Evening Prayer

Easter
You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8

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
The Antiphon:

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

Alleluia. Christ the Lord has ascended into heaven: Come let us adore him. Alleluia.

The Lessons

Psalm 85

⁽¹⁾ Lord, You have been favorable to Your land; You have brought back the captivity of Jacob. ⁽²⁾ You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have covered all their sin. Selah ⁽³⁾ You have taken away all Your wrath; You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger. ⁽⁴⁾ Restore us, O God of our salvation, And cause Your anger toward us to cease.

⁽⁵⁾ Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger to all generations? ⁽⁶⁾ Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You? ⁽⁷⁾ Show us Your mercy, LORD, And grant us Your salvation. ⁽⁸⁾ I will hear what God the LORD will speak, For He will speak peace To His people and to His saints; But let them not turn back to folly.

⁽⁹⁾ Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed. ⁽¹¹⁾ Truth shall spring out of the earth, And righteousness shall look down from heaven. ⁽¹²⁾ Yes, the LORD will give what is good; And our land will yield its increase.

⁽¹³⁾ Righteousness will go before Him, And shall make His footsteps our pathway.

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 86

⁽¹⁾ Bow down Your ear, O LORD, hear me; For I am poor and needy. ⁽²⁾ Preserve my life, for I am holy; You are my God; Save Your servant who trusts in You! ⁽³⁾ Be merciful to me, O Lord, For I cry to You all day long. ⁽⁴⁾ Rejoice the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

⁽⁵⁾ For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You. ⁽⁶⁾ Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; And attend to the voice of my supplications. ⁽⁷⁾ In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, For You will answer me. ⁽⁸⁾ Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord; Nor are there any works like Your works.

⁽⁹⁾ All nations whom You have made Shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And shall glorify Your name. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For You are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God. ⁽¹¹⁾ Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. ⁽¹²⁾ I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify Your name forevermore.

⁽¹³⁾ For great is Your mercy toward me, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. ⁽¹⁴⁾ O God, the proud have risen against me, And a mob of violent men have sought my life, And have not set You before them. ⁽¹⁵⁾ But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth. ⁽¹⁶⁾ Oh, turn to me, and have mercy on me! Give Your strength to Your servant, And save the son of Your maidservant.

⁽¹⁷⁾ Show me a sign for good, That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, Because You, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

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.

Ezekiel Chapter 1

⁽²⁸⁾ Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking. ⁽¹⁾ And He said to me, 'Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.' ⁽²⁾ Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. ⁽³⁾ And He said to me: 'Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. ⁽⁴⁾ For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.'

⁽⁵⁾ As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse -- for they are a rebellious house -- yet they will know that a prophet has been among them. ⁽⁶⁾ And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house. ⁽⁷⁾ You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. ⁽⁸⁾ But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.'

⁽⁹⁾ Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe. ⁽¹⁾ Moreover He said to me, 'Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.' ⁽²⁾ So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll. ⁽³⁾ And He said to me, 'Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.' So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Hebrews Chapter 4

⁽¹⁴⁾ Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ⁽¹⁵⁾ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. ⁽¹⁶⁾ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. ⁽¹⁾ For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. ⁽²⁾ He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness. ⁽³⁾ Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins. ⁽⁴⁾ And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.

⁽⁵⁾ So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.' ⁽⁶⁾ As He also says in another place: 'You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek';

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Luke Chapter 9

⁽²⁸⁾ Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. ⁽²⁹⁾ As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. ⁽³⁰⁾ And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, ⁽³¹⁾ who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

⁽³²⁾ But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. ⁽³³⁾ Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, 'Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah' -- not knowing what he said. ⁽³⁴⁾ While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. ⁽³⁵⁾ And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!'

⁽³⁶⁾ When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The Second Song of Isaiah      Isaiah 55:6 to 11

Seek the Lord while he wills to be found;
call upon him when he draws near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the evil ones their thoughts;
And let them turn to the Lord, and he will have compassion,
and to our God, for he will richly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as rain and snow fall from the heavens
and return not again, but water the earth,
Bringing forth life and giving growth,
seed for sowing and bread for eating,
So is my word that goes forth from my mouth;
it will not return to me empty;
But it will accomplish that which I have purposed,
and prosper in that for which I sent it.
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.


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   Traditional
Suffrages A

Seasonal Collect:  Sixth Sunday of Easter
O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mission: O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Personal Prayers and Reflection

This is a time to pause, consider and listen. Pray for yourself and others. When you lack the words


Closing Prayers   Thanksgiving

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

May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Romans 15:13