Evening Prayer

Advent
Watch, for you know not when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning; lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. Mark 13:35, 36

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

Venite
The Antiphon:

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

Our King and Savior now draws near: Come, let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 26

⁽¹⁾ Vindicate me, O LORD, For I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the LORD; I shall not slip. ⁽²⁾ Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart. ⁽³⁾ For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth. ⁽⁴⁾ I have not sat with idolatrous mortals, Nor will I go in with hypocrites.

⁽⁵⁾ I have hated the assembly of evildoers, And will not sit with the wicked. ⁽⁶⁾ I will wash my hands in innocence; So I will go about Your altar, O LORD, ⁽⁷⁾ That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, And tell of all Your wondrous works. ⁽⁸⁾ LORD, I have loved the habitation of Your house, And the place where Your glory dwells.

⁽⁹⁾ Do not gather my soul with sinners, Nor my life with bloodthirsty men, ⁽¹⁰⁾ In whose hands is a sinister scheme, And whose right hand is full of bribes. ⁽¹¹⁾ But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; Redeem me and be merciful to me. ⁽¹²⁾ My foot stands in an even place; In the congregations I will bless 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.

Psalm 28

⁽¹⁾ To You I will cry, O LORD my Rock: Do not be silent to me, Lest, if You are silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. ⁽²⁾ Hear the voice of my supplications When I cry to You, When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary. ⁽³⁾ Do not take me away with the wicked And with the workers of iniquity, Who speak peace to their neighbors, But evil is in their hearts. ⁽⁴⁾ Give them according to their deeds, And according to the wickedness of their endeavors; Give them according to the work of their hands; Render to them what they deserve.

⁽⁵⁾ Because they do not regard the works of the LORD, Nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them And not build them up. ⁽⁶⁾ Blessed be the LORD, Because He has heard the voice of my supplications! ⁽⁷⁾ The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him. ⁽⁸⁾ The LORD is their strength, And He is the saving refuge of His anointed.

⁽⁹⁾ Save Your people, And bless Your inheritance; Shepherd them also, And bear them up 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.

Amos Chapter 7

⁽¹⁰⁾ Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, 'Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. ⁽¹¹⁾ For thus Amos has said: 'Jeroboam shall die by the sword, And Israel shall surely be led away captive From their own land.' ' ⁽¹²⁾ Then Amaziah said to Amos: 'Go, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat bread, And there prophesy. ⁽¹³⁾ But never again prophesy at Bethel, For it is the king's sanctuary, And it is the royal residence.'

⁽¹⁴⁾ Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah: 'I was no prophet, Nor was I a son of a prophet, But I was a sheepbreeder And a tender of sycamore fruit. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Then the LORD took me as I followed the flock, And the LORD said to me, 'Go, prophesy to My people Israel.' ⁽¹⁶⁾ Now therefore, hear the word of the LORD: You say, 'Do not prophesy against Israel, And do not spout against the house of Isaac.' ⁽¹⁷⁾ Therefore thus says the LORD: 'Your wife shall be a harlot in the city; Your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword; Your land shall be divided by survey line; You shall die in a defiled land; And Israel shall surely be led away captive From his own land.' '

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Revelation Chapter 1

⁽⁹⁾ I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. ⁽¹⁰⁾ I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, ⁽¹¹⁾ saying, 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,' and, 'What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.' ⁽¹²⁾ Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

⁽¹³⁾ and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. ⁽¹⁴⁾ His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; ⁽¹⁵⁾ His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; ⁽¹⁶⁾ He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Matthew Chapter 22

⁽³⁴⁾ But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. ⁽³⁵⁾ Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ⁽³⁶⁾ Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?' ⁽³⁷⁾ Jesus said to him, ' 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'

⁽³⁸⁾ This is the first and great commandment. ⁽³⁹⁾ And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' ⁽⁴⁰⁾ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.' ⁽⁴¹⁾ While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,

⁽⁴²⁾ saying, 'What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?' They said to Him, 'The Son of David.' ⁽⁴³⁾ He said to them, 'How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying: ⁽⁴⁴⁾ The LORD said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool' '? ⁽⁴⁵⁾ If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?'

⁽⁴⁶⁾ And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

A Song to the Lamb       Revelation 4:11, 5:9 to 10, 13

Splendor and honor and kingly power
are yours by right, O Lord our God,
For you created everything that is,
and by your will they were created
  and have their being;
And yours by right, O Lamb that was slain,
for with your blood you have redeemed for God,
From every family, language, people, and nation,
a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
And so, to him who sits upon the throne,
and to Christ the Lamb,
Be worship and praise, dominion and splendor,
forever and forevermore.

The Song of Zechariah Luke 1: 68 to 79

Glory to you, Lord God of our fathers;
you are worthy of praise; glory to you.
Glory to you for the radiance of your holy Name;
we will praise you and highly exalt you forever.

Glory to you in the splendor of your temple;
on the throne of your majesty, glory to you.
Glory to you, seated between the Cherubim;
we will praise you and highly exalt you forever.

Glory to you, beholding the depths;
in the high vault of heaven, glory to you.
Glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
we will praise you and highly exalt you forever.



The Third Song of Isaiah       Isaiah 60:1 to 3, 11a, 14c, 18 to 19
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
For behold, darkness covers the land;
deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.
But over you the Lord will rise,
and his glory will appear upon you.
Nations will stream to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawning.
Your gates will always be open;
by day or night they will never be shut.
They will call you, The City of the Lord,
The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Violence will no more be heard in your land,
ruin or destruction within your borders.
You will call your walls, Salvation,
and all your portals, Praise.
The sun will no more be your light by day;
by night you will not need the brightness of the moon.
The Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
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:  Second Sunday of Advent
Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of 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