Evening Prayer: Thursday 27 November 2014

November 27, 2014

Thursday after the Last Sunday after Pentecost
Evening Prayer: Week A

O God, make speed to save us;
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 shall be for ever.
Amen.

PSALMODY

Antiphon: O Lord my God, how excellent is your greatness!*
you are clothed with majesty and splendour. (Ps. 104.1)

Opening (from Psalm 104)

1 You appointed the moon to mark the seasons,*
and the sun knows the time of its setting.
2 You make darkness that it may be night,*
in which all the beasts of the forest prowl.
3 May the glory of the Lord endure for ever;*
may the Lord rejoice in all his works.
4 May these words of mine please him;*
I will rejoice in the Lord.

Glory to the Father…

or a suitable hymn

Psalm 105 Part II

23 Israel came into Egypt,*
and Jacob became a sojourner in the land of Ham.
24 The Lord made his people exceedingly fruitful;*
he made them stronger than their enemies;
25 Whose heart he turned, so that they hated his people,*
and dealt unjustly with his servants.
26 He sent Moses his servant,*
and Aaron whom he had chosen.
27 They worked his signs among them,*
and portents in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and it grew dark;*
but the Egyptians rebelled against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood*
and caused their fish to die.
30 Their land was overrun by frogs,*
in the very chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of insects*
and gnats within all their borders.
32 He gave them hailstones instead of rain,*
and flames of fire throughout their land.
33 He blasted their vines and their fig trees*
and shattered every tree in their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came,*
and young locusts without number,
35 Which ate up all the green plants in their land*
and devoured the fruit of their soil.
36 He struck down the firstborn of their land,*
the firstfruits of all their strength.
37 He led out his people with silver and gold;*
in all their tribes there was not one that stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad of their going,*
because they were afraid of them.
39 He spread out a cloud for a covering*
and a fire to give light in the night season.
40 They asked, and quails appeared,*
and he satisfied them with bread from heaven.
41 He opened the rock, and water flowed,*
so the river ran in the dry places.
42 For God remembered his holy word*
and Abraham his servant.
43 So he led forth his people with gladness,*
his chosen with shouts of joy.
44 He gave his people the lands of the nations,*
and they took the fruit of others’ toil,
45 That they might keep his statutes*
and observe his laws.
Hallelujah!

God of our salvation, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you have fulfilled your promise to our ancestors in the faith to redeem the world from slavery and to lead us into the promised land. Grant us living water from the rock and bread from heaven, that we may survive our desert pilgrimage and praise you for ever, through Jesus Christ our Redeemer.

Conclusion (from 1 John 4)

1 Beloved let us love one another,*
for love is of God;
2 And those who love are born of God*
and know God.
3 Those who do not love do not know God,*
for God is love.
4 In this the love of God was made manifest among us,*
that God sent his only Son into the world
so that we might live through him.
5 In this is love: not that we loved God,*
but that God loved us and sent his Son
to be the expiation for our sins.
6 Beloved, if God so loved us,*
we also ought to love one another.

Glory to the Father…

Antiphon: O Lord my God, how excellent is your greatness!
you are clothed with majesty and splendour.

READING(S)

Luke 19:11-27

As they were listening to this, he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. So he said, ‘A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return. He summoned ten of his slaves, and gave them ten pounds, and said to them, “Do business with these until I come back.” But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, “We do not want this man to rule over us.” When he returned, having received royal power, he ordered these slaves, to whom he had given the money, to be summoned so that he might find out what they had gained by trading. The first came forward and said, “Lord, your pound has made ten more pounds.” He said to him, “Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.” Then the second came, saying, “Lord, your pound has made five pounds.” He said to him, “And you, rule over five cities.” Then the other came, saying, “Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.” He said to him, “I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.” He said to the bystanders, “Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.” (And they said to him, “Lord, he has ten pounds!”) “I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.”

Silence
Response (Ps. 119.105)

Your word is a lantern to my feet.
Your word is a lantern to my feet.
A light upon my path.
A lantern to my feet.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Your word is a lantern to my feet.

MAGNIFICAT

Magnificat Antiphons: Show, O Lord, the strength of your arm;* scatter the proud and exalt the lowly.

1 My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,*
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour;
2 for he has looked with favour on his lowly servant;*
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
3 The Almighty has done great things for me*
and holy is his name.
4 He has mercy on those who fear him*
in every generation.
5 He has shown the strength of his arm;*
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
6 He has cast down the mighty from their thrones*
and has lifted up the lowly.
7 He has filled the hungry with good things,*
and the rich he has sent away empty.
8 He has come to the help of his servant Israel,*
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
9 the promise he made to our forebears,*
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father… (may be said by all)

Magnificat Antiphons: Show, O Lord, the strength of your arm;* scatter the proud and exalt the lowly.

PRAYERS

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Do not bring us to to the time of trial,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever.
Amen.

Collect of the Day

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, our Lord and King: grant that the peoples of the earth, now divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his gentle and loving rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

(A suitable hymn)

Lord God almighty, come and dispel the darkness from our hearts, that in the radiance of your brightness we may know you, the only unfading light, glorious in all eternity.
Amen.

Let us bless the Lord:
Thanks be to God!

The God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing:
through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.