“The Last Supper” (18th century). Artist unkown. Monastery of Saints Sergius and Bacchus in Maaloula - Syria. Public domain.

Opening response

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

From the rising of the sun to its setting
your glory is proclaimed in all the world.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
our light and our salvation,
to you be glory and praise forever.
You gave your Christ as a light to the nations,
and through the anointing of the Spirit
you established us as a royal priesthood.
As you call us into your marvelous light,
may our lives bear witness to your truth
and our lips never cease to proclaim your praise.
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

Come Let Us Arise

Charles Wesley

Come let us arise,
And aim at the prize,
The hope of our calling on this side the skies.

By works let us show
That Jesus we know,
While steadily on to perfection we go.

But may we not strive,
Yet never arrive
To be saints, or to live without sin, while alive?

No, no, never fear,
If we look for him here,
But our uttermost Savior in us shall appear.

We dare not believe,
That God can deceive,
And never intend what he promised to give.

He hath said, from all sin
Ye here shall be clean,
All-holy, all-pure, and all-glorious within.

We rest on his word,
We shall here be restored
To his image; the servant shall be as his Lord.

Our faith is not vain,
We are sure to regain
The nature divine of the heavenly man.

Then let us not stop,
But continue in hope
Rejoicing, ’till all in his image wake up;

His purity share,
His character bear,
And the truth of his hallowing promise declare.

Thus, thus let us stay,
And wait for the day
When the angels are sent to conduct us away.

When with joy we remove
To our brethren above,
And fly up to heaven in a chariot of love.

Confession of sin

Let us confess our sins to God.

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

My God, for love of you
I desire to hate and forsake all sins
by which I have ever displeased you;
and I resolve by the help of your grace
to commit them no more;
and to avoid all opportunities of sin.
Help me to do this,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Lord enrich us with his grace,
and nourish us with his blessing;
the Lord defend us in trouble and keep us from all evil;
the Lord accept our prayers,
and absolve us from our offenses,
for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen.

Psalm 145

Refrain:
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised!

I will exalt you, my God, the King.
I will praise your name forever and ever.
Every day I will praise you.
I will extol your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised!
His greatness is unsearchable.
One generation will commend your works to another,
and will declare your mighty acts.
I will meditate on the glorious majesty of your honour,
on your wondrous works.
Men will speak of the might of your awesome acts.
I will declare your greatness.
They will utter the memory of your great goodness,
and will sing of your righteousness.
The LORD is gracious, merciful,
slow to anger, and of great loving kindness.
The LORD is good to all.
His tender mercies are over all his works.
All your works will give thanks to you, LORD.
Your saints will extol you.
They will speak of the glory of your kingdom,
and talk about your power,
to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts,
the glory of the majesty of his kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The LORD is faithful in all his words,
and loving in all his deeds.
The LORD upholds all who fall,
and raises up all those who are bowed down.
The eyes of all wait for you.
You give them their food in due season.
You open your hand,
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all his ways,
and gracious in all his works.
The LORD is near to all those who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him.
He also will hear their cry, and will save them.
The LORD preserves all those who love him,
but he will destroy all the wicked.
My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD.
Let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

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:
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised!

Psalm prayer

King of the universe,
you show the bright glory of your reign
in acts of mercy and enduring love;
raise the spirits of the downcast
and restore those who have fallen away,
that we may sing forever of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Genesis 13:2-18

Abram went up out of Egypt—he, his wife, all that he had, and Lot with him—into the South. Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. He went on his journeys from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first. There Abram called on the LORD’s name. Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks, herds, and tents. The land was not able to bear them, that they might live together; for their possessions were so great that they couldn’t live together. There was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites lived in the land at that time. Abram said to Lot, “Please, let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen; for we are relatives. Isn’t the whole land before you? Please separate yourself from me. If you go to the left hand, then I will go to the right. Or if you go to the right hand, then I will go to the left.”

Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw all the plain of the Jordan, that it was well-watered everywhere, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as you go to Zoar. So Lot chose the Plain of the Jordan for himself. Lot travelled east, and they separated themselves from one other. Abram lived in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived in the cities of the plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against the LORD.

The LORD said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, “Now, lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for I will give all the land which you see to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then your offspring may also be counted. Arise, walk through the land in its length and in its width; for I will give it to you.”

Abram moved his tent, and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the LORD.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Matthew 26:17-35

Now on the first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus, saying to him, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?”

He said, “Go into the city to a certain person, and tell him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.” ’ ”

The disciples did as Jesus commanded them, and they prepared the Passover.

Now when evening had come, he was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. As they were eating, he said, “Most certainly I tell you that one of you will betray me.”

They were exceedingly sorrowful, and each began to ask him, “It isn’t me, is it, Lord?”

He answered, “He who dipped his hand with me in the dish will betray me. The Son of Man goes even as it is written of him, but woe to that man through whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for that man if he had not been born.”

Judas, who betrayed him, answered, “It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?”

He said to him, “You said it.”

As they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks for it, and broke it. He gave to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, “All of you drink it, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins. But I tell you that I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”

When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of me tonight, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee.”

But Peter answered him, “Even if all will be made to stumble because of you, I will never be made to stumble.”

Jesus said to him, “Most certainly I tell you that tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”

Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.” All of the disciples also said likewise.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

Refrain:
Behold, my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
the anointed one on whom my Spirit rests.

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:
Behold, my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
the anointed one on whom my Spirit rests.

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 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

Father, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God,
whose Son revealed in signs and miracles
the wonder of your saving presence:
renew your people with your heavenly grace,
and in all our weakness
sustain us by your mighty power;
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

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.