Evening Prayer - May 7, 2025

Today's Readings

Psalm 38:1-22

Daniel 5:1-12

1 John 5:1-12

Luke 4:38-44

Easter
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57

Confession of Sin
Most merciful God,
I confess that I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart; I have not loved my neighbors as myself. I am truly sorry and I humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on me and forgive me; that I may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen

The Invitatory and Psalter
Lord, open our lips. And our mouth shall proclaim your praise
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 Alleluia

From Easter to Pentecost, Christ the Passover can be used in place of the Venite or Jubilate.

Christ the Passover 1 Corinthians 5:7 to 8; Romans 6:9 to 11; 1 Corinthians 15:20 to 22
Alleluia.
Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us;
therefore let us keep the feast,
Not with old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Alleluia.

Christ being raised from the dead will never die again;
death no longer has dominion over him.
The death that he died, he died to sin, once for all;
but the life he lives, he lives to God.
So also consider yourselves dead to sin,
and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Alleluia.

the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since by a man came death,
by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die,
so in Christ shall all be made alive. Alleluia.

Venite

ⓘ 'Venite' is Latin for 'O Come,' the opening word of Psalm 95: Venite exultemus Domino ('O Come, let us sing to the LORD').

Psalm 95:1 to 7
Come, let us sing to the Lord;
   let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving
   and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God,
   and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth,
   and the heights of the hills are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
   and his hands have molded the dry land.

Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee,
   and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
    Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!

The Antiphon:

ⓘ A short, reflective sentence recited alongside a psalm to deepen our understanding of the readings.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Colossian 3:1

The Lessons

Psalm 38

⁽¹⁾ To bring to remembrance. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!⁽²⁾ For Your arrows pierce me deeply, And Your hand presses me down.⁽³⁾ There is no soundness in my flesh Because of Your anger, Nor any health in my bones Because of my sin.⁽⁴⁾ For my iniquities have gone over my head; Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

⁽⁵⁾ My wounds are foul and festering Because of my foolishness.⁽⁶⁾ I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.⁽⁷⁾ For my loins are full of inflammation, And there is no soundness in my flesh.⁽⁸⁾ I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.

⁽⁹⁾ Lord, all my desire is before You; And my sighing is not hidden from You.⁽¹⁰⁾ My heart pants, my strength fails me; As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.⁽¹¹⁾ My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague, And my relatives stand afar off.⁽¹²⁾ Those also who seek my life lay snares for me; Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction, And plan deception all the day long.

⁽¹³⁾ But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.⁽¹⁴⁾ Thus I am like a man who does not hear, And in whose mouth is no response.⁽¹⁵⁾ For in You, O LORD, I hope; You will hear, O Lord my God.⁽¹⁶⁾ For I said, 'Hear me, lest they rejoice over me, Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me.'

⁽¹⁷⁾ For I am ready to fall, And my sorrow is continually before me.⁽¹⁸⁾ For I will declare my iniquity; I will be in anguish over my sin.⁽¹⁹⁾ But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong; And those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied.⁽²⁰⁾ Those also who render evil for good, They are my adversaries, because I follow what is good.

⁽²¹⁾ Do not forsake me, O LORD; O my God, be not far from me!⁽²²⁾ Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!

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.

Daniel Chapter 5

⁽¹⁾ Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand.⁽²⁾ While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.⁽³⁾ Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.⁽⁴⁾ They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.

⁽⁵⁾ In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.⁽⁶⁾ Then the king's countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other.⁽⁷⁾ The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, 'Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.'⁽⁸⁾ Now all the king's wise men came, but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation.

⁽⁹⁾ Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished.⁽¹⁰⁾ The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, 'O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change.⁽¹¹⁾ There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your father -- your father the king -- made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers.⁽¹²⁾ Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

1 John Chapter 5

⁽¹⁾ Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.⁽²⁾ By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.⁽³⁾ For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.⁽⁴⁾ For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith.

⁽⁵⁾ Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?⁽⁶⁾ This is He who came by water and blood -- Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.⁽⁷⁾ For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.⁽⁸⁾ And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

⁽⁹⁾ If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son.⁽¹⁰⁾ He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.⁽¹¹⁾ And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.⁽¹²⁾ He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Luke Chapter 4

⁽³⁸⁾ Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house. But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.⁽³⁹⁾ So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.⁽⁴⁰⁾ When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.⁽⁴¹⁾ And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, 'You are the Christ, the Son of God!' And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.

⁽⁴²⁾ Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them;⁽⁴³⁾ but He said to them, 'I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.'⁽⁴⁴⁾ And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Glory to God
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.

Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

The Apostles' Creed
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.

The Prayers

The Lord's Prayer

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 and ever. Amen.

Suffrages

ⓘ A simple prayer to God for help, mercy, or intercession, rooted in the Latin word for support.

Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us by your Holy Spirit.

Seasonal Collect: Third Sunday of Easter
O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mission: Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen.

Personal Prayers and Reflection

This is a time to pause, consider and listen. Pray for yourself and others.

Closing Prayers

Thanksgiving
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory, and, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

Conclude with the following
Let Us Bless the Lord, Thanks be to God

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20,21