Mon. evening Feb. 2
The Presentation of Christ in the Temple (Candlemas)
“The Presentation in the Temple” (c. 1460-1475) by Master of the Life of the Virgin. Public domain.
Opening response
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
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
The Sands of Time Are Sinking
Words: Anne R. Cousin (1857)
Music: Chrétien Urhan (1734)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#622)
The sands of time are sinking;
the dawn of heaven breaks;
the summer morn I've sighed for,
the fair sweet morn awakes;
dark, dark has been the midnight,
but dayspring is at hand,
and glory, glory dwelleth
in Emmanuel's land.
O Christ, He is the fountain,
the deep, sweet well of love!
The streams on earth I've tasted;
more deep I'll drink above:
there to an ocean fullness
His mercy doth expand,
and glory, glory dwelleth
in Emmanuel's land.
The bride eyes not her garment,
but her dear bridegroom's face;
I will not gaze at glory,
but on my King of grace;
not at the crown He giveth,
but on His pierced hands;
the Lamb is all the glory
of Emmanuel's land.
Confession of Sin
Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Almighty God, patient and of great goodness: I confess to you, I confess with my whole heart my neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments, my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking; the hurts I have done to others, and the good I have left undone. O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you; and raise me to newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
May the God of love and power forgive us and free us from our sins, heal and strengthen us by his Spirit, and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Psalm 122
𝙍: How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of Hosts!
I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go into the house of the LORD.”
Our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem!
Jerusalem is built as a city
that is firmly joined together,
to which the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
For there were set thrones for judgment,
the thrones of the house of David.
𝙍: How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of Hosts!
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls|
and prosperity within your palaces.”
For the sake of my brothers and companions,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your good.
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.
𝙍: How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of Hosts!
Psalm prayer
God of our pilgrimage, bring us with joy to the eternal city founded on the rock, and give to our earthly cities the peace that comes from above; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 132
𝙍: The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.
O LORD, remember David
and all his afflictions;
how he swore to the LORD,
and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
“Surely I will not enter my house,
nor go up to my bed;
I will not give sleep to my eyes,
or slumber to my eyelids,
until I find a place for the LORD,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
𝙍: The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.
Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found it in the fields of Jaar.
“Let us go into His dwelling place;
let us worship at His footstool.”
Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place,
You and the ark of Your strength.
Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness,
and let Your saints shout for joy.
For the sake of Your servant David,
turn not away the face of Your anointed.
𝙍: The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.
The LORD has sworn in truth to David
from which He will not turn back:
“A son of the fruit of your body
will I set upon your throne.
If your sons will keep My covenant
and My testimony which I shall teach them,
their sons also, forevermore,
shall sit upon your throne.”
𝙍: The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.
For the LORD has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His dwelling place:
“This is My resting place forever;
here will I dwell, for I have chosen it.
I will abundantly bless her provisions;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
Also her priests will I clothe with salvation,
and her saints will shout for joy.
“There will I make the horn of David sprout up;
I have prepared a lamp for My anointed.
His enemies will I clothe with shame,
but upon himself shall his crown flourish.”
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.
𝙍: The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.
Psalm prayer
Jesus, Son of David, make us a priestly people; clothe us in righteousness, make us fruitful, and give us hearts to shout for joy in your salvation; we pray in the power of the Spirit.
Old Testament reading
Haggai 2:1-9
In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying: Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, saying: Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not, in your eyes, as nothing in comparison? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, says the LORD, and be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong all you people of the land, says the LORD. Work, for I am with you, says the LORD of Hosts. According to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.
For thus says the LORD of Hosts: Once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and earth, the sea and dry land. And I will shake all the nations, and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of Hosts. The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, says the LORD of Hosts. The glory of this latter house will be greater than the former, says the LORD of Hosts. And in this place I will give peace, says the LORD of Hosts.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
John 2:18-22
Then the Jews said to Him, “What sign do You show us, seeing that You do these things?”
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking concerning the temple of His body. Therefore, when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them. And they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.
Silence may be kept.
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Luke 1:46-55
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded
the low estate 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,
and holy is His name.
His mercy is on those who fear Him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has pulled down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
in remembrance of His mercy,
as He spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his descendants 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.
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.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He 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,
and is seated at the
right hand of the Father.
He 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
God of grace,
hear our prayer.
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, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.
Conclusion
May Christ, who sends us to the nations, give us the power of his Spirit.
Amen.