Easter 2 Evening Prayer, Thursday, 23rd April 2020

Holy One, make speed to save us: O God, come quickly to help us.

Glory to God, Source of all being, Eternal Word and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.  Amen.

Thursdays: From Psalm 133, Ecce, quam bonum 

Oh, how good and pleasant it is, when kindred live together in unity!
It is like fine oil upon the head that runs down upon the beard,
upon the beard of Aaron, and runs down upon the collar of his robe.

It is like the dew of Hermon that falls upon the hills of Zion.
For there the Lord has ordained the blessing: life for evermore.
Oh, how good and pleas-ant it is, when kindred live together in unity!

READING: John 15:12–27

‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

‘If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, “Servants are not greater than their master.” If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. It was to fulfil the word that is written in their law, “They hated me without a cause.”

‘When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.

SILENCE 

MAGNIFICAT

PRAYERS
The power of the risen Christ sets us free from evil’s grip!
Lord, have mercy upon us.
The touch of the risen Christ heals our deepest wounds and sorrow!
Christ, have mercy upon us.
The life of the risen Christ swallows up our fear of death!
Lord, have mercy upon us. 

Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Do not bring us to the time of trial, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.

COLLECTS

Almighty God: in your great goodness, grant that we, as pilgrims through the Easter mysteries, may hold them fast in our lives; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

THURSDAYS: O God, ignite our lips with that same passion burning in your heart of love, that we might be the hands that reach and the lips that speak, the Angelos alive with your life, messengers of divine empowerment. Amen.

Lord God almighty, come and dispel the darkness from our hearts, that in the radiance of your brightness we may know you, the only unfading light, glorious in all eternity. Amen.

The God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing: through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Compiled with Materials from: SEC Daily Prayer; Jim Cotter, Lectionary Resources; Taizé A prayer for each day; GS2016 Pointed Liturgical Psalter 2016 04 08; Chris Thorpe, Touching the Sacred.

A priest and poet in the Scottish Episcopal Church, exploring the workings of the Holy Spirit in Banchory .