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 37

⁽¹⁾ Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. ⁽²⁾ For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. ⁽³⁾ Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. ⁽⁴⁾ Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

⁽⁵⁾ Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. ⁽⁶⁾ He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. ⁽⁷⁾ Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. ⁽⁸⁾ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret -- it only causes harm.

⁽⁹⁾ For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. ⁽¹¹⁾ But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. ⁽¹²⁾ The wicked plots against the just, And gnashes at him with his teeth.

⁽¹³⁾ The Lord laughs at him, For He sees that his day is coming. ⁽¹⁴⁾ The wicked have drawn the sword And have bent their bow, To cast down the poor and needy, To slay those who are of upright conduct. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Their sword shall enter their own heart, And their bows shall be broken. ⁽¹⁶⁾ A little that a righteous man has Is better than the riches of many wicked.

⁽¹⁷⁾ For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, But the LORD upholds the righteous. ⁽¹⁸⁾ The LORD knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be 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.

Isaiah Chapter 7

⁽¹⁾ Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against it, but could not prevail against it. ⁽²⁾ And it was told to the house of David, saying, 'Syria's forces are deployed in Ephraim.' So his heart and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind. ⁽³⁾ Then the LORD said to Isaiah, 'Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller's Field, ⁽⁴⁾ and say to him: 'Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah.

⁽⁵⁾ Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have plotted evil against you, saying, ⁽⁶⁾ Let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them, the son of Tabel' -- ⁽⁷⁾ thus says the Lord GOD: 'It shall not stand, Nor shall it come to pass. ⁽⁸⁾ For the head of Syria is Damascus, And the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken, So that it will not be a people.

⁽⁹⁾ The head of Ephraim is Samaria, And the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If you will not believe, Surely you shall not be established.' ' '

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

2 Thessalonians Chapter 2

⁽¹⁾ Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, ⁽²⁾ not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. ⁽³⁾ Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, ⁽⁴⁾ who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

⁽⁵⁾ Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? ⁽⁶⁾ And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. ⁽⁷⁾ For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. ⁽⁸⁾ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

⁽⁹⁾ The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, ⁽¹⁰⁾ and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ⁽¹¹⁾ And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, ⁽¹²⁾ that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Luke Chapter 22

⁽¹⁾ Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. ⁽²⁾ And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people. ⁽³⁾ Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. ⁽⁴⁾ So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.

⁽⁵⁾ And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. ⁽⁶⁾ So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude. ⁽⁷⁾ Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. ⁽⁸⁾ And He sent Peter and John, saying, 'Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.'

⁽⁹⁾ So they said to Him, 'Where do You want us to prepare?' ⁽¹⁰⁾ And He said to them, 'Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters. ⁽¹¹⁾ Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, 'Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?' ' ⁽¹²⁾ Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready.'

⁽¹³⁾ So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.


The Song of Moses    Exodus 15:1 to 6, 11 to 13, 17 to 18

I will sing to the Lord, for he is lofty and uplifted;
the horse and its rider has he hurled into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my refuge;
the Lord has become my Savior.
This is my God and I will praise him,
the God of my people and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a mighty warrior;
Yahweh is his Name.
The chariots of Pharoah and his army has he hurled into the sea;
the finest of those who bear armor have been drowned in the Red Sea.
The fathomless deep has overwhelmed them;
they sank into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in might;
your right hand, O Lord, has overthrown the enemy.
Who can be compared with you, O Lord, among the gods?
who is like you, glorious in holiness,
awesome in renown, and worker of wonders?
You stretched forth your right hand;
the earth swallowed them up.
With your constant love you led the people you redeemed;
with your might you brought them in safety to
your holy dwelling.
You will bring them in and plant them
on the mount of your possession,
The resting-place you have made for yourself, O Lord,
the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hand has established.
The Lord shall reign forever and 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.


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: Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mission: Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 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

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14