Evening Prayer

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
The Antiphon:

ⓘ   A short, reflective sentence recited alongside a psalm to deepen our understanding of the readings.

Alleluia. To us a child is born: O come, let us adore him. Alleluia.

The Lessons

Psalm 121

⁽¹⁾ I will lift up my eyes to the hills -- From whence comes my help? ⁽²⁾ My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. ⁽³⁾ He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. ⁽⁴⁾ Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

⁽⁵⁾ The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade at your right hand. ⁽⁶⁾ The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. ⁽⁷⁾ The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. ⁽⁸⁾ The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even 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 122

⁽¹⁾ I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go into the house of the LORD.' ⁽²⁾ Our feet have been standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem! ⁽³⁾ Jerusalem is built As a city that is compact together, ⁽⁴⁾ Where the tribes go up, The tribes of the LORD, To the Testimony of Israel, To give thanks to the name of the LORD.

⁽⁵⁾ For thrones are set there for judgment, The thrones of the house of David. ⁽⁶⁾ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: 'May they prosper who love you. ⁽⁷⁾ Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces.' ⁽⁸⁾ For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, 'Peace be within you.'

⁽⁹⁾ Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good.

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 123

⁽¹⁾ Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens. ⁽²⁾ Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He has mercy on us. ⁽³⁾ Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. ⁽⁴⁾ Our soul is exceedingly filled With the scorn of those who are at ease, With the contempt of the proud.

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 63

⁽¹⁾ Who is this who comes from Edom, With dyed garments from Bozrah, This One who is glorious in His apparel, Traveling in the greatness of His strength? -- 'I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.' ⁽²⁾ Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? ⁽³⁾ I have trodden the winepress alone, And from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, And trampled them in My fury; Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, And I have stained all My robes. ⁽⁴⁾ For the day of vengeance is in My heart, And the year of My redeemed has come.

⁽⁵⁾ I looked, but there was no one to help, And I wondered That there was no one to uphold; Therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me; And My own fury, it sustained Me.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Revelation Chapter 2

⁽¹⁸⁾ And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, ' These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass: ⁽¹⁹⁾ I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first. ⁽²⁰⁾ Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. ⁽²¹⁾ And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent.

⁽²²⁾ Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. ⁽²³⁾ I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works. ⁽²⁴⁾ Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. ⁽²⁵⁾ But hold fast what you have till I come.

⁽²⁶⁾ And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations -- ⁽²⁷⁾ He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels' -- as I also have received from My Father; ⁽²⁸⁾ and I will give him the morning star. ⁽²⁹⁾ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.' '

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

John Chapter 5

⁽¹⁾ After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ⁽²⁾ Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. ⁽³⁾ In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. ⁽⁴⁾ For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.

⁽⁵⁾ Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. ⁽⁶⁾ When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, 'Do you want to be made well?' ⁽⁷⁾ The sick man answered Him, 'Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.' ⁽⁸⁾ Jesus said to him, 'Rise, take up your bed and walk.'

⁽⁹⁾ And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. ⁽¹⁰⁾ The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, 'It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.' ⁽¹¹⁾ He answered them, 'He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.' ' ⁽¹²⁾ Then they asked him, 'Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?'

⁽¹³⁾ But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place. ⁽¹⁴⁾ Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, 'See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.' ⁽¹⁵⁾ The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

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.

A Song of Creation   Prayer of Manasseh 1 to 2, 4, 6 to 7, 11 to 15
Invocation
Glorify the Lord,
all you works of the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
In the firmament of his power, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

The Earth and its Creatures

Let the earth glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
Glorify the Lord, O mountains and hills,
and all that grows upon the earth,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
Glorify the Lord,
O springs of water, seas, and streams,
O whales and all that move in the waters.
All birds of the air, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

Glorify the Lord,
O beasts of the wild,
and all you flocks and herds.
O men and women everywhere, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

Doxology
Let us glorify the Lord:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
In the firmament of his power, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

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:  The Epiphany
O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Almighty God, who after the creation of the world rested from all your works and sanctified a day of rest for all your creatures: Grant that we, putting away all earthly anxieties, may be duly prepared for the service of your sanctuary, and that our rest here upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal rest promised to your people in heaven; 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