Evening Prayer: December 26th, 2021

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Thanks,
-Michael

Led by Fr. Michael Thorne Jarrett

Today’s Readings:
Psalm 71:1-18
2 Chronicles 24:17-22
Acts 7:51-8:8

Confession

The confession is said privately. The audio file begins after confession.

Most merciful God,

we confess that we have sinned against you

in thought, word, and deed,

by what we have done,

and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart;

we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.

For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,

have mercy on us and forgive us;

that we may delight in your will,

and walk in your ways,

to the glory of your Name. Amen.

A brief silence is kept

Grant your faithful people, merciful Lord, 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.

Invitatory

O = Officiant
A = All

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O	Lord, open our lips.
A	And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
O	O God, make speed to save us.
A	O Lord, make haste to help us.
	Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
O	Praise the Lord.
A	The Lord’s Name be praised.
Everyone shall join in the following:

O Gladsome Light
Phos Hilaron

O gladsome light of the holy glory
of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!

Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

You are worthy at all times to be praised by joyful voices,
O Son of God, Giver of Life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.

Psalter

The appointed Psalm is read together

Psalm 71:1–18

71   In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;
    let me never be put to shame!
2   In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
    incline your ear to me, and save me!
3   Be to me a rock of refuge,
    to which I may continually come;
  you have given the command to save me,
    for you are my rock and my fortress.

4   Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
    from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
5   For you, O Lord, are my hope,
    my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
6   Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;
    you are he who took me from my mother’s womb.
  My praise is continually of you.

7   I have been as a portent to many,
    but you are my strong refuge.
8   My mouth is filled with your praise,
    and with your glory all the day.
9   Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
    forsake me not when my strength is spent.
10   For my enemies speak concerning me;
    those who watch for my life consult together
11   and say, “God has forsaken him;
    pursue and seize him,
    for there is none to deliver him.”

12   O God, be not far from me;
    O my God, make haste to help me!
13   May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
    with scorn and disgrace may they be covered
    who seek my hurt.
14   But I will hope continually
    and will praise you yet more and more.
15   My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
    of your deeds of salvation all the day,
    for their number is past my knowledge.
16   With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come;
    I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

17   O God, from my youth you have taught me,
    and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18   So even to old age and gray hairs,
    O God, do not forsake me,
  until I proclaim your might to another generation,
    your power to all those to come.

After the Psalm, the Officiant begins

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The Lessons

A reading of the appointed lessons

2 Chronicles 24:17–22

17 Now after the death of Jehoiada the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them. 18 And they abandoned the house of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. 19 Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the LORD. These testified against them, but they would not pay attention.

20 Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God, ‘Why do you break the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, he has forsaken you.’” 21 But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the LORD. 22 Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, “May the LORD see and avenge!”

ESV

The Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God

A brief silence is kept after the reading.
Please pause the service if you would like more time.

Canticle

Magnificat
The Song of Mary
Luke 1:46-55

My soul magnifies the Lord,*
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;

For he has regarded*
the lowliness of his handmaiden.

For behold, from now on,*
all generations will call me blessed;

For he that is mighty has magnified me,*
and holy is his Name.

And his mercy is on those who fear him,*
throughout all generations.

He has shown the strength of his arm;*
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He has brought down the mighty from their thrones,*
and has exalted the humble and meek.

He has filled the hungry with good things,*
and the rich he has sent empty away.

He, remembering his mercy, has helped his servant Israel,*

as he promised to our fathers, Abraham and his seed for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.

Acts 7:51–8:8

51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”

54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

8 And Saul approved of his execution.

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.

ESV

The Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God

A brief silence is kept after the reading.

The Creed

I believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten 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,
was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and 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.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father,
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

I look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Prayers

O	The Lord be with you
A	And with your spirit.
O	Let us pray.

O	Lord, have mercy
A	Christ, have mercy
	Lord, have mercy

	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.

O	For the day that is past, that worry and every anxious fear may be put away from us, and that Christ would be glorified in all we have done, let us pray to the Lord.
A	Lord, have mercy.
O	That this evening may be holy, good, and peaceful; that the angels of the Lord our God would encamp around us; and that our weary souls may find their rest in Christ our Savior, let us pray to the Lord.
A	Lord, have mercy.
O	Create in us clean hearts, O God;
A	And renew a right spirit within us.
O	Grant us your peace;
A	For only in you can we live in safety.
O	We pray for those in sickness, grief, persecution, bondage, fear, or loneliness.
A	Lord, have mercy.
O	Let us offer our own prayers.
	(a brief pause to silently offer our own prayers)
	Suffrages from The Trinity Mission Daily Prayers for Individuals & Families

We give you thanks, O Lord of glory, for the example of the first martyr Stephen, who looked up to heaven and prayed for his persecutors to your Son Jesus Christ, who stands at your right hand; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men and women everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O	Let us bless the Lord.
A	Thanks be to God.

O	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. 2 Corinthians 13:14

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