Evening Prayer: Friday 5 May 2017

May 5, 2017

Friday after Third Sunday of Easter
Evening Prayer – New Life: The Lord

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: With you is the well of life,* and in your light we see light. (Ps. 36.9)

Opening (from Psalm 36)

1 Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens,*
and your faithfulness to the clouds.
2 Your righteousness is like the strong mountains,
your justice like the great deep;*
you save both man and beast, O Lord.
3 How priceless is your love, O God!*
your people take refuge under the shadow of your wings.
4 They feast upon the abundance of your house;*
you give them drink from the river of your delights.

Glory to the Father…

or a suitable hymn

Psalm 98
1 Sing to the Lord a new song,*
for he has done marvellous things.
2 With his right hand and his holy arm*
has he won for himself the victory.
3 The Lord has made known his victory;*
his righteousness has he openly shown in
the sight of the nations.
4 He remembers his mercy and faithfulness to the house of Israel,*
and all the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
5 Shout with joy to the Lord, all you lands;*
lift up your voice, rejoice, and sing.
6 Sing to the Lord with the harp,*
with the harp and the voice of song.
7 With trumpets and the sound of the horn*
shout with joy before the King, the Lord.
8 Let the sea make a noise and all that is in it,*
the lands and those who dwell therein.
9 Let the rivers clap their hands,*
and let the hills ring out with joy before the Lord,
when he comes to judge the earth.
10 In righteousness shall he judge the world*
and the peoples with equity.

Conclusion (from Colossians 1)

1 Give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ;*
he has delivered us from the dominion of darkness.
2 He has transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,*
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.
3 He is the image of the invisible God,*
the first-born of all creation.
4 For in him all things were created,*
in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.
5 He is the head of the body, the church;*
he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead.
6 In him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell,*
to reconcile all things to himself,
making peace by the blood of his cross.

Glory to the Father…

Antiphon: With you is the well of life,* and in your light we see light. (Ps. 36.9)

READING(S)

Luke 5:12-26
Once, when he was in one of the cities, there was a man covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground and begged him, ‘Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.’ Then Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, ‘I do choose. Be made clean.’ Immediately the leprosy left him. And he ordered him to tell no one. ‘Go’, he said, ‘and show yourself to the priest, and, as Moses commanded, make an offering for your cleansing, for a testimony to them.’ But now more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray.

One day, while he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting nearby (they had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem); and the power of the Lord was with him to heal. Just then some men came, carrying a paralysed man on a bed. They were trying to bring him in and lay him before Jesus; but finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus. When he saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven you.’ Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, ‘Who is this who is speaking blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ When Jesus perceived their questionings, he answered them, ‘Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, “Your sins are forgiven you”, or to say, “Stand up and walk”? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he said to the one who was paralysed—‘I say to you, stand up and take your bed and go to your home.’ Immediately he stood up before them, took what he had been lying on, and went to his home, glorifying God. Amazement seized all of them, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, ‘We have seen strange things today.’

Response (Ps. 30.1)

I will exalt you, O Lord, for you have lifted me up; alleluia, alleluia.
I will exalt you, O Lord, for you have lifted me up; alleluia, alleluia.
You have not let my enemies triumph over me.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
I will exalt you, O Lord, for you have lifted me up; alleluia, alleluia.

MAGNIFICAT

Magnificat Antiphon: I am the good shepherd,* says the Lord; alleluia!

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 Antiphon: I am the good shepherd,* says the Lord; alleluia!

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

O God, your Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread. Open the eyes of our faith, that we may see him in his redeeming work, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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.