Evening Prayer - January 15, 2027

Today's Readings

Psalm 16:1-11

Psalm 17:1-15

Isaiah 42:10-17

Ephesians 3:1-13

Mark 2:13-22

Epiphany
Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Isaiah 60:3

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

ⓘ '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.

The Lord has shown forth his glory: Come let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 16

⁽¹⁾ Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.⁽²⁾ O my soul, you have said to the LORD, 'You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You.'⁽³⁾ As for the saints who are on the earth, 'They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.'⁽⁴⁾ Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god; Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, Nor take up their names on my lips.

⁽⁵⁾ O LORD,You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot.⁽⁶⁾ The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance.⁽⁷⁾ I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.⁽⁸⁾ I have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

⁽⁹⁾ Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.⁽¹⁰⁾ For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.⁽¹¹⁾ You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

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 17

⁽¹⁾ Hear a just cause, O LORD, Attend to my cry; Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips.⁽²⁾ Let my vindication come from Your presence; Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright.⁽³⁾ You have tested my heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me and have found nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.⁽⁴⁾ Concerning the works of men, By the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.

⁽⁵⁾ Uphold my steps in Your paths, That my footsteps may not slip.⁽⁶⁾ I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.⁽⁷⁾ Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand, O You who save those who trust in You From those who rise up against them.⁽⁸⁾ Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,

⁽⁹⁾ From the wicked who oppress me, From my deadly enemies who surround me.⁽¹⁰⁾ They have closed up their fat hearts; With their mouths they speak proudly.⁽¹¹⁾ They have now surrounded us in our steps; They have set their eyes, crouching down to the earth,⁽¹²⁾ As a lion is eager to tear his prey, And like a young lion lurking in secret places.

⁽¹³⁾ Arise, O LORD, Confront him, cast him down; Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword,⁽¹⁴⁾ With Your hand from men, O LORD, From men of the world who have their portion in this life, And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure. They are satisfied with children, And leave the rest of their possession for their babes.⁽¹⁵⁾ As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.

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 42

⁽¹⁰⁾ Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth, You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!⁽¹¹⁾ Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, The villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, Let them shout from the top of the mountains.⁽¹²⁾ Let them give glory to the LORD, And declare His praise in the coastlands.⁽¹³⁾ The LORD shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies.

⁽¹⁴⁾ I have held My peace a long time, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will cry like a woman in labor, I will pant and gasp at once.⁽¹⁵⁾ I will lay waste the mountains and hills, And dry up all their vegetation; I will make the rivers coastlands, And I will dry up the pools.⁽¹⁶⁾ I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, And not forsake them.⁽¹⁷⁾ They shall be turned back, They shall be greatly ashamed, Who trust in carved images, Who say to the molded images, 'You are our gods.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Ephesians Chapter 3

⁽¹⁾ For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles --⁽²⁾ if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,⁽³⁾ how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already,⁽⁴⁾ by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ),

⁽⁵⁾ which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:⁽⁶⁾ that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,⁽⁷⁾ of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.⁽⁸⁾ To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

⁽⁹⁾ and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;⁽¹⁰⁾ to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,⁽¹¹⁾ according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,⁽¹²⁾ in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.

⁽¹³⁾ Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Mark Chapter 2

⁽¹³⁾ Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.⁽¹⁴⁾ As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, 'Follow Me.' So he arose and followed Him.⁽¹⁵⁾ Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.⁽¹⁶⁾ And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, 'How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?'

⁽¹⁷⁾ When Jesus heard it, He said to them, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.'⁽¹⁸⁾ The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, 'Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?'⁽¹⁹⁾ And Jesus said to them, 'Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.⁽²⁰⁾ But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.

⁽²¹⁾ No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.⁽²²⁾ And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.'

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

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: First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of our Lord
Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. 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.

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

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