Evening Prayer: Friday 29 December 2017

December 29, 2017

Thomas of Canterbury, Bishop and Martyr, 1170
Evening Prayer – Incarnation

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: Let your loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us,*
as we have put our trust in you. (Ps. 33.22)

Opening (from Psalm 33)

1 The eye of the Lord is upon those who fear him*
on those who wait upon his love.
2 To pluck their lives from death,*
and to feed them in time of famine.
3 Our soul waits for the Lord;*
he is our help and our shield.
4 Indeed, our heart rejoices in him,*
for in his holy name we put our trust.

Glory to the Father…

or a suitable hymn

Psalm 110
1 The Lord said to my lord, ‘Sit at my right hand,*
until I make your enemies your footstool.’
2 The Lord will send the sceptre of your power out of Zion,*
saying, ‘Rule over your enemies round about you.
3 Princely state has been yours from the day of your birth,*
in the beauty of holiness have I begotten you,
like dew from the womb of the morning.’
4 The Lord has sworn and he will not recant:*
‘You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.’
5 The Lord who is at your right hand
will smite kings in the day of his wrath;*
he will rule over the nations.
6 He will heap high the corpses;*
he will smash heads over the wide earth.
7 He will drink from the brook beside the road;*
therefore he will lift high his head.

Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords, born as a man, exalted now on high, priest of the new covenant, judge who will come at the end of time, glory to you for ever and ever.

Conclusion Philippians 2

1 Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus:*
the divine nature was his from the first:
2 Yet he did not grasp at equality with God;*
he emptied himself and became like a slave.
3 Taking the nature of man he was revealed in human form;*
he humbled himself and became obedient even to death,
death on a cross.
4 Therefore God has raised him on high,*
and has given him a name above every other name;
5 So that in the name of Jesus every knee shall bow,*
in heaven, on earth, and in the depths;
6 And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord;*
to the glory of God the Father.

Glory to the Father…

Antiphon: Let your loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us,
as we have put our trust in you.

READING(S)

John 2.1-11
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Response Ps.89.27

I will make him my first-born.
I will make him my first-born.
Higher than the kings of the earth.
My first-born.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
I will make him my first-born.

MAGNIFICAT

Magnificat Antiphon: To us is born this day a Saviour,* Christ the Lord. (Luke 2.11)

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: To us is born this day a Saviour,* Christ the Lord. (Luke 2.11)

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 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,
who wonderfully created
and yet more wonderfully restored
the dignity of our human nature:
grant that we may share in the divinity of Christ,
who humbled himself to share in our humanity;
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end.

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.