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EVENING
PRAYER
for
the Epiphany of our Lord
Vespers
(Lutheran
Book of Worship, page 142)
The
people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light.
The
light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
Those
who dwelt in the land of deep darkness,
on them light has shined.
We
have beheld Christ’s glory,
glory as of the only Son from the Father.
For
to us a child is born,
to us a Son is given.
In
him was life,
and the life was the light of all people.
Joyous
light of glory:
of
the immortal Father;
heavenly, holy, blessed
Jesus Christ.
We have come to the setting of the
sun,
and we look to the
evening light.
We sing to God, the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit:
You are worthy of being praised
with pure voices
forever.
O Son of God, O Giver of life:
The universe proclaims
your glory.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give
him thanks and praise.
We praise and thank you, O God, for you are
without beginning and without end. Through Christ you are the creator and
preserver of the whole world; but, above all, you are his God and Father, the
giver of the Spirit, and the ruler of all that is, seen and unseen. You made
the day for the works of light and the night for the refreshment of our
weakness. O loving Lord and source of all that is good, mercifully accept our
evening sacrifice of praise. As you have conducted us through the day and
brought us to night’s beginning, keep us now in Christ; grant us a peaceful
evening and a night free from sin, and at the end, bring us to everlasting life
through Christ our Lord. Through him we offer glory, honor, and worship to you
in the Holy Spirit, now and always and forever and ever.
Amen
Let my prayer rise
before you as incense;
the lifting up of my hands as the
evening sacrifice.
O Lord, I call to
you; come to me quickly;
hear my voice when I cry to you.
Let my prayer rise
before you as incense;
the lifting up of my hands as the
evening sacrifice.
Set a watch before
my mouth, O Lord,
and guard the door of my lips.
Let not my heart
incline to any evil thing;
let me not be occupied in wickedness
with evildoers.
But my eyes are
turned to you, Lord God;
in you I take refuge. Strip me not
of my life.
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.
Let my prayer rise
before you as incense;
the lifting up of my hands as the
evening sacrifice.
Silence for meditation.
Let
the incense of our repentant prayer ascend before you, O Lord, and let your
lovingkindness descend upon us, that with purified minds we may sing your
praises with the Church on earth and the whole heavenly host, and may glorify
you forever and ever.
Amen
Psalm 100
Come,
you peoples of the earth:
drink from the wells of the Savior.
1 Be joyful in the Lord, | all you lands;*
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence | with a song.
2 Know this: The Lord him- | self is God;*
he himself has made us, and we
are his;
we are his people and the sheep
| of his pasture.
3 Enter his gates
with thanksgiving; go into his | courts with praise;*
give thanks to him and call up-
| on his name.
4 For the Lord is good; his mercy is | everlasting;*
and his faithfulness endures
from | age to age.
Come,
you peoples of the earth:
drink from the wells of the Savior.
God
our Father, you have created us as your people and you sustain us with your
hand. Help us always to give you thanks, for you alone are worthy of
thanksgiving and praise and honor now and forever.
Amen
Hymn
1. When Christ’s appearing was made known,
King Herod trembled for his throne;
But He who offers heavenly birth
Sought not the kingdom of this earth.
2. The eastern sages saw from far
And followed on His guiding star;
By light their way to Light they trod,
And by their gifts confessed their God.
3. Within the Jordan’s sacred flood
The heavenly Lamb in meekness stood,
That He, to whom no sin was known,
Might cleanse His people from their own.
4. And O what miracle divine,
When water reddened into wine!
He spake the word, and forth it flowed
In streams that nature ne’er bestowed.
5. All glory, Jesus, be to Thee
For this Thy glad epiphany:
Whom with the Father we adore
And Holy Ghost forevermore.
READING Matthew
12:14-21
(T)he Pharisees went out and conspired against
him, how to destroy him.
15When Jesus became
aware of this, he departed. Many crowds followed him, and he cured all of them, 16and he ordered them not to make him known. 17This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet
Isaiah:
18"Here is my
servant, whom I have chosen,
my beloved, with
whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my
Spirit upon him,
and he will
proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
19He will not wrangle
or cry aloud,
nor will anyone
hear his voice in the streets.
20He will not break a
bruised reed
or quench a
smoldering wick
until he brings
justice to victory.
21And in his name the
Gentiles will hope."
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Response
In
many and various ways
God
spoke to this people of old by the prophets.
But now in these last days he has spoken to
us by his Son.
The GOSPEL CANTICLE is sung.
Antiphon:
Our
Lord and Savior, begotten before all ages,
revealed himself to the world. Alleluia.
My
soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his
lowly servant.
From this day all generations will
call me blessed.
The Almighty has done
great things for me,
and holy is his name.
He has mercy on those
who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his
arm;
he has scattered the proud in their
conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from
their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good
things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his
servant Israel,
for he has remembered his promise of
mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children 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
Antiphon:
Our
Lord and Savior, begotten before all ages,
revealed himself to the world. Alleluia.
Almighty
and everlasting God, who has made known the incarnation of thy dear Son by the
testimony of a glorious star, which, when the Wise Men beheld it, they adored
Thy majesty with gifts: Grant that the bright shining of Thy truth may lead us
always to lay the gifts of our obedience and love at Thy feet: through the same
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
O
Thou who art the light of the world, the Desire of all nations, and the
Shepherd of our souls, let Thy light shine in the darkness that all the ends of
the earth may see the salvation of our God; by the lifting up of Thy cross
gather the peoples to Thine obedience, to whom alone belongeth the scepter and
the crown; let Thy sheep hear Thy voice and be brought home to Thy fold, so
that there may be one flock, one Shepherd, one holy kingdom of righteousness
and peace, one God and Father of us all, above all and through all and in all.
Amen
O
God, from whom come all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works;
Give to us, Thy servants, that peace which the world cannot give, that our
hearts may be set to obey Thy commandments; and that we, being defended from
the fear of our enemies, may serve you in peace and quietness: through the
merits of Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with Thee and the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen
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
Let
us bless the Lord.
Thanks
be to God.
Hymn LBW 83
1 From
God the Father, virgin-born
to
us the only Son came down;
by
death the font to consecrate,
the
faithful to regenerate.
2 Beginning
from his home on high,
in
human flesh he came to die;
creation
by his death restored,
and
shed new joys of life abroad.
3 Glide
on, O glorious Sun, and bring
the
gift of healing on your wing;
to
ev’ry dull and clouded sense
the
clearness of your light dispense.
4 Abide
with us, O Lord, we pray;
the
gloom of darkness chase away;
your
work of healing, Lord, begin,
and
take away the stain of sin.
5 Lord,
once you came to earth’s domain
and,
we believe, shall come again;
be
with us on the battlefield,
from
ev’ry harm your people shield.
6 To
you, O Lord, all glory be
for
this your blest epiphany;
to
God whom all his hosts adore,
and
Holy Spirit evermore.
Text: Latin office hymn, c. 11th cent.;
tr. John M. Neale, 1818-1866
Sermon
Prayer
and Benediction
Accept,
O Lord, our praises and supplications, and look graciously on our households
and our faith family, that we may abide this night in peace and safety under
the shadow of your wings, and so assist us by your grace that we may be made
fit for that kingdom where there shall be no more sin, nor sorrow, nor pain,
but all shall be joy and peace in the Holy Spirit, to whom, with you, O Father,
and you, O blessed Jesus, be all glory, both now and evermore.
Amen
The
almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless
and preserve you. Amen
