God on high!


4 Give God the glory,
God and none other;
Give God the glory,
Spirit, Son, and Father;
Give God the glory,
God with us, my brother:
Glory to God on high!


Open this link in a new tab to hear Kiran Young Wimberly’s “The Lord’s My Shepherd (Psalm 23).”

1 The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want
He lets me rest in pastures green
He leadeth me by waters still
He restores my soul; restores my soul

2 Even though I walk through the darkest vale
I will fear no evil, for you’re with me
Your rod and staff, protect and guide
You comfort me; you comfort me

3 You prepare a table, a feast for me
In the presence of my enemies
You anoint my head with holy oil
My cup overflows; it overflows

4 Surely goodness and God’s mercy great
Shall follow me all my days of life
And I’ll dwell within the house of God
My whole life long; my whole life long

Silence

For your name’s sake, O God,
lead us in the paths of righteousness
and let your mercy follow us
that we may dwell with you forever.
Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

A reading from the Gospel according to John.
John 13:31-35

After Judas had left, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man's glory is revealed; now God's glory is revealed through him. And if God's glory is revealed through him, then God will reveal the glory of the Son of Man in himself, and he will do so at once. My children, I shall not be with you very much longer. You will look for me; but I tell you now what I told the Jewish authorities, ‘You cannot go where I am going.’ And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.”

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

Silence

The New Commandment

When Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment: “love one another,” he further said, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.” In saying what he did, Jesus makes an important assumption.. Those who respond to his call to become a disciple will be following him in the company of other disciples. Jesus did not envision following him as a disciple as something done alone, not with other disciples.

This is not to say that Jesus did not recognize that there would be circumstances in which a disciple might have no other choice but to follow him all on their own. However, following him in the company of other disciples would be the norm for his disciples, a norm which he had established when he gathered the inner circle of the twelve and the larger company of seventy to seventy-two around himself.

Jesus set the precedent for his disciples to follow him a as part of a small group and a part of a larger group. In these two types of groups succeeding generation of Jesus’ disciples have followed him together over the centuries. It is in such groups that Jesus’ disciples are able to live out his command to love one another and his other teachings and to show to the world that they are indeed his disciples.

In this evening’s message I am going to look at how a follower of Jesus can show their love for their fellow disciples.

When Jesus talks about loving one another, he is not talking about having warm fuzzy feelings for our fellow disciples. He is talking about the attitude we adopt toward our fellow Jesus-followers, the qualities we nurture in ourselves, and the behavior we consequently display toward our fellow disciples.

What may be the most important way to love a fellow disciple is to acknowledge their existence. It is all too common in today’s world to selectively choose to ignore the existence of others and having denied their existence, to feel no need to show them any kind of recognition, much less love. This is the ultimate form of rejection and can have serious consequences for those whose existence is ignored.

We value all human beings because they are God’s creation and were made in the image of God. They are beloved by God and for them Jesus suffered and died on the cross.

Regardless of who they are, their walk in life, their past history, their physical and intellectual limitations, and all the other ways we pigeonhole people, we treat them with respect and common decency.

Among the attitudes, qualities, and the corresponding behavior that we nurture in ourselves and encourage in our fellow disciples are compassion, concern for others’ wellbeing, consideration of their’ feelings, evenhandedness, forgiveness, friendliness, generosity, gentleness, helpfulness, humbleness, joyfulness, kindness, patience, peacefulness, selflessness, thoughtfulness, trustworthiness, and truthfulness.

We do not mistakenly reject empathy as evil or a sin, recognizing that one of the reasons that Jesus is such an effective mediator and intercessor for us is that he has experienced what we experience and has the ability to share our feelings or experiences and to imagine what it would be like to be in our situation. A disciple who lacks empathy and who cannot imagine what it is like to be in a fellow disciple’s shoes is going to have difficulty loving that fellow disciple. They are going to have difficulty loving their neighbor too.

Love for one another is not confined to those disciples with whom we have face to face contact in a small group or a large group. It includes those with whom we have contact over the internet or by telephone or by old-fashioned snail mail. It may involve making regular visits to those who are housebound due to illness, infirmity, or old-age or who are residents of care homes.

Nor is our love for one another to be limited to individuals of the same Christian tradition as ourselves. Jesus established no such boundaries to the love that his disciples are to have for one another.

One way that even those who are housebound can show their love for their fellow disciples is to pray for them. While they may not be able to fully take part in the life, ministry, and worship of a small group or a larger group, with some creative thinking a meaningful role may be found for them in such a group. Helping someone to find a place for themselves in a small group or a larger group is itself an expression of love for that person.

Silence

Open this link in a new tab to hear Kate Bluett’s paraphrase of the Magnificat, “Mary’s Hymn of Praise.”

1 My soul proclaims God’s greatness,
rejoicing in the Lord
who looks upon my meekness,
as ages will behold.
Now God does great things for me,
and holy is God’s name.
My spirit sings God’s wonders,
and oh! my soul proclaims!

2 In every generation
God pours such mercy down,
shows might before the nations,
and scatters all the proud.
God lifts up all the humble,
casts princes down in shame.
My spirit sings God’s wonders,
and oh! my soul proclaims!

3 Rejoice now in God’s promise
to Sarah and Abraham
and all of their descendants,
to keep us in God’s hand.
God fills the poor and hungry
and sends the rich away.
My spirit sings God’s wonders,
and oh! my soul proclaims!


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 is seated at the right hand of God the Father
almighty;
from there he will 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 the life everlasting. Amen.


THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Let us pray.

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on 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.


Lord, show us your mercy,
and grant us your salvation.
Keep our nation under your care,
and guide us in justice and truth.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness,
and make your chosen people joyful.
Lord, save your people,
and bless your inheritance.
Give peace in our time, O Lord,
for you are our help and strength.
Create in us dean hearts, O God,
and renew us by your Holy Spirit.

Almighty God,
Give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armour of light
now in the time of this mortal life
in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;
that on the last day
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Eternal God, from whom all holy desires, all good purposes,
and all just works proceed: give to your servants that peace
which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to
obey your commandments, and that free from the fear of our
enemies we may pass our time in trust and quietness;
through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

Lighten our darkness, Lord, we pray: and in your great
mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night;
for the love of your only Son our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Stephen P. Starke’s “The Tree of Life.”

1 The tree of life with ev'ry good
In Eden's holy orchard stood,
And of its fruit so pure and sweet
God let the man and women eat.
Yet in this garden also grew
Another tree, of which they knew;
Its lovely limbs with fruit adorned
Against whose eating God had warned.

2 The stillness of that sacred grove
Was broken, as the serpent strove
With tempting voice Eve to beguile
And Adam too by sin defile.
O day of sadness when the breath
Of fear and darkness, doubt and death,
Its awful poison first displayed
Within the world so newly made.

3 What mercy God showed to our race,
A plan of rescue by His grace:
In sending One from woman's seed,
The One to fill our greatest need--
For on tree uplifted high
His only Son for sin would die,
Would drink the cup of scorn and dread
To crush the ancient serpent's head!

4 Now from that tree of Jesus' shame
Flows life eternal in His name;
For all who trust and will believe,
Salvation's living fruit receive.
And of its fruit so pure and sweet
The Lord invites the world to eat,
To find within this cross of wood
The tree of life with ev'ry good.
The tree of life with ev'ry good.

Silence may be kept.

Those present may offer their own prayers and thanksgivings, either silently or aloud.

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.


Open this link in a new tab to hear William and Annabeth Gay's "Each Winter as the Year Grows Older."

1 Each winter as the year grows older,
We each grow older too.
The chill sets in a little colder;
The verities we knew
Seem shaken and untrue.


2 When race and class cry out for treason,
When sirens call for war,
They overshout the voice of reason
And scream till we ignore
All we held dear before.


3 Yet I believe beyond believing,
That life can spring from death:
That growth can flower from our grieving;
That we can catch our breath
And turn transfixed by faith.


[Instrumental interlude]

4 So even as the sun is turning
To journey to the north,
The living flame, in secret burning,
Can kindle on the earth
And bring God's love to birth.


5 O Child of ecstasy and sorrows,
O Prince of peace and pain,
Brighten today's world by tomorrow's,
Renew our lives again;
Lord Jesus, come and reign!


THE SENDING FORTH OF GOD’S PEOPLE

The Lord be with you.
And also with you
Let us praise the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Open this link in a new tab to hear St. Aidan’s Community’s “The Grace (2 Corinthians 13:14).”

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God our Father,
and the fellowship, the fellowship
of the Holy Spirit be with us
for evermore and evermore and evermore. Amen.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God our Father,
and the fellowship, the fellowship
of the Holy Spirit be with us
for evermore and evermore and evermore. Amen. 

Comments