Evening Prayer

Advent
The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. Isaiah 40:5

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 1

⁽¹⁾ Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; ⁽²⁾ But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. ⁽³⁾ He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. ⁽⁴⁾ The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

⁽⁵⁾ Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. ⁽⁶⁾ For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

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 2

⁽¹⁾ Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? ⁽²⁾ The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, ⁽³⁾ Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.' ⁽⁴⁾ He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The LORD shall hold them in derision.

⁽⁵⁾ Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: ⁽⁶⁾ Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.' ⁽⁷⁾ I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ⁽⁸⁾ Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.

⁽⁹⁾ You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.' ' ⁽¹⁰⁾ Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. ⁽¹¹⁾ Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. ⁽¹²⁾ Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

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 3

⁽¹⁾ LORD, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. ⁽²⁾ Many are they who say of me, 'There is no help for him in God.' Selah ⁽³⁾ But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head. ⁽⁴⁾ I cried to the LORD with my voice, And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah

⁽⁵⁾ I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustained me. ⁽⁶⁾ I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me all around. ⁽⁷⁾ Arise, O LORD; Save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly. ⁽⁸⁾ Salvation belongs to the LORD. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah

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 2

⁽⁶⁾ Thus says the LORD: 'For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they sell the righteous for silver, And the poor for a pair of sandals. ⁽⁷⁾ They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, And pervert the way of the humble. A man and his father go in to the same girl, To defile My holy name. ⁽⁸⁾ They lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge, And drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god. ⁽⁹⁾ Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, Whose height was like the height of the cedars, And he was as strong as the oaks; Yet I destroyed his fruit above And his roots beneath.

⁽¹⁰⁾ Also it was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, And led you forty years through the wilderness, To possess the land of the Amorite. ⁽¹¹⁾ I raised up some of your sons as prophets, And some of your young men as Nazirites. Is it not so, O you children of Israel?' Says the LORD. ⁽¹²⁾ But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, And commanded the prophets saying, 'Do not prophesy!' ⁽¹³⁾ Behold, I am weighed down by you, As a cart full of sheaves is weighed down.

⁽¹⁴⁾ Therefore flight shall perish from the swift, The strong shall not strengthen his power, Nor shall the mighty deliver himself; ⁽¹⁵⁾ He shall not stand who handles the bow, The swift of foot shall not escape, Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself. ⁽¹⁶⁾ The most courageous men of might Shall flee naked in that day,' Says the LORD.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

2 Peter Chapter 1

⁽¹⁾ Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: ⁽²⁾ Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, ⁽³⁾ as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ⁽⁴⁾ by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

⁽⁵⁾ But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, ⁽⁶⁾ to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, ⁽⁷⁾ to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. ⁽⁸⁾ For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁽⁹⁾ For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; ⁽¹¹⁾ for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Matthew Chapter 21

⁽¹⁾ Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ⁽²⁾ saying to them, 'Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. ⁽³⁾ And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them.' ⁽⁴⁾ All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

⁽⁵⁾ Tell the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.' ' ⁽⁶⁾ So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. ⁽⁷⁾ They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. ⁽⁸⁾ And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

⁽⁹⁾ Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: 'Hosanna to the Son of David! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' Hosanna in the highest!' ⁽¹⁰⁾ And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, 'Who is this?' ⁽¹¹⁾ So the multitudes said, 'This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.'

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The Song of the Redeemed       Revelation 15:3 to 4  
O ruler of the universe, Lord God,
great deeds are they that you have done,
  surpassing human understanding.
Your ways are ways of righteousness and truth,
 O King of all the ages.

Who can fail to do you homage, Lord,
and sing the praises of your Name?
  for you only are the Holy One.
All nations will draw near
and fall down before you,
  because your just and holy works have been revealed.
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 First Song of Isaiah       Isaiah 12:2 to 6
 
Surely, it is God who saves me;
  I will trust in him and not be afraid.
For the Lord is my stronghold
and my sure defense,
  and he will be my Savior.
Therefore you shall draw water with rejoicing
  from the springs of salvation.
And on that day you shall say,
  Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name;
Make his deeds known among the peoples;
  see that they remember that his Name is exalted.
Sing the praises of the Lord,
for he has done great things,
  and this is known in all the world.
Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy,
  for the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.
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:  First Sunday of Advent
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: O God, the King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness while it was day, we may, when night comes, rejoice to give you thanks; 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