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

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 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.

Isaiah Chapter 6

⁽¹⁾ In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. ⁽²⁾ Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ⁽³⁾ And one cried to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!' ⁽⁴⁾ And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

⁽⁵⁾ So I said: 'Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.' ⁽⁶⁾ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. ⁽⁷⁾ And he touched my mouth with it, and said: 'Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.' ⁽⁸⁾ Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: 'Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?' Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me.'

⁽⁹⁾ And He said, 'Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' ⁽¹⁰⁾ Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed.' ⁽¹¹⁾ Then I said, 'Lord, how long?' And He answered: 'Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, The houses are without a man, The land is utterly desolate, ⁽¹²⁾ The LORD has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.

⁽¹³⁾ But yet a tenth will be in it, And will return and be for consuming, As a terebinth tree or as an oak, Whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall be its stump.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

2 Thessalonians Chapter 1

⁽¹⁾ Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: ⁽²⁾ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ⁽³⁾ We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, ⁽⁴⁾ so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure,

⁽⁵⁾ which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; ⁽⁶⁾ since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, ⁽⁷⁾ and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, ⁽⁸⁾ in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁽⁹⁾ These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, ⁽¹⁰⁾ when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed. ⁽¹¹⁾ Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, ⁽¹²⁾ that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

John Chapter 7

⁽⁵³⁾ And everyone went to his own house. ⁽¹⁾ But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ⁽²⁾ Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. ⁽³⁾ Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, ⁽⁴⁾ they said to Him, 'Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.

⁽⁵⁾ Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?' ⁽⁶⁾ This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. ⁽⁷⁾ So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, 'He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.' ⁽⁸⁾ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

⁽⁹⁾ Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. ⁽¹⁰⁾ When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, 'Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?' ⁽¹¹⁾ She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said to her, 'Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.'

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 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: 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. When you lack the words


Closing Prayers   Thanksgiving

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