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.

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

The Lessons

Psalm 20

⁽¹⁾ May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob defend you; ⁽²⁾ May He send you help from the sanctuary, And strengthen you out of Zion; ⁽³⁾ May He remember all your offerings, And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah ⁽⁴⁾ May He grant you according to your heart's desire, And fulfill all your purpose.

⁽⁵⁾ We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions. ⁽⁶⁾ Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand. ⁽⁷⁾ Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God. ⁽⁸⁾ They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stand upright.

⁽⁹⁾ Save, LORD! May the King answer us when we call.

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 21

⁽¹⁾ The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD; And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! ⁽²⁾ You have given him his heart's desire, And have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah ⁽³⁾ For You meet him with the blessings of goodness; You set a crown of pure gold upon his head. ⁽⁴⁾ He asked life from You, and You gave it to him -- Length of days forever and ever.

⁽⁵⁾ His glory is great in Your salvation; Honor and majesty You have placed upon him. ⁽⁶⁾ For You have made him most blessed forever; You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence. ⁽⁷⁾ For the king trusts in the LORD, And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved. ⁽⁸⁾ Your hand will find all Your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate You.

⁽⁹⁾ You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger; The LORD shall swallow them up in His wrath, And the fire shall devour them. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Their offspring You shall destroy from the earth, And their descendants from among the sons of men. ⁽¹¹⁾ For they intended evil against You; They devised a plot which they are not able to perform. ⁽¹²⁾ Therefore You will make them turn their back; You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces.

⁽¹³⁾ Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power.

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 43

⁽¹⁾ But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. ⁽²⁾ When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. ⁽³⁾ For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place. ⁽⁴⁾ Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you, And people for your life.

⁽⁵⁾ Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, And gather you from the west; ⁽⁶⁾ I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' And to the south, 'Do not keep them back!' Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth -- ⁽⁷⁾ Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.' ⁽⁸⁾ Bring out the blind people who have eyes, And the deaf who have ears.

⁽⁹⁾ Let all the nations be gathered together, And let the people be assembled. Who among them can declare this, And show us former things? Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified; Or let them hear and say, 'It is truth.' ⁽¹⁰⁾ You are My witnesses,' says the LORD, 'And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. ⁽¹¹⁾ I, even I, am the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior. ⁽¹²⁾ I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no foreign god among you; Therefore you are My witnesses,' Says the LORD, 'that I am God.

⁽¹³⁾ Indeed before the day was, I am He; And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Ephesians Chapter 3

⁽¹⁴⁾ For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁽¹⁵⁾ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, ⁽¹⁶⁾ that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ⁽¹⁷⁾ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

⁽¹⁸⁾ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height -- ⁽¹⁹⁾ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. ⁽²⁰⁾ Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, ⁽²¹⁾ to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Mark Chapter 2

⁽²³⁾ Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. ⁽²⁴⁾ And the Pharisees said to Him, 'Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?' ⁽²⁵⁾ But He said to them, 'Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: ⁽²⁶⁾ how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat, except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?'

⁽²⁷⁾ And He said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. ⁽²⁸⁾ Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.' ⁽¹⁾ And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. ⁽²⁾ So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. ⁽³⁾ And He said to the man who had the withered hand, 'Step forward.' ⁽⁴⁾ Then He said to them, 'Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?' But they kept silent.

⁽⁵⁾ And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. ⁽⁶⁾ Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

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 People of God

Let the people of God glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
Glorify the Lord,
O priests and servants of the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

Glorify the Lord,
O spirits and souls of the righteous,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
You that are holy and humble of heart,
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:  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, 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