Holy Innocents’ Day

“Christ Blessing the Little Children” by Adam van Noort (c. 1600). Public domain.

Opening response

Hurry, God, to deliver us.
Lᴏʀᴅ, come quickly to help us.

Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth.
The heavens are the work of your hands.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
our light and our salvation,
to you be glory and praise forever.
To dispel the darkness of our night
you sent forth your Son, the firstborn of all creation,
to be the Christ, the light of the world.
Rejoicing in the mystery of the Word made flesh,
we acclaim him Emmanuel, as all creation sings to you:
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.

That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,
so may your mercy come down upon us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free to sing your praise
now and forever.
Amen.

Hymn

Sing, ye ransomed nations, sing

Charles Wesley

Sing, ye ransomed nations, sing
Praises to our newborn King;
Son of Man our maker is,
Lord of Hosts and Prince of Peace.

Lo! He lays His glory by,
Emptied of his majesty!
See the God who all things made,
Humbly in a manger laid.

Let us then with angels gaze
On our newborn monarch’s face,
With the choir celestial joined,
Shout the Savior of mankind.

Son of Man, will he despise
Man’s well-meaning sacrifice?
No; with condescending grace
He accepts his creature’s praise.

Will his majesty disdain
The poor shepherd’s simple strain?
No; for Israel’s shepherd he
Loves their artless melody.

He will not refuse the song
Of the stammering infant’s tongue;
Babes he hears humanely mild,
Once himself a little child.

Let us then our Prince proclaim,
Humbly chant Immanuel’s name;
Publish at his wondrous birth
Praise in heaven and peace on earth.

Triumph in our Savior’s love,
Till he takes us up above,
All his majesty displays,
Shows us all his glorious face.

Confession of sin

Seek the Lᴏʀᴅ while he may be found.
Call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways,
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them return to the Lᴏʀᴅ, and he will have mercy on them,
to our God, for he will freely pardon.

cf Isaiah 55

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

Lord God,
we have sinned against you;
we have committed evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your loving kindness.
Wash us thoroughly from our iniquity; cleanse us from our sin.
Renew a right spirit within us,
and restore to us the joy of your salvation
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

cf Psalm 51

May the Father of all mercies
cleanse us from our sins,
and restore us in his image
to the praise and glory of his name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Bless the Lᴏʀᴅ,
because he has listened to our request for mercy.
Therefore our hearts will rejoice
and we will thank him with our song.

cf Psalm 28:7,9

Psalm 123

I lift up my eyes to you,
you who sit in the heavens.
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lᴏʀᴅ, our God,
until he has mercy on us.
Have mercy on us, Lᴏʀᴅ, have mercy on us,
for we have endured much contempt.
Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scoffing of those who are at ease,
with the contempt of the proud.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Psalm prayer

Sovereign God, enthroned in the heavens,
look upon us with your eyes of mercy,
as we look on you with humility and love,
and fill our souls with your peace
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 128

Refrain:
How abundant is your goodness, O Lᴏʀᴅ.

Blessed is everyone who fears the Lᴏʀᴅ,
who walks in his ways.
For you will eat the labour of your hands.
You will be happy, and it will be well with you.
Your wife will be as a fruitful vine in the innermost parts of your house,
your children like olive shoots around your table.
Behold, this is how the man who fears the Lᴏʀᴅ is blessed.
May the Lᴏʀᴅ bless you out of Zion,
and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
Yes, may you see your children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
How great is your goodness, O Lᴏʀᴅ.

Psalm prayer

O Christ, our true vine,
may we your branches
be ever fruitful in your service
and share your love and peace with all your children,
in the power of the Spirit and to the glory of the Father.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 49:14-25

But Zion said, “The Lᴏʀᴅ has forsaken me,
and the Lord has forgotten me.”
“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Yes, these may forget,
yet I will not forget you!
Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.
Your walls are continually before me.
Your children hurry.
Your destroyers and those who devastated you will leave you.
Lift up your eyes all around, and see:
all these gather themselves together, and come to you.
As I live,” says the Lᴏʀᴅ, “you shall surely clothe yourself with them all as with an ornament,
and dress yourself with them, like a bride.
“For, as for your waste and your desolate places,
and your land that has been destroyed,
surely now that land will be too small for the inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
The children of your bereavement will say in your ears,
‘This place is too small for me.
Give me a place to live in.’
Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has conceived these for me, since I have been bereaved of my children
and am alone, an exile, and wandering back and forth?
Who has brought these up?
Behold, I was left alone. Where were these?’”

The Lord Gᴏᴅ says, “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
and lift up my banner to the peoples.
They shall bring your sons in their bosom,
and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
Kings shall be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.
They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth,
and lick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lᴏʀᴅ;
and those who wait for me won’t be disappointed.”

Shall the plunder be taken from the mighty,
or the lawful captives be delivered?
But the Lᴏʀᴅ says, “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away,
and the plunder retrieved from the fierce,
for I will contend with him who contends with you
and I will save your children.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Mark 10:13-16

They were bringing to him little children, that he should touch them, but the disciples rebuked those who were bringing them. But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with indignation and said to them, “Allow the little children to come to me! Don’t forbid them, for God’s Kingdom belongs to such as these. Most certainly I tell you, whoever will not receive God’s Kingdom like a little child, he will in no way enter into it.” He took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

Refrain:
When peaceful silence lay over all, and night was in the midst of her swift course: from your royal throne, O God, down from the heavens, leapt your almighty Word.

My soul magnifies the Lord.
My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
for he has looked at the humble state of his servant.
For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
For he who is mighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
His mercy is for generations and generations on those who fear him.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down princes from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things.
He has sent the rich away empty.
He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and his offspring forever.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
When peaceful silence lay over all, and night was in the midst of her swift course: from your royal throne, O God, down from the heavens, leapt your almighty Word.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Thanksgiving and intercession

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs

Prayers may include the following concerns:

The church, especially in places of conflict
The Holy Land, for peace with justice, and reconciliation
Refugees and asylum seekers
Homeless people
Families with young children

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Father, hear our prayer,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Heavenly Father,
whose children suffered at the hands of Herod,
though they had done no wrong:
by the suffering of your Son
and by the innocence of our lives
frustrate all evil designs
and establish your reign of justice and peace;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Rejoicing in the presence of God here among us, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

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.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.

Conclusion

May God, who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light, bless us and fill us with peace.
Amen.