Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist

“Saint John the Evangelist” by Gerard Seghers (c. 1637). Public domain.

Opening response

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

Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth.
The heavens are the work of your hands.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, sovereign God,
creator of heaven and earth,
to you be praise and glory forever.
As your living Word, eternal in heaven,
assumed the frailty of our mortal flesh,
may the light of your love be born in us
to fill our hearts with joy as we sing:
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

Away with Our Fears

Charles Wesley

Away with our fears!
The Godhead appears
In Christ reconciled
The Father of mercies in Jesus the child.

He comes from above,
In manifest love,
Desire of our eyes,
The meek Lamb of God, in a manger he lies.

Immanuel’s birth
What triumph on earth!
Yet could it afford
No better a place for its heavenly Lord?

The Ancient of Days
Redeems a lost race:
His glory comes down
Self-humbled to carry us up to a crown.

Made flesh for our sake,
That we might partake
The nature divine,
Again in his image, his holiness shine.

A heavenly birth,
Experience on earth,
And rise on his throne,
And life with our Jesus eternally one.

Then let us believe,
And gladly receive
The tidings they bring
Who publish to sinners their Savior and king.

And while we are here,
Our King shall appear,
His Spirit impart,
And form his full image of love in our heart.

Confession of sin

Yahweh 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 toward 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 Yahweh has compassion on those who fear him.

Praise Yahweh, my soul!
All that is within me, praise his holy name!

Praise Yahweh, my soul,
and don’t forget all his benefits.

Psalm 21

The king rejoices in your strength, Yahweh!
    How greatly he rejoices in your salvation!
You have given him his heart’s desire,
    and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.
For you meet him with the blessings of goodness.
    You set a crown of fine gold on his head.
He asked life of you and you gave it to him,
    even length of days forever and ever.
His glory is great in your salvation.
    You lay honor and majesty on him.
For you make him most blessed forever.
    You make him glad with joy in your presence.
For the king trusts in Yahweh.
    Through the loving kindness of the Most High, he shall not be moved.
Your hand will find out all of your enemies.
    Your right hand will find out those who hate you.
You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of your anger.
    Yahweh will swallow them up in his wrath.
    The fire shall devour them.
You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
    their posterity from among the children of men.
For they intended evil against you.
    They plotted evil against you which cannot succeed.
For you will make them turn their back,
    when you aim drawn bows at their face.
Be exalted, Yahweh, in your strength,
    so we will sing and praise your power.

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

Crown us, O God, but with humility,
and robe us with compassion,
that, as you call us into the kingdom of your Son,
we may strive to overcome all evil
by the power of good
and so walk gently on the earth
with you, our God, forever.

Psalm 147:12-20

Refrain:
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.

Praise Yahweh, Jerusalem!
    Praise your God, Zion!
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates.
    He has blessed your children within you.
He makes peace in your borders.
    He fills you with the finest of the wheat.
He sends out his commandment to the earth.
    His word runs very swiftly.
He gives snow like wool,
    and scatters frost like ashes.
He hurls down his hail like pebbles.
    Who can stand before his cold?
He sends out his word, and melts them.
    He causes his wind to blow, and the waters flow.
He shows his word to Jacob,
    his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done this for just any nation.
    They don’t know his ordinances.
Praise Yah!

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 our Lord, and mighty in power.

Psalm prayer

Compassionate God,
as you know each star you have created,
so you know the secrets of every heart;
in your loving mercy bring to your table
all who are fearful and broken,
all who are wounded and needy,
that our hungers may be satisfied
in the city of your peace;
through Christ who is our peace.

Old Testament reading

Exodus 33:12-23

Moses said to Yahweh, “Behold, you tell me, ‘Bring up this people;’ and you haven’t let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me your way, now, that I may know you, so that I may find favor in your sight; and consider that this nation is your people.”

He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Moses said to him, “If your presence doesn’t go with me, don’t carry us up from here. For how would people know that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Isn’t it that you go with us, so that we are separated, I and your people, from all the people who are on the surface of the earth?”

Yahweh said to Moses, “I will do this thing also that you have spoken; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.”

Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”

He said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim Yahweh’s name before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” He said, “You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live.” Yahweh also said, “Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand on the rock. It will happen, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back; but my face shall not be seen.”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

1 John 2:1-11

My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments. One who says, “I know him,” and doesn’t keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth isn’t in him. But God’s love has most certainly been perfected in whoever keeps his word. This is how we know that we are in him: he who says he remains in him ought himself also to walk just like he walked.

Brothers, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. Again, I write a new commandment to you, which is true in him and in you; because the darkness is passing away and the true light already shines. He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness even until now. He who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

Refrain:
To us is born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, and all the heavenly hosts now sing,
Glory to God in the highest.

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:
To us is born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, and all the heavenly hosts now sing,
Glory to God in the highest.

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 church, especially in places of conflict
The Holy Land, for peace with justice, and reconciliation
Refugees and asylum seekers
Homeless people
Families with young children

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

Merciful Lord,
cast your bright beams of light upon the church:
that, being enlightened by the teaching
of your blessed apostle and evangelist Saint John,
we may so walk in the light of your truth
that we may at last attain to the light of everlasting life;
through Jesus Christ your incarnate 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

Rejoicing in the presence of God here among us, 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 God, who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light, bless us and fill us with peace.
Amen.