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 30

⁽¹⁾ I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my foes rejoice over me. ⁽²⁾ O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me. ⁽³⁾ O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. ⁽⁴⁾ Sing praise to the LORD, You saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

⁽⁵⁾ For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. ⁽⁶⁾ Now in my prosperity I said, 'I shall never be moved.' ⁽⁷⁾ LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled. ⁽⁸⁾ I cried out to You, O LORD; And to the LORD I made supplication:

⁽⁹⁾ What profit is there in my blood, When I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? ⁽¹⁰⁾ Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me; LORD, be my helper!' ⁽¹¹⁾ You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, ⁽¹²⁾ To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

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 32

⁽¹⁾ Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. ⁽²⁾ Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit. ⁽³⁾ When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. ⁽⁴⁾ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah

⁽⁵⁾ I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,' And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah ⁽⁶⁾ For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near him. ⁽⁷⁾ You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah ⁽⁸⁾ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.

⁽⁹⁾ Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him. ⁽¹¹⁾ Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

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 46

⁽¹⁾ Bel bows down, Nebo stoops; Their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle. Your carriages were heavily loaded, A burden to the weary beast. ⁽²⁾ They stoop, they bow down together; They could not deliver the burden, But have themselves gone into captivity. ⁽³⁾ Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, Who have been upheld by Me from birth, Who have been carried from the womb: ⁽⁴⁾ Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you.

⁽⁵⁾ To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal And compare Me, that we should be alike? ⁽⁶⁾ They lavish gold out of the bag, And weigh silver on the scales; They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it a god; They prostrate themselves, yes, they worship. ⁽⁷⁾ They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it And set it in its place, and it stands; From its place it shall not move. Though one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer Nor save him out of his trouble. ⁽⁸⁾ Remember this, and show yourselves men; Recall to mind, O you transgressors.

⁽⁹⁾ Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, ⁽¹⁰⁾ Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, 'My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,' ⁽¹¹⁾ Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it. ⁽¹²⁾ Listen to Me, you stubborn-hearted, Who are far from righteousness:

⁽¹³⁾ I bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off; My salvation shall not linger. And I will place salvation in Zion, For Israel My glory.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Ephesians Chapter 6

⁽¹⁰⁾ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ⁽¹¹⁾ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ⁽¹²⁾ For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ⁽¹³⁾ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

⁽¹⁴⁾ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ⁽¹⁵⁾ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ⁽¹⁶⁾ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ⁽¹⁷⁾ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

⁽¹⁸⁾ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints -- ⁽¹⁹⁾ and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, ⁽²⁰⁾ for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. ⁽²¹⁾ But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you;

⁽²²⁾ whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts. ⁽²³⁾ Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ⁽²⁴⁾ Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Mark Chapter 5

⁽¹⁾ Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. ⁽²⁾ And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, ⁽³⁾ who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, ⁽⁴⁾ because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.

⁽⁵⁾ And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. ⁽⁶⁾ When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. ⁽⁷⁾ And he cried out with a loud voice and said, 'What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.' ⁽⁸⁾ For He said to him, 'Come out of the man, unclean spirit!'

⁽⁹⁾ Then He asked him, 'What is your name?' And he answered, saying, 'My name is Legion; for we are many.' ⁽¹⁰⁾ Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. ⁽¹¹⁾ Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. ⁽¹²⁾ So all the demons begged Him, saying, 'Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.'

⁽¹³⁾ And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea. ⁽¹⁴⁾ So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. ⁽¹⁶⁾ And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine.

⁽¹⁷⁾ Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region. ⁽¹⁸⁾ And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. ⁽¹⁹⁾ However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, 'Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.' ⁽²⁰⁾ And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.

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 Cosmic Order
Glorify the Lord,
you angels and all powers of the Lord,
O heavens and all waters above the heavens.
Sun and moon and stars of the sky,
glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
Glorify the Lord,
every shower of rain and fall of dew,
all winds and fire and heat.
Winter and Summer, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

Glorify the Lord, O chill and cold,
drops of dew and flakes of snow.
Frost and cold, ice and sleet,
glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

Glorify the Lord,
O nights and days,
O shining light and enfolding dark.
Storm clouds and thunderbolts, 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:  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: 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