Opening response

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night:
to you be praise and glory forever.
As darkness falls you renew your promise
to reveal among us the light of your presence.
By the light of Christ, your living Word,
dispel the darkness of our hearts
that we may walk as children of light
and sing your praise throughout the world.
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

Abba, Father, Hear Thy Child

Charles Wesley

Abba, Father, hear thy child,
Late in Jesus reconciled;
Hear, and all the graces shower,
All the joy, and peace, and power;
All my Savior asks above,
All the life and heaven of love.

Lord, I will not let thee go
Till the blessing thou bestow:
Hear my Advocate divine;
Lo! To his my suit I join;
Joined to his, it cannot fail;
Bless me; for I will prevail.

Heavenly Father, Life divine,
Change my nature into thine;
Move, and spread throughout my soul,
Actuate, and fill the whole:
Be it I no longer now
Living in the flesh, but thou.

Holy Ghost, no more delay;
Come, and in thy temple stay:
Now thine inward witness bear,
Strong, and permanent, and clear:
Spring of life, thyself impart;
Rise eternal in my heart.

Confession of sin

Come, Holy Spirit of God,
and search our hearts with the light of Christ.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
The first commandment is this:
‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind
and with all your strength.’

The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
No other commandment is greater than these.
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

Amen. Lord, have mercy.

After a period of reflection

Come, let us return to the Lord and say:

Lord our God,
in our sin, we have avoided your call.
Our love for you is like a morning mist,
like the early dew that vanishes.
Have mercy on us;
deliver us from judgment;
bind up our wounds and revive us;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

cf Hosea 6

May almighty God,
who sent his Son into the world to save sinners,
bring us his pardon and peace, now and forever.
Amen.

Psalm 107

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His loving devotion endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy
and gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.

Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no path to a city in which to dwell.
They were hungry and thirsty;
their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and He delivered them from their distress.
He led them on a straight path
to reach a city where they could live.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion
and His wonders to the sons of men.
For He satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.

Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and chains,
because they rebelled against the words of God
and despised the counsel of the Most High.
He humbled their hearts with hard labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and He saved them from their distress.
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death
and broke away their chains.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion
and His wonders to the sons of men.
For He has broken down the gates of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron.

Fools, in their rebellious ways,
and through their iniquities, suffered affliction.
They loathed all food
and drew near to the gates of death.
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and He saved them from their distress.
He sent forth His word and healed them;
He rescued them from the Pit.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion
and His wonders to the sons of men.
Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
and declare His works with rejoicing.

Others went out to sea in ships,
conducting trade on the mighty waters.
They saw the works of the LORD,
and His wonders in the deep.
For He spoke and raised a tempest
that lifted the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to the heavens, then sunk to the depths;
their courage melted in their anguish.
They reeled and staggered like drunkards,
and all their skill was useless.

Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and He brought them out of their distress.
He calmed the storm to a whisper,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
They rejoiced in the silence,
and He guided them to the harbor they desired.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion
and His wonders to the sons of men.
Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people
and praise Him in the council of the elders.

He turns rivers into deserts,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
and fruitful land into fields of salt,
because of the wickedness of its dwellers.
He turns a desert into pools of water
and a dry land into flowing springs.
He causes the hungry to settle there,
that they may establish a city in which to dwell.
They sow fields and plant vineyards
that yield a fruitful harvest.
He blesses them, and they multiply greatly;
He does not let their herds diminish.

When they are decreased and humbled
by oppression, evil, and sorrow,
He pours out contempt on the nobles
and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.
But He lifts the needy from affliction
and increases their families like flocks.
The upright see and rejoice,
and all iniquity shuts its mouth.

Let him who is wise pay heed to these things
and consider the loving devotion of 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:
Help me, Lord my God! Save me according to your faithful love!

Psalm prayer

Living Christ,
rescue us from foolish passion
and still the storms of our self-will;
and, as you are our anchor in this life,
so bring us to the haven you have prepared for us;
for your mercy’s sake.

Old Testament reading

Micah 7:8-20

Do not gloat over me, my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will arise;
though I sit in darkness,
the LORD will be my light.
Because I have sinned against Him,
I must endure the rage of the LORD,
until He argues my case
and executes justice for me.
He will bring me into the light;
I will see His righteousness.
Then my enemy will see
and will be covered with shame—
she who said to me,
“Where is the LORD your God?”
My eyes will see her;
at that time she will be trampled
like mud in the streets.

The day for rebuilding your walls will come—
the day for extending your boundary.
On that day they will come to you
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
even from Egypt to the Euphrates,
from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.
Then the earth will become desolate
because of its inhabitants,
as the fruit of their deeds.

Shepherd with Your staff Your people,
the flock of Your inheritance.
They live alone in a woodland,
surrounded by pastures.
Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead,
as in the days of old.

As in the days when you came out of Egypt,
I will show My wonders.
Nations will see and be ashamed,
deprived of all their might.
They will put their hands over their mouths,
and their ears will become deaf.
They will lick the dust like a snake,
like reptiles slithering on the ground.
They will crawl from their holes
in the presence of the LORD our God;
they will tremble in fear of You.

Who is a God like You,
who pardons iniquity
and passes over the transgression
of the remnant of His inheritance—
who does not retain His anger forever,
because He delights in loving devotion?
He will again have compassion on us;
He will vanquish our iniquities.
You will cast out all our sins
into the depths of the sea.
You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and loving devotion to Abraham,
as You swore to our fathers
from the days of old.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Mark 7:1-13

Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, and they saw some of His disciples eating with hands that were defiled—that is, unwashed.

Now in holding to the tradition of the elders, the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat until they wash their hands ceremonially. And on returning from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions for them to observe, including the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and couches for dining.

So the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus: “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders? Instead, they eat with defiled hands.”

Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘These people honor Me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from Me.
They worship Me in vain;
they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’

You have disregarded the commandment of God to keep the tradition of men.”

He went on to say, “You neatly set aside the command of God to maintain your own tradition. For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God), he is no longer permitted to do anything for his father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.”

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

𝙍: My spirit rejoices in you, O God; my soul proclaims your greatness.

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One has done great things for me.
Holy is His name.
His mercy extends to those who fear Him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who are proud
in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
but has exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful,
as He promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and 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.

𝙍: My spirit rejoices in you, O God; my soul proclaims your greatness.

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:

All who are sick in body, mind or spirit
Those in the midst of famine or disaster
Victims of abuse and violence, intolerance and prejudice
Those who are bereaved
All who work in the medical and healing professions

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

Response

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty and everlasting God,
you are always more ready to hear than we to pray
and to give more than either we desire or deserve:
pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid
and giving us those good things
which we are not worthy to ask
but through the merits and mediation
of 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

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

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore.
Amen.