Evening Prayer
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 27, 2020
(adapted from the Book of Alternative Services, pages 61-71)
Opening Sentence:
Those who sowed with tears will reap with songs of joy. Psalm 126.6
Officiant God’s love has been poured into our hearts.
People We dwell in him and he in us.
Officiant Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name;
People Make known his deeds among the peoples.
Officiant Sing praises to him, sing praises to him,
People And speak of all his marvellous works.
Officiant Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God almighty,
People Who was and is and is to come!
Opening Hymn: Let All Things Now Living
1. Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving to God the creator triumphantly raise, who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us, who still guides us on to the end of our days.
Love’s banners are o’er us; God’s light goes before us, a pillar of fire shining forth in the night, till sahadows have vanished and darkness is banished, as forward we travel from light into Light.
2. God’s law still enforces the stars in their courses and causes the sun in its splendour to shine; the hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains, the deeps of the ocean in praises combine.
We too should be voicing our love and rejoicing; with glad adoration a song let us raise till all things now living unite in thanksgiving: “To God in the highest, hosanna and praise!”
Text: Katherine K. Davis (1892-1980)
Music: THE ASH GROVE Melody Welsh trad.
The Proclamation of the Word
A READING FROM THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY 8.7-18
or the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land where you may eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron and from whose hills you may mine copper. You shall eat your fill and bless the Lord your God for the good land that he has given you.
Take care that you do not forget the Lord your God, by failing to keep his commandments, his ordinances, and his statutes, which I am commanding you today. When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, an arid waste-land with poisonous snakes and scorpions. He made water flow for you from flint rock, and fed you in the wilderness with manna that your ancestors did not know, to humble you and to test you, and in the end to do you good. Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gained me this wealth.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today.
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
PSALM: PSALM 65
Te decet hymnus
1 You are to be praised, O God, in Zion; *
to you shall vows be performed in Jerusalem.
2 To you that hear prayer shall all flesh come, *
because of their transgressions.
3 Our sins are stronger than we are, *
but you will blot them out.
4 Happy are they whom you choose
and draw to your courts to dwell there! *
they will be satisfied by the beauty of your house,
by the holiness of your temple.
5 Awesome things will you show us in your righteousness,
O God of our salvation, *
O Hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the seas that are far away.
6 You make fast the mountains by your power; *
they are girded about with might..
7 You still the roaring of the seas, *
the roaring of their waves,
and the clamour of the peoples.
8 Those who dwell at the ends of the earth will tremble at
your marvellous signs; *
you make the dawn and the dusk to sing for joy.
9 You visit the earth and water it abundantly;
you make it very plenteous; *
the river of God is full of water.
10 You prepare the grain, *
for so you provide for the earth.
11 You drench the furrows and smooth out the ridges; *
with heavy rain you soften the ground and bless
its increase.
12 You crown the year with your goodness, *
and your paths overflow with plenty.
13 May the fields of the wilderness be rich for grazing, *
and the hills be clothed with joy.
14 May the meadows cover themselves with flocks,
and the valleys cloak themselves with grain; *
let them shout for joy and sing.
Lord God, joy marks your presence; beauty, abundance, and
peace are the tokens of your work in all creation. Work also in
our lives, that by these signs we may see the splendour of your
love and praise you through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.
A READING FROM THE SECOND LETTER OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 9.6-15
6 The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. 9 As it is written,
‘He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor;
his righteousness[a] endures for ever.’
10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.[b] 11 You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; 12 for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God. 13 Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others, 14 while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
Magnificat
The Song of Mary
Luke 1.46–55 Music: Russian Chant.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; *
for he has looked with favour 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.
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.
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.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever.
Amen.
The congregation may stand or sit for a Gospel reading. The reader may say,
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to . . .
People Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Then at the conclusion of the Gospel, the reader says,
The Gospel of Christ.
People Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
11 On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, 13 they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. 16 He prostrated himself at Jesus’[c] feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? 18 Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”
Luke 17.11-19
Sermon:
Keeping their Distance:
Love in the time of leprosy (Covid-19)
A sermon or other comment on the readings is appropriate at principal
services on Sundays and at other major gatherings of the Christian
community. A silence for reflection may follow.
Affirmation of Faith
The Nicene Creed
The celebrant may invite the people, in these or similar words, to join in the
recitation of the creed.
Celebrant Let us confess our faith, as we say,
All We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified
under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father.
With the Father and the Son
he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic
and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism
for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Intercessions and Thanksgivings
Intercession or thanksgiving may be offered for
the Church
the Queen and all in authority
the world
the local community
those in need
the departed.
The Collect of the Day:
Grant, O merciful God,
that your Church,
being gathered by your Holy Spirit into one,
may show forth your power among all peoples,
to the glory of your name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Closing Hymn: O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing
1 O for a thousand tongues to sing
my great Redeemer's praise,
the glories of my God and King,
the triumphs of his grace.
2 Jesus! the name that charms our fears
and bids our sorrows cease;
'tis music in the sinner's ears,
'tis life, and health, and peace.
3 He speaks; and, listening to his voice,
new life the dead receive;
the mournful, broken hearts rejoice,
the humble poor believe.
4 Hear him, ye deaf, ye voiceless ones,
your loosened tongues employ;
ye blind, behold your Saviour come,
and leap, ye lame, for joy!
5 My gracious Master and my God,
assist me to proclaim,
to spread through all the earth abroad
the honours of thy name.
Text: Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
Dismissal
Then may be said or sung,
Officiant Let us bless the Lord.
People Thanks be to God.
From Easter Day through the Day of Pentecost, Alleluia is added to the
dismissal and the people’s response
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.