Wednesday evening June 1
Thursday evening
Tuesday evening
Preparation
Opening response
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night:
to you be praise and glory forever.
As darkness falls you renew your promise
to reveal among us the light of your presence.
By the light of Christ, your living Word,
dispel the darkness of our hearts
that we may walk as children of light
and sing your praise throughout the world.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
Hymn
Behold! I Come With Joy to Do
Charles Wesley
Behold! I come with joy to do
The Master’s blessed will;
My Lord in outward works pursue,
And serve his pleasure still.
Thus faithful to my Lord’s commands,
I choose the better part,
And serve with careful Martha’s hands,
But loving Mary’s heart.
Though careful, without care I am,
Nor feel my happy toil,
Preserved in peace by Jesus’ name,
Supported by his smile:
Rejoicing thus my faith to show,
His service my reward;
While every work I do below,
I do it to the Lord.
O! That the world the art might know
Of living thus to thee;
And find their heaven begun below,
And here thy glory see;
Walking in all the works prepared
To exercise their grace,
They gain at last their full reward,
And see thy glorious face.
Confession of sin
Seek the Lord when he can still be found;
call him while he is yet near.
Let the wicked abandon their ways
and the sinful their schemes.
Let them return to the Lord so that he may have mercy on them,
to our God, because he is generous with forgiveness.
cf Isaiah 55
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Lord God,
we have sinned against you;
we have committed evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your faithful love.
Wash us completely clean of our guilt; purify us from our sin.
Put a new, faithful spirit deep inside us,
and return the joy of your salvation to us
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
cf Psalm 51
May the Father of all mercies
cleanse us from our sins,
and restore us in his image
to the praise and glory of his name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Bless the Lord,
because he has listened to our request for mercy.
Therefore our hearts will rejoice
and we will thank him with our song.
cf Psalm 28:7,9
The Word of God
Psalm 119:33-56
Refrain:
I will rejoice in your commandments because I love them.
Lord, teach me what your statutes are about,
and I will guard every part of them.
Help me understand so I can guard your Instruction
and keep it with all my heart.
Lead me on the trail of your commandments
because that is what I want.
Turn my heart to your laws,
not to greedy gain.
Turn my eyes away from looking at worthless things.
Make me live by your way.
Confirm your promise to your servant—
the promise that is for all those who honor you.
Remove the insults that I dread
because your rules are good.
Look how I desire your precepts!
Make me live by your righteousness.
Lord, let your faithful love come to me—
let your salvation come to me according to your promise—
so I can have a response for those who mock me
because I have trusted in your word!
Please don’t take your true word out of my mouth,
because I have waited for your rules.
I will always keep your Instruction,
always and forever!
I will walk around in wide-open spaces,
because I have pursued your precepts.
I will talk about your laws
before rulers with no shame whatsoever.
I will rejoice in your commandments
because I love them.
I will lift up my hands to your commandments
because I love them,
and I will contemplate all your statutes.
Remember your promise to your servant,
for which you made me wait.
My comfort during my suffering is this:
your word gives me new life.
The arrogant make fun of me to no end,
but I haven’t deviated from your Instruction.
When I remember your ancient rules,
I’m comforted, Lord.
But I’m seized with anger because of the wicked—
because of those who abandon your Instruction.
Your statutes have been my songs of praise
wherever I lived as an immigrant.
Lord, I remember your name at nighttime,
and I keep your Instruction.
This has been my practice
because I guard your precepts.
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.
Refrain:
I will rejoice in your commandments because I love them.
Psalm prayer
God of loving mercy,
in this place of our pilgrimage
turn your laws into songs,
that we may find your promises
fulfilled in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Job 15
Eliphaz answered:
Will the wise respond with windy knowledge
and fill their belly with the east wind?
Will they argue with a word that has no benefit
and with unprofitable words?
You are truly making religion ineffective
and restraining meditation before God.
Your mouth multiplies your sins a thousand times;
you opt for a clever tongue.
Your mouth condemns you, not I;
your lips argue against you.
Were you born the first Adam,
brought forth before the hills?
Did you listen in God’s council;
is wisdom limited to you?
What do you know that we don’t know;
what do you understand that isn’t among us?
Both the graybeard and the aged are with us;
those much older than your father.
Are God’s comforts not enough for you,
a word spoken gently with you?
Why has your mind seized you,
why have your eyes flashed,
so that you return your breath to God
and utter such words from your mouth?
What are humans that they might be pure,
and those born of woman that they might be innocent?
If he doesn’t trust his holy ones
and the heavens aren’t pure in his eyes,
how much less those who are abominable and corrupt,
for they drink sin like water.
Listen to me; I will argue with you;
what I’ve seen, I will declare to you;
what the wise have told and have not concealed from their family,
to whom alone the earth was given
and no stranger passed in their midst.
All the days of the wicked are painful;
the number of years reserved for the hateful;
a sound of terror pierces their ears;
when safe, raiders overtake them.
They can’t count on turning away from darkness;
they are destined for a sword.
They wander about for bread. “Where is it?”
They know that their day of darkness is fixed.
Adversity and stress scare them,
master them like a king ready to strike;
for they raise a fist against God
and try to overpower the Almighty.
They run toward him aggressively,
with a massive and strong shield.
They cover their face with grease
and make their loins gross.
They lived in ruined cities,
unoccupied houses that turn to rubble.
They won’t get rich; their wealth won’t last;
their property won’t extend over the earth.
They can’t turn away from darkness;
a flame will dry out their shoots,
and they will be taken away by the wind from his mouth.
They shouldn’t trust in what has no worth,
for their reward will be worthless.
Before their branch is formed,
before it is green,
like the vine, they will drop early grapes
and cast off their blossoms like the olive.
The ruthless gang is barren,
and fire consumes the tents of bribers.
They conceive toil and give birth to sorrow;
their belly establishes deceit.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Romans 8:1-11
So now there isn’t any condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. God has done what was impossible for the Law, since it was weak because of selfishness. God condemned sin in the body by sending his own Son to deal with sin in the same body as humans, who are controlled by sin. He did this so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us. Now the way we live is based on the Spirit, not based on selfishness. People whose lives are based on selfishness think about selfish things, but people whose lives are based on the Spirit think about things that are related to the Spirit. The attitude that comes from selfishness leads to death, but the attitude that comes from the Spirit leads to life and peace. So the attitude that comes from selfishness is hostile to God. It doesn’t submit to God’s Law, because it can’t. People who are self-centered aren’t able to please God.
But you aren’t self-centered. Instead you are in the Spirit, if in fact God’s Spirit lives in you. If anyone doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, they don’t belong to him. If Christ is in you, the Spirit is your life because of God’s righteousness, but the body is dead because of sin. If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your human bodies also, through his Spirit that lives in you.
Silence may be kept.
Gospel canticle
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Refrain:
You have done great things, O God, and holy is your name.
With all my heart I glorify the Lord!
In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.
He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.
Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored
because the mighty one has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
He shows mercy to everyone,
from one generation to the next,
who honors him as God.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.
He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty-handed.
He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,
remembering his mercy,
just as he promised to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.
Luke 1:46-55
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.
Refrain:
You have done great things, O God, and holy is your name.
Brief silence
The Apostle’s Creed
Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
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,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and 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.
Prayers
Thanksgiving and intercession
Thanksgiving may be made for the day.
Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs
Response
Father, hear our prayer,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
O God,
the strength of all those who put their trust in you,
mercifully accept our prayers
and, because through the weakness of our mortal nature
we can do no good thing without you,
grant us the help of your grace,
that in the keeping of your commandments
we may please you both in will and deed;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
As our Savior taught us, so we pray
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.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.
Conclusion
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore.
Amen.