Evening Prayer - January 20, 2027

Today's Readings

Psalm 38:1-22

Isaiah 44:24-28,45:1-7

Ephesians 5:1-14

Mark 4:1-20

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 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 44

⁽²⁴⁾ Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, And He who formed you from the womb: 'I am the LORD, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself;⁽²⁵⁾ Who frustrates the signs of the babblers, And drives diviners mad; Who turns wise men backward, And makes their knowledge foolishness;⁽²⁶⁾ Who confirms the word of His servant, And performs the counsel of His messengers; Who says to Jerusalem, 'You shall be inhabited,' To the cities of Judah, 'You shall be built,' And I will raise up her waste places;⁽²⁷⁾ Who says to the deep, 'Be dry! And I will dry up your rivers';

⁽²⁸⁾ Who says of Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, 'You shall be built,' And to the temple, 'Your foundation shall be laid.' '⁽¹⁾ Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held -- To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut:⁽²⁾ I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron.⁽³⁾ I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel.⁽⁴⁾ For Jacob My servant's sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.

⁽⁵⁾ I am the LORD, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me,⁽⁶⁾ That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other;⁽⁷⁾ I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Ephesians Chapter 5

⁽¹⁾ Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.⁽²⁾ And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.⁽³⁾ But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;⁽⁴⁾ neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

⁽⁵⁾ For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.⁽⁶⁾ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.⁽⁷⁾ Therefore do not be partakers with them.⁽⁸⁾ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

⁽⁹⁾ (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),⁽¹⁰⁾ finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.⁽¹¹⁾ And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.⁽¹²⁾ For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.

⁽¹³⁾ But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.⁽¹⁴⁾ Therefore He says: 'Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Mark Chapter 4

⁽¹⁾ And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.⁽²⁾ Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:⁽³⁾ Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.⁽⁴⁾ And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.

⁽⁵⁾ Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.⁽⁶⁾ But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.⁽⁷⁾ And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.⁽⁸⁾ But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.'

⁽⁹⁾ And He said to them, 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear!'⁽¹⁰⁾ But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.⁽¹¹⁾ And He said to them, 'To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables,⁽¹²⁾ so that 'Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, And their sins be forgiven them.' '

⁽¹³⁾ And He said to them, 'Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?⁽¹⁴⁾ The sower sows the word.⁽¹⁵⁾ And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.⁽¹⁶⁾ These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness;

⁽¹⁷⁾ and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.⁽¹⁸⁾ Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word,⁽¹⁹⁾ and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.⁽²⁰⁾ But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.'

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 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: Second Sunday after the Epiphany
Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, 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.

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

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