Monday evening May 3
Preparation
Opening response
Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.
Lord, come quickly and help us.
In your resurrection, O Christ,
let heaven and earth rejoice.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign Lord,
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
to you be glory and praise forever.
From the deep waters of death
you brought your people to new birth
by raising your Son to life in triumph.
Through him dark death has been destroyed
and radiant life is everywhere restored.
As you call us out of darkness into his marvelous light
may our lives reflect his glory
and our lips repeat the endless song.
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
Baptized into thy name, mysterious one in three
Charles Wesley
Baptized into thy name,
Mysterious One in Three,
Our souls and bodies claim,
A sacrifice to thee;
And let us live our faith to prove,
The faith which works by humble love.
O that our light may shine,
And all our lives express
The character divine,
The real holiness;
And then receive us up, to adore
The triune God forevermore.
Confession of sin
When we cry out to the Lord in our distress,
he will save us from our desperate circumstances.
God will bring us out of darkness
and out of the shadow of death.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
May the Father forgive us
by the death of his Son
and strengthen us
to live in the power of the Spirit
all our days.
Amen.
Let us thank the Lord for his faithful love,
and his wondrous works for all people.
Let us offer thanksgiving sacrifices
and declare what God has done in songs of joy.
cf Psalm 107
The Word of God
Psalm 105
Refrain:
Remember the wondrous works the Lord has done.
Give thanks to the Lord;
call upon his name;
make his deeds known to all people!
Sing to God;
sing praises to the Lord;
dwell on all his wondrous works!
Give praise to God’s holy name!
Let the hearts rejoice of all those seeking the Lord!
Pursue the Lord and his strength;
seek his face always!
Remember the wondrous works he has done,
all his marvelous works, and the justice he declared—
you who are the offspring of Abraham, his servant,
and the children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
The Lord—he is our God.
His justice is everywhere throughout the whole world.
God remembers his covenant forever,
the word he commanded to a thousand generations,
which he made with Abraham,
the solemn pledge he swore to Isaac.
God set it up as binding law for Jacob,
as an eternal covenant for Israel,
promising, “I hereby give you the land of Canaan
as your allotted inheritance.”
When they were few in number—
insignificant, just immigrants—
wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to the next,
God didn’t let anyone oppress them.
God punished kings for their sake:
“Don’t touch my anointed ones;
don’t harm my prophets!”
When God called for a famine in the land,
destroying every source of food,
he sent a man ahead of them,
who was sold as a slave: it was Joseph.
Joseph’s feet hurt in his shackles;
his neck was in an iron collar,
until what he predicted actually happened,
until what the Lord had said proved him true.
The king sent for Joseph and set him free;
the ruler of many people released him.
The king made Joseph master of his house and ruler over everything he owned,
to make sure his princes acted according to his will,
and to teach wisdom to his advisors.
That’s how Israel came to Egypt,
how Jacob became an immigrant in the land of Ham.
God made his people very fruitful,
more powerful than their enemies,
whose hearts God changed so they hated his people
and dealt shrewdly with his servants.
God sent Moses his servant
and the one he chose, Aaron.
They put God’s signs on Egypt,
his marvelous works on the land of Ham.
God sent darkness, and it became dark,
but the Egyptians rejected his word.
God turned their waters into blood
and killed their fish.
God made their land swarm with frogs—
even in the bedrooms of their king!
God spoke, and the insects came—
gnats throughout their whole country!
God turned their rain into hail
along with lightning flashes throughout their land.
God destroyed their vines and their fig trees;
shattered the trees of their countryside.
God spoke, and the locusts came—
countless grasshoppers came!
They devoured all the plants in their land;
they devoured the fruit of their soil.
God struck down all the oldest sons throughout their land;
struck down their very pride and joy.
Then God brought Israel out, filled with silver and gold;
not one of its tribes stumbled.
Egypt celebrated when they left,
because the dread of Israel had come upon them.
God spread out clouds as a covering;
gave lightning to provide light at night.
The people asked, and God brought quail;
God filled them full with food from heaven.
God opened the rock and out gushed water—
flowing like a river through the desert!
Because God remembered his holy promise
to Abraham his servant,
God brought his people out with rejoicing,
his chosen ones with songs of joy.
God gave them the lands of other nations;
they inherited the wealth of many peoples—
all so that they would keep his laws
and observe his instructions.
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:
Remember the wondrous works the Lord has done.
Psalm prayer
God of our earthly pilgrimage,
feed your Easter people with the bread of heaven,
that we may hunger and thirst for righteousness
until we reach our promised land;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Numbers 9:15-23; 10:33-36
On the day the dwelling was erected, the cloud covered the dwelling, the covenant tent. At night until morning, the cloud appeared with lightning over the dwelling. It was always there. The cloud covered it by day, appearing with lightning at night. Whenever the cloud ascended from the tent, the Israelites would march. And the Israelites would camp wherever the cloud settled. At the Lord’s command, the Israelites would march, and at the Lord’s command they would camp. As long as the cloud settled on the dwelling, they would camp. When the cloud lingered on the meeting tent for many days, the Israelites would observe the Lord’s direction and they wouldn’t march. Sometimes the cloud would be over the dwelling for a number of days, so they would camp at the Lord’s command, marching again only at the Lord’s command. Sometimes the cloud would settle only overnight, and they would march when the cloud ascended in the morning. Whether it was day or night, they would march when the cloud ascended. Whether it was two days, or a month, or a long time, the Israelites would camp so long as the cloud lingered on the dwelling and settled on it. They wouldn’t march. But when it ascended, they would march. They camped at the Lord’s command and they marched at the Lord’s command. They followed the Lord’s direction according to the Lord’s command through Moses.
They marched from the Lord’s mountain for three days. The Lord’s chest containing the covenant marched ahead of them for three days to look for a resting place for them. Now the Lord’s cloud was over them by day when they marched from the camp. When the chest set out, Moses would say, “Arise, Lord, let your enemies scatter, and those who hate you flee.” When it rested, he would say, “Return, Lord of the ten thousand thousands of Israel.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Luke 4:38-44
After leaving the synagogue, Jesus went home with Simon. Simon’s mother-in-law was sick with a high fever, and the family asked Jesus to help her. He bent over her and spoke harshly to the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and served them.
When the sun was setting, everyone brought to Jesus relatives and acquaintances with all kinds of diseases. Placing his hands on each of them, he healed them. Demons also came out of many people. They screamed, “You are God’s Son.” But he spoke harshly to them and wouldn’t allow them to speak because they recognized that he was the Christ. When daybreak arrived, Jesus went to a deserted place. The crowds were looking for him. When they found him, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said to them, “I must preach the good news of God’s kingdom in other cities too, for this is why I was sent.” So he continued preaching in the Judean synagogues.
Silence may be kept.
Gospel canticle
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Refrain:
The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
With all my heart I glorify the Lord!
In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.
He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.
Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored
because the mighty one has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
He shows mercy to everyone,
from one generation to the next,
who honors him as God.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.
He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty-handed.
He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,
remembering his mercy,
just as he promised to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.
Luke 1:46-55
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 stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
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.
Prayers
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 people of God, that they may proclaim the risen Lord
God’s creation, that the peoples of the earth may meet their responsibility to care
Those in despair and darkness, that they may find the hope and light of Christ
Those in fear of death, that they may find faith through the resurrection
Prisoners and captives
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
In faith we pray
We pray to you, our God.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God,
who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ
have overcome death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life:
grant that, as by your grace going before us
you put into our minds good desires,
so by your continual help
we may bring them to good effect;
through Jesus Christ our risen 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 God’s new creation, 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 the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
Amen.