The Presentation of Christ in the Temple (Candlemas)

“The Presentation” (c. 1454) by Andrea Mantegna. Public domain.

Opening response

Lord, open our lips.
Our mouth will declare your praise.

Your light springs up for the righteous
and all the peoples have seen your glory.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
king of the nations,
to you be praise and glory forever.
From the rising of the sun to its setting
your name is proclaimed in all the world.
As the Sun of Righteousness dawns in our hearts
anoint our lips with the seal of your Spirit
that we may witness to your gospel
and sing your praise in all the earth.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.

The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and forever.
Amen.

Hymn

Infinite God, To Thee We Raise

Charles Wesley

Infinite God, to Thee we raise
Our hearts in solemn songs of praise,
By all thy works on earth adored,
We worship thee, the common Lord;
The everlasting Father own,
And bow our souls before thy throne.

Thee all the choir of angels sings,
The Lord of hosts, the King of kings;
Cherubs proclaim thy praise aloud,
And seraphs shout the triune God;
And, holy, holy, holy, cry,
Thy glory fills both earth and sky!

Head of the martyrs’ noble host,
Of thee they justly make their boast;
The church, to earth’s remotest bounds,
Her heavenly Founder’s praise resounds;
And strives, with those around the throne,
To hymn the mystic three in one.

Father of endless majesty,
All might and love they render thee;
Thy true and only Son adore,
The same in dignity and power;
And God the Holy Ghost declare,
The saints’ eternal Comforter.

Confession of sin

The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor repaid us for our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his loving kindness towards those who fear him.

Silence is kept for reflection.

Holy God,
Holy and strong,
Holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.

As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Like a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
Praise the LORD, my soul!
All that is within me, praise his holy name!
Praise the LORD, my soul,
and don’t forget all his benefits.

Psalm 48

Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,
in the city of our God, in his holy mountain.
Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth,
is Mount Zion, on the north sides,
the city of the great King.
God has shown himself in her citadels as a refuge.
For, behold, the kings assembled themselves,
they passed by together.
They saw it, then they were amazed.
They were dismayed.
They hurried away.
Trembling took hold of them there,
pain, as of a woman in travail.
With the east wind, you break the ships of Tarshish.
As we have heard, so we have seen,
in the city of the LORD of Armies, in the city of our God.
God will establish it forever. Selah.

We have thought about your loving kindness, God,
in the middle of your temple.
As is your name, God,
so is your praise to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is full of righteousness.
Let Mount Zion be glad!
Let the daughters of Judah rejoice because of your judgements.
Walk about Zion, and go around her.
Number its towers.
Notice her bulwarks.
Consider her palaces,
that you may tell it to the next generation.
For this God is our God forever and ever.
He will be our guide even to death.

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

Father of lights,
raise us with Christ to your eternal city,
that, with kings and nations,
we may wait in the midst of your temple
and see your glory forever and ever.

Psalm 146

Refrain:
The LORD will reign forever.

Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, my soul.
While I live, I will praise the LORD.
I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist.
Don’t put your trust in princes,
in a son of man in whom there is no help.
His spirit departs, and he returns to the earth.
In that very day, his thoughts perish.
Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them;
who keeps truth forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.
The LORD frees the prisoners.
The LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD raises up those who are bowed down.
The LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD preserves the foreigners.
He upholds the fatherless and widow,
but he turns the way of the wicked upside down.
The LORD will reign forever;
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the LORD!

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:
The LORD will reign forever.

Psalm prayer

Lord of all,
our breath and being come from you,
yet our earthly end is dust;
as you loose the bound and feed the hungry,
so bring us in your mercy through the grave and gate of death
to the feast of eternal life,
where you reign forevermore.

Old Testament reading

Exodus 13:1-16

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Sanctify to me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb amongst the children of Israel, both of man and of animal. It is mine.”

Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, in which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. Today you go out in the month Abib. It shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD. Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and no leavened bread shall be seen with you. No yeast shall be seen with you, within all your borders. You shall tell your son in that day, saying, ‘It is because of that which the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ It shall be for a sign to you on your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, that the LORD’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt. You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.

“It shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanite, as he swore to you and to your fathers, and will give it to you, that you shall set apart to the LORD all that opens the womb, and every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have. The males shall be the LORD’s. Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and you shall redeem all the firstborn of man amongst your sons. It shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall tell him, ‘By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of livestock. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that opens the womb, being males; but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ It shall be for a sign on your hand, and for symbols between your eyes; for by strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Romans 12:1-5

For I say through the grace that was given me, to everyone who is amongst you, not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think; but to think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith. For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members don’t have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

Refrain:
The parents of Jesus marveled at what was said about him.
And Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people;
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
(as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old),
salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show mercy toward our fathers,
to remember his holy covenant,
the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
should serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the dawn from on high will visit us,
to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death;
to guide our feet into the way of peace.

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:
The parents of Jesus marveled at what was said about him.
And Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

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.

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers may be offered for:

the day and its tasks
the world and its needs
the church and her life

Prayers may include the following concerns:

The unity of the church
The peace of the world
The healing of the sick
The revelation of Christ to those from whom his glory is hidden
All who travel

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

Response

Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty and ever-living God,
clothed in majesty,
whose beloved Son was this day presented in the Temple,
in substance of our flesh:
grant that we may be presented to you
with pure and clean hearts,
by your Son Jesus Christ 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

Believing the promises of God, 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 Christ, who sends us to the nations, give us the power of his Spirit.
Amen.